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X 



HISTORY 

OF 



DECATUR COUNTY 



INDIANA 



ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS 



LEWIS A. HARDING 

Editor 

Member The American Historical Association; author, "The Preliminary 

Diplomacy of the Spanish-American War," a study in international 

law, "The Call of the Hour," "A Few Spoken Words," etc. 



With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and 
Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families 



ILLUSTRATED 



1915 

B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc. 

Indianapolis, Indiana 



.,y 






DEDICATION. 



The historian, who, as Schlegel says, is "a prophet looking back- 
wards," in these jubilee days of Indiana's first centennial, respectfully dedi- 
cates this work both to the memory of the pioneers of Decatur county and 
those departed, to keep their memory fragrant, and to the people of the 
future for the inspiration this record may be to those who follow in the 
never-ending flight of future days. 



T - 

\ 

31 Aj^St 



EDITOR'S PREFACE 



In writing the liistory of a county, the local historian is confined to 
a relatively small unit and is not expected to go outside the limits of the 
county except so far as to make explanatory the relation of the county to 
contiguous counties or to the state at large. The historian is also handi- 
capped by all the tradition which is handed down through succeeding genera- 
tions, traditions with little or no historical liackground and bordering on the 
romantic. While tradition is often connected with history, it does not often 
carry with it the sulistratum of fact which should characterize real historical 
narrative. Personal feelings and quixotic whims find expression in the 
tales of our forbears and are repeated so often that they are finally accepted 
as the truth. The purpose of the editor of this history is to separate fiction 
from fact ; to present in a simple and succinct manner those facts which 
will show the place of Decatur county among its sister counties in the state; 
to preserve for future generations the story of the privations and hardships 
which confronted our good forefathers almost a century ago. 

The editor, prior to this time, had gathered a lot of mis-information as 
to the early events of eastern Indiana, and especially as to that part of the 
state now included within Decatur county. However, careful investiga- 
tion has proven that in most instances such supposed facts were nothing 
more than romantic tales, interesting, but with no basis of truth. Thus the 
editor of this history was depri\'ed of what he had considered a large 
amount of \'aluable historical data, but in the elaboration of this work it 
has been the constant aim to get exact historical information. This history 
is an attempt to present the real truth about the growth of he county, and 
every event which would not stand the historical test has been discarded. 
Thus, many tales of romance are necessarily omitted; many supposed facts 
ha\-e been found to be without the semblance of truth, and hence find no 
place in this volume. 

This history seeks to give such a review of the origin and development 
of the county as will make it possible for the people of today and of the 
future to appreciate the lives and labors of those who have made this 



county wliat it is now. We are proud of its towns, its br(jacl cultivated 
fields, its schools and churches, its beautiful homes. People take a par- 
donable pride in living in a county where peace and harmony dwell, where 
the people enjoy those blessings vouchsafed to them by the laws of an in- 
dulgent nation. 

In order that the present generation may breathe the same spirit which 
animated the pioneers of this county, it is necessary to go back to the time 
when the Indian roamed this part of the state; when the beaver plied his 
trade unmolested Ijy the white man; when the uncut forest and undrained 
swamps presented more terrors than the wild inhabitants thereof, it will 
be necessary to tell of the time when France had control of this territory 
and of the time when England drove the French from this country. The 
Re\'oluti<.nar\' War bears on the history of Uecatur countv and it comes 
in for a share of attention; the War of 1812 is still closer allied with the 
history of the county and it is briefly noticed. 

We have tried to recite these facts so that the coming generations may 
become familiar with tliem and thereby have a clearer understanding of the 
sterling men and women who have preceded them. May this presentation 
imbue us with a greater kne for our county, our state and our nation, and 
may we highly resolve that the achie\'ements (if the past shall insj^ire the 
present and future generations in Decatur county to still higher and greater 
achievements. 

LEWIS A. HARDIXG. 



FOREWORD 



All life and achievement is evolution; preserjT'wisdom comes from past 
experience, and present commercial prosperity has come only from past ex- 
ertion and sacrifice. The deeds and motives of the men who ha\-e gone 
before have been instrumental in shaping the destinies of later ■c<:immunities 
and state. The development of a new country was at once a task and a 
privilege. It required great courage, sacrifice and privation. Compare the 
present conditions of the people of Decatur county, Indiana, with what they 
were one hundred years ago. From a trackless wilderness and \-irgin land, 
it has come to be a center of prosperity and civilization, with millions of 
wealth, systems of railways, grand educational institutions, splendid indus- 
tries and valuable agricultural and mineral productions. Can any think- 
ing person be insensible to the fascination of the study which discloses the 
aspirations and efforts of the early pioneers who so strongly laid the foun- 
dation upon which has been reared the magnificent prosperity of later days? 
To perpetuate the story of these people and to trace and record the social, 
political and industrial progress of the community from its first inception 
is the function of the local historian. A sincere purpose to preserve facts 
and personal memoirs that are deserving of perpetuation, and which unite 
the present to the past, is the moti\'e for the present publicati(in. A spe- 
cially valuable and interesting department is that one devoted to the sketches 
of representative citizens of this county whose records deserve preservation 
because of their worth, effort and accomplishment. The publishers desire 
to extend their thanks to the persons who ha\-e so faithfully labored to this 
end. Thanks are also due to the citizens of Decatur county for the uniform 
kindness with which they have regarded this undertaking, and for their 
many services rendered in the gaining of necessary information. 

In placing the "History of Decatur County. Indiana,"" before the citi- 
zens, the pulalishers can conscientiously claim that they have carried out the 
plan as outlined in the prospectus. E\-ery ])iographical sketch in the work 
has been submitted for corrections to the party interested, and therefore 
any error of fact, if there lie an}-, is solely due to the person for whom the 
sketch was prepared. Confident that our eft'ort to please will fully meet the 
approbation of the public, we are. 

Respectfully, 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I— RELATED STATE HISTORY 33 

First White Man in Northwest Territory — English and French Claims — 
Three Successive Sovereign Flags Over Present Indiana Territory — Pass- 
ing of the Indians — Battle of Fallen Timbers — Northwest Territory — Early 
Settlements — Activities of the Traders — French and Indian War — Pontiac's 
Conspiracy — Northwest Territory and Quebec Act — Revolutionary Period — ■ 
George Rogers Clark and His Campaign — First Surveys and Early Set- 
tlers — Ordinance of 1787 — First Stage of Government Under the Ordinance 
— Second Stage — Organization of the Northwest Territory — Representative 
Stage of Government — First Counties Organized — First Territorial Legis- 
lature of Northwest Territory — Division of 1800 — Census of Northwest 
Territory in 1800 — Settlements in Indiana Territory in 1800 — First Stage of 
Territorial Government — Changes in Boundary Lines of Indiana — Second 
Stage of Territorial Government — The Legislative Council — The First Gen- 
eral Assemblies — Congressional Delegates of Indiana Territory — Efforts to 
Establish Slavery in Indiana — The Indian Lands — Organization of Coun- 
ties — Changes in the Constitution of Indana — Capitals of Northwest Terri- 
tory and of Indiana — Military History of State — Political History — Gov- 
ernors of Indiana — A Century of Growth — Natural Resources. 

CHAPTER II— GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY 63 

Location and Size of Decatur County — Geology and Physiography — The 
Soils in Detail — Miami Silt Loam — Upland Clay Loam — Miami Sand Loam — 
Mechanical Analysis of Decatur County Soils. 

CHAPTER III— COUNTY ORGANIZATION 69 

Early Settlement — Opening of Government Land Office at Brookville — 
First Land Patent to John Shellhorn — Probable First Settler, John Fugit — 
Eighty-nine Land Entries the First Year — Newcomers in 1821 — One Hun- 
dred and Forty Votes Cast in County That Year — -Creation of Decatur 
County — First County Election — Beginning of Law and Order — First Gen- 
eral Election — Court House History — The Tree on the Court House Tower 
— The County Jail. 

CHAPTER IV— COUNTY OFFICERS 87 

County Commissioner System from 1822 to 1824 — Board of Justices — Second 
Group of County Commissioners — Second Board of Justices — General County 
Officers from Date of County Organization to 1915 — Notes on Early Elec- 
tions — Roster of State Senators and Representatives. 






CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER V— TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS OF DECATUR COUNTY 95 

Date of Organization of the Several Townships — The Squatter — The First 
Settler in Adams Township — County-Seat Hopes Shattered — Early Mail Fa- 
.cilities — Primitive Conditions — Early Wearing Apparel — Wolves Numerous 
and Rattlesnakes Abundant — Fever and Ague — W^ild Game — Distilleries — 
Pioneer Schools — St. Omer- — Visions of Railroads — Education — Early Sub- 
scription Schools — Teacher Killed by Pupil — Village of Adams — Downey- 
ville — Rockville's "Boom" Punctured — St. Paul — Varied Industries — Disas- 
trous Fires — Clay Township — Buck-run, Clifty, Middlefork Settlement, Duck 
Creek, Milford, Burney, Wyncoop — Fugit Township — First Store in County 
at Spring Hill — Kingston, St. Maurice, Clarksburg — Jackson Township — 
Forest Hill. Waynesburg, Alert, Sardinia — Marion Township — Millhousen 
and Other Villages — Clinton Township — County Poor Farm — Sandusky — 
Salt Creek Township — Newpoint, Smith's Crossing, Mechanicsburg, New 
Pennington and Rossburg — Sand Creek Township — Westport, Letts and 
Harris City — Washington Township Almost Exact Center of the County. 

CHAPTER VI— THE CITY OF GREENSBURG 155 

Song of an "Inland Town" — Site of Present County Seat Entered by Thomas 
Hendricks in 1820 — Location of County Seat in 1822 — Prices Paid for First 
Lots — City's Early Growth — Queer Regulations — Incorporation — Fire De- 
partment — Police Department — ^\'aterworks and Sewerage System — City 
Hall — Street Paving — Business and Professional Directory in 1915 — -Mileage 
and Valuation of Telegraph and Telephone Lines in County — Greensburg 
Improvement Association — Commercial Club — Business Men's Association — • 
Greensburg Chautauqua — Associated Charities — Postoffice — Public Library — 
Young Men's Christian Association — Mimicipal Financial Statement — City 
Officers and Heads of Departments. 

CHAPTER VII— EDUCATION 182 

Early Rural Schools and Primitive Curriculum — Treating of Pupils at 
Christmas Time — Roll of Pioneer Teachers — Qualifications of Teachers — 
Decatur County Seminary and Noted Alumni Thereof — Private Schools — 
First Free Schools — Graded Schools — Teachers' Gatherings — Normal Schools 
— Lincoln Flag Raising Creates Riot — School Supervision — First School 
Building in Greensburg — Creation of High School System — Township and 
Village Schools — Consolidated School System — School Athletics and Domes- 
tic Science and Agricultural Training. 

CHAPTER VIII— CHURCHES OF DECATUR COUNTY 204 

Marked Religious Change During Past Three-Quarters of a Century — Fore- 
fathers Not as Good as Usually Painted — Sermons Worked Out With Aid 
of Flask — Primitive Houses of Worship — Baptists and Methodists First to 
Come — Interesting Reminiscences — Methodist Episcopal Churches — Organ 
to Blame for Schism — Methodist Protestant Church — Pastor's Unique Court- 
ship — Early Ministerial Experiences — .\frican Methodist Church — First 
Methodist Sermon in County in September, 1822 — Baptist Churches — First 
Congregation .-Vntedated Organization of County — Presbyterian Churches — 
First Congregation Organized in 1823 — United Presbyterian Church — 



CONTENTS. 

Christian Cluirches — Beginning of Butler College — L'nited Brethren in 
Christ — Pentecost Church — German Lutheran Church — Episcopal Church — 
•Church of God — Christian (Nevvlight) Church — German Methodist Episco- 
pal Church — Christian Science Society — United Brethren — Catholic Churches 
— Oldest Parish in County at Millhousen. 

CHAPTER IX— BENCH AND BAR , 278 

Judicial History of Decatur County — Marked Changes Under the Constitu- 
tion of 1852— A Mystery of the Olden Days— Early Murder Trials — Step- 
ping-Stone to Congress — Early Bar History — Prominent Figures of the 
Bench and Bar — Roster of Decatur County Attorneys — Dean of the Bar — 
Some Interesting Reminiscences. 

CHAPTER X— BANKS AND BANKING 298 

Citizens Bank of Greensburg — Third National Bank — Greensburg National 
Bank — Westport National Bank — Clarksburg State Bank — Alert State Bank 
— The St. Paul Bank — Newpoint State Bank — Burney State Bank — Greens- 
burg Building and Loan Association — Union Trust Company — ^Workmen's 
Building and Loan Association — St. Paul Building .Association — Decatur 
County's Only Bank Failure. 

CHAPTER XI— SECRET SOCIETIES AND FRATERNITIES 307 

Free and .Accepted Masons and Allied Organizations — Knights of Pythias — 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows — Modern Woodmen of .America — Im- 
proved Order of Red Men — Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks — Hay- 
makers-i-Lo}'al Order of Moose — Knights of St. John. 

CHAPTER XII— SOCIAL AND LITERARY CLUBS 329 

Greensburg Department Club — Kappa Kappa Kappa — The Cycle — The 
Mothers' Circle — The Progress Club — The Woman's Club — The Tourist 
Club — The Fortnightly Club — The Research Club — Literary Club of 191-1 — 
Married Ladies' Musicale — The Cecilians — The -Athenaeum. 

CHAPTER XIII— THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 341 

A Woman Probably the First Medical Practitioner in County — Roster of 
Early Physicians and Those Now Practicing in County — Interesting Rem- 
iniscences by Dr. J. H. .Alexander — Decatur County Medical Society — 
Trained X'urses — Opticians — Pension Board. 

CHAPTER XIV— NEWSPAPERS OF DECATUR COUNTY 365 

-Apostrophe to the Newspaper — Reckless Use of Adjectives— Struggles of 
the Early Editors — Greensburg Chronicle, First Paper in County. Started 
in Spring of 1830 — Orville Thompson's Review of Decatur Count}' News- 
papers I'p to the Year 1895 — "Unmarked and Forgotten" Papers — Present 
Newspapers of the County. 

CHAPTER XV— AGRICULTURE 379 

Greeley's Estimate of Indiana Farmers — Flax, Most Important Crop of the 
Pioneer, No Longer Cultivated — Leading Breeders of Fancy Stock — Cattle 



CONTENTS. 

Feeding — Tomato-Growing Industry — The County Agent — Agricultural 
Statistics — County Agricultural Society — Waynesburg Farmers' Club — 
Farmers' Club of Springfield — Farmers' Institute — Patrons of Husbandry — 
Decatur County Fairs. 

CHAPTER XVI— ROADS AXD TRANSPORTATION 390 

Blazed Trails and the Wilson Trace — First Movement Toward Roads — 
Turnpikes — Water Transportation — Railroads of Decatur County — Greens- 
burg Union Depot — Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Line — Railroad 
Statistics. 

CHAPTER XVII— THE "UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" 398 

Pronounced Anti-Slavery Sentiment — Decatur County Colonization Society 
and Its Rival, the .Anti-Slavery Society — Bickerings Between Neighbors and 
Schisms in Churches — Main Trunks of "Underground Railroad" — Its Officers 
and Conductors — The Donnell Rescue Case and Other Incidents — Fugitive 
Slave Law — Knights of the Golden Circle. 

CHAPTER XVIII— DEC.VTUR COUNTY'S MILITARY RECORD. 408 

Soldiers of the Revolution in Decatur County — The Case of Hugh Mont- 
gomery — Soldiers of the War of 1812 — Mexican War — The Civil War- 
Roster of Commissioned Officers — Regiments Represented by Decatur 
County Soldiers — Wilder Battery — Artillery and Rifle Companies — Greens- 
burg Band Goes to Front — Decatur County Losses: Killed in Action, Died 
of Wound's and Died in Prison — Morgan's Raid — A War-Time Convention — 
Riot in Greensburg — Civil War Statistics — Relief for Soldiers' Families — 
Roll of Honor — Grand .Army of the Republic — Woman's Relief Corps — 
Daughters of the .American Revolution. 

CHAPTER XIX— GERMANS AND THE GERMAN INFLUENCE 464 

Immigration from the Fatherland — Teutonic Settlements in Decatur County 
— A Self-Reliant People — Maximillian Schneider and the Millhousen Settle- 
ment — List of Naturalized Citizens. 

CHAPTER XX— EARLY ELECTIONS IN DECATUR COUNTY 470 

State Politics from 1816 to 1824 — Straw V'otes at County Musters — First 
Presidential Election — Rapid Increase in Voting Population — First County 
Election in 1823 — First Township Elections — Election During Civil War — 
Bitter Contest of 1S60. 

CHAPTER XXI— LITERARY GLIMPSES 479 

Efforts to Emulate the Bard of Avon — Poets of More Than Local Fame — 
Some Interesting Samples of Decatur County Poetry — The Late Will Cum- 
back and Others Who Have Brought to the County a Measure of Literary 
Distinction — Lewis -A. Harding and "The Call of the Hour." 

CHAPTER XXII— DECATUR COUNTY INDUSTRIES 497 

Primitive Mills of the Pioneers — The First Tanyard — Blacksmiths Manu- 
facturers of Farm Implements — Early Woolen Mills — First Furniture Fac- 



CONTENTS. 

tory — Manufacturing Industries in 1874 — Greeley Limestone Company — 
Contractors — Meek Ice Company — Bromwell Brush and Wire Works — 
Garland Milling Company. 

CHAPTER XXIII— SIDELIGHTS ON DECATUR COUNTY HISTORY 504 

Scene of "The Hoosier Schoolmaster" — Well-Known Residents of the 
Clifty Neighborhood Typified in Celebrated Novel — Doctor Smalley's Part 
in Famous Robbery Conspiracy — List of Leading Taxpayers in 1862 — Popu- 
lation Statistics — Temperance Movement and "Wet" and "Dry" Vote in 
1847 — Woman's Christian Temperance Union — Decatur County People Who 
Have Risen to Distinction — Odd Fellovi's' Home — The Old Seminary — A 
Religious Revival — A Band Tournament — "Sartor Resartus" — A Versatile 
Preacher — Record-Breaking Pioneer — Sun Eclipsed by Wild Pigeons — A 
Story for Men Only — Greensburg's First Lawyer — Doddridge .\lley — 
Bound Boys — The Estray Pound — Politics in 1842 — Whig Barbecue of 1844 
— Overland Trip to Oregon — Old-Time Debating Society — Anti-Masonic 
Movement — A Civil War Debate — Early Greensburg Libraries — Orthogra- 
phic Contests — Lincoln in Greensburg — First Sunday School in County — 
Decatur County's Only Lynching — The Agaphone — Pioneer Cold Storage — 
A Gunpowder Plot — To "Buss" or not to "Buss" — "Aunt Jane" Warriner's 
Well — A Two-Dollar Prayer — Center of Population — Dripping Springs 
Garden. 



HISTORICAL INDEX 



A 

Abolitionism 399 

Adams Baptist Church 234 

Adams Christian Church 263 

Adams M. E. Church 224 

Adams Township^ 

Boundaries of 95 

County Seat Hopes 97 

First Postoffice 98 

First Settlers 96 

Adams Village 104 

African Methodist Church 220 

Agricultural Society 385 

Agricultural Statistics 384 

Agriculture , — 379 

Alert 132 

Alert State Bank 301 

Anti-Masonic Movement 526 

Anti-"Spooning" Club 531 

Apostrophe to Newspaper 365 

Artillery and Rifle Companies 427 

Athenaeum, The 340 

Attorneys of Decatur County 283 

"Aunt Jane" Warriner's Well 532 

Authors and Poets of Decatur Co.,. 479 

B 

Bachelors' Club 520 

Band Tournament 518 

Banks and Banking 298 

Baptist Churches 228 

Battle of Fallen Timbers 34 

Battle of Tippecanoe 33 

Beginning of Law and Order 75 

Bench and Bar of Decatur Co 278 

Benevolent and Protective Order 

of Elks 325 

"Blazed Trails" 390 

Board of Justices 88 



Bound Boys 522 

Burney 118 

Burney State Bank _— _ 302 

Butler College. Beginning of 259 

C 

Catholic Churches 272 

Cattle Feeding 381 

Cecilians, The 338 

Census of Indiana 59 

Census Statistics 508 

Centenary Methodist Church 214 

Center of Population 533 

Christian Churches 257 

Christian (New Light) Church 269 

Christian Science Society 270 

Church of God 269 

Churches of Decatur County 204 

Circuit Court Judges 279 

Citizens National Bank of Greens- 
burg 298 

Citizens of Distinction 513 

City of Greensburg 155 

Civil War 420 

Civil War Debate 527 

Ci\il War Riot in Greensburg 442 

Civil War Roll of Honor 447 

Civil War Statistics 444 

Clark, Gen. George Rogers 37 

Clarksburg 129 

Clarksburg Christian Church 261 

Clarksburg M. E. Church 222 ' 

Clarksburg Presbyterian Church 253 

Clarksburg State Bank 301 

Clay Township — 

Buck Run 113 

Burney 118 

Churches 116 

Cliffy Settlement 113 

Duck Creek 115 



HISTORICAL INDEX. 



Clay Township — 

Manufactories 116 

Middlefork Settlement 114 

Milford 116 

Schools 115 

\'illage of Needmore 113 

Wyncoop 119 

Clifty 113 

Clinton Township — 

Boundaries 137 

County Farm 140 

Early Mills 138 

Sandusky 139 

Settlement of 137 

Timber Industry 139 

Williamstown 140 

Commissioners, Early Acts of 87 

Conductors of "Underground Rail- 
road" 399 

Consolidated Schools 195 

Constitution. Changes in 52 

Counties, Organization of 51 

County Agents 382 

County Agricultural Society 385 

County Auditors 90 

County Clerks 90 

County Colonization Society 398 

County Fairs 388 

County Farm 140 

County Officers 87 

County Organization 69 

Count}' Recorders 90 

County Seat 155 

County Seminary 185 

County Sheriffs : 89 

County Treasurers 89 

County's Losses in Civil War 431 

Court House History 11 

Courts of Decatur County 278 

Cumback, Will, and Other Poets— 479 

D 

"Dare-to-do-Right Club 510 

Daughters of the American Revo- 
lution 461 

Decatur County in Civil War 420 

Decatur County's Creation 73 

Distilleries 101 

Distinguished Citizens of County — 513 



"Donnell Rescue Case" 400 

Downeyville 105 

Dripping Springs Garden 533 

Dry Fork Baptist Church 241 

E 

Early Elections in County 470 

Early Greensburg Libraries 527 

Early Mail Facilities 98 

Early Ministerial Experiences 219 

Early Murder Trials 280 

Early Rural Schools 182 

Early Settlement of County 69 

Eccentric Pioneer 521 

Editorial Difficulties 366 

Education in Decatur Coiinty 182 

Educational System of Indiana 61 

Edward Eggleston 504 

Eighty-third Regiment 455 

Election in Civil War 476 

Elections, First in County 74, 76 

Episcopal Church 268 

Estray Pound 524 

F 

Farmers Club of Springhill 385 

Farmers Institute 386 

Fifty-second Regiment 453 

First County Election 74, 473 

First Free School 187 

First General Election 76 

First Highway Petition 390 

First Lawyer in Greensburg 521 

First National Bank Failure 305 

First Presidential Election 472 

First Railroad in County 393 

First Sunday School in County 529 

First Threshing Machine 379 

First Township Elections 474 

First White Men in Territory ii 

Forest Hill 132 

Fortnightly Club 336 

Fredonia United Brethren Church 266 

French and Indian War 35 

Fugit Township — 

Boundaries 119 

Churches 128 

Clarksburg 129 



HISTORICAL INDEX. 



Fugit Township — 

Early Schools 125 

Kingston 128 

Land Entries 122 

Settlement of 120 

Spring Hill 129 

St. Maurice 129 

When Laid Out 119 

Fugitive Slave Law 406 

G 

Geology of Decatur County 63 

German Lutheran Church 268-270 

German M. E. Church 270 

Germans and German Influence 464 

Government, Representative Stage 

of 42 

Governors of Indiana 58 

Graded Schools 187 

Grand .A.rmy of the Republic 455 

Greensburg — 

Associated Charities 173 

Business Directory 161 

Business Men's Association 169 

Chautauqua 171 

City Hall 160 

City Officers 181 

Comtnercial Club 167 

Early Growth 157 

Fire Department 159 

Improvement Association 166 

Incorporation 158 

Location of County Seat 156 

Merchants in 1844 157 

Municipal StateiVient 180 

Newspapers 367 

Original Plat 155 

Police Department 159 

Postoffice 174 

Prices for First Lots 156 

Public Library 176 

Queer Regulations 158 

Sewerage System 161 

Song of an Inland Town 155 

Street Paving 160 

Union Depot 395 

Water Works 160 

Young Men's Christian Ass'n 177 

Greensburg B. and L. Association— 302 



Greensburg Baptist Churches 237 

Greensburg Christian Church 258 

Greensburg Department Club 329 

Greensburg National Bank 300 

Greensburg Presbyterian Church 250 

Greensburg Regimental Band 428 

Greensburg's Foremost Citizen 290 

Gunpowder Plot 531 

H 

Harris 148 

Haymakers' Association 326 

Home-made Apparel 99 

Hospitals for Insane 61 

I 

Immaculate Conception Parish 274 

Improved Order of Red Men 324 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows 319 
Indian Lands 50 

Indian Struggles 41 

Indiana, Boundary of 47 

Indiana Capital, Changes in 54 

Indiana Territory 44 

Industries of Decatur County 497 

Iroquois Indians Hostile 34 

J 

Jackson Township — 
Alert 132 

Early Settlement 131 

Forest Hill 132 

Present Officers 131 

Primitive Schools 131 

Sardinia 133 

Waynesburg 132 

When Established 130 

Jail History 83 

Justices, Board of 88 

K 

Kappa Kappa Kappa 331 

Kingston 128 

Knights of Pythias 315 

Knights of St. John 328 

Knights of the Golden Circle 407 



HISTORICAL INDEX. 



L 

Land Surveys, Present System of 39 

La Salle's Explorations 33 

Lawyers of an Early Day 283 

Legislative Council 48 

Legislature, First Territorial 43 

Letts 147 

Liberty Baptist Church 235 

Lincoln in Greensburg 528 

Liquor Question in 1847 510 

Literary Club of 1914 337 

Literary Glimpses 479 

Little Flat Rock Baptist Church— 234 

Local Option Election 511 

Lone Tree Chapter, D. A. R 462 

Long Overland Trip 525 

Lower Union L'nited Brethren 

Church 267 

Loyal Order of Moose 327 

Lynching in 1879 . 529 

M 

Mails, Early 98 

Mapleton United Brethren Church- 266 
Marion Township — 

Churches and Schools 134 

Millhousen 135 

Settlement of 134 

Other Villages-—,^ 136 

Married Ladies' Musicale 338 

Masonic Order in Decatur County. 307 

Medical Profession 341 

Medical Society 363 

Methodism in Greensburg 209 

Methodist Episcopal Churches 208 

Methodist Protestant Church 215 

Mexican War 419 

Middle Branch M. E. Church 227 

Milford 116 

Milford M. E. Church 225 

Military History of Indiana 55 

Military Record 408 

Millhousen 135 

Modern Woodmen of America 322 

Morgan's Raid 439 

Morgan's Raiders Defied 407 

Mother's Circle 333 

Mt. Aerie Baptist Cluirch 244 



Mt. Carmel M. E. Church 222 

Mt. Moriah Baptist Church 233 

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church 241 

Mt. Pleasant Church 223 

Mowrey Chapel : 262 

N 

Natural Resources of Indiana 60 

Naturalized Citizens of County 466 

New Pennington M. E. Church 228 

Newpoint 141 

Newpoint Christian Church 264 

Newpoint M. E. Church 227 

Newpoint State Bank 302 

Newspapers of Decatur County 365 

Ninetieth Regiment : 455 

Normal Schools 189 

Northwest Territory. Census of 44 

Noted Robbery Conspiracy 505 

o 

Odd Fellows' Home 515 

Officers in Civil War 420 

Official Roster 87 

Ohio Company, The 35 

Old County Seminary 517 

Old-Time Debating Society 526 

One Hundred and Forty-Sixth Regi- 
ment 439 

One Hundred and Thirty-fourth 

Regiment 438 

One Hundred and Twenty-third 

Regiment 438 

Opposition to Slavery 398 

Opticians 364 

Order of the Eastern Star 313 

Ordinance of 1787 39 

Organization of Northwest Terri- 
tory 42 

Organization of the County 69 

Organization of Townships 124 

Orthographic Contests 528 

P 

Pap Thomas Post. G. A. R 455 

Patrons of Husbandry 387 

Pension Board ., 364 



HISTORICAL INDEX. 



Pentecost Church 267 

Physicians of Decatur County 341 

Pigeons Eclipse Sun 520 

Pioneer Churches 20S 

Pioneer Cold Storage 530 

Pioneer Industries 497 

Pioneer Schools 101 

Pioneer Trails and Wagon Ways 390 

Poets of Decatur County 479 

Political History of Indiana 57 

Politics in 1842 ' 524 

Pontiac's Conspiracy 36 

Population Statistics 508 

Presbyterian Churches 246 

President Judges 278 

Presidential Election of 1860 478 

Primitive Conditions 98 

Private Schools 187 

Progress Club 334 

Q 

Quebec Act. The 36 

R 

Railroad Statistics 396 

Railroads of Decatur County 393 

Rattlesnakes Abundant 100 

Record for Office-holding 519 

Red Ribbon Club 510 

Relief for Soldiers' Families 445 

Religion 206 

Religious Revival in 1869-70 518 

Representatives 92 

Research Club 336 

Revolutionary Period 36 

Revolutionary W^ar Veterans 408 

Roads and Transportation 390 

Rock Creek Baptist Church 245 

Rockville. First Town in County — 106 
Rossburg Baptist Church 242 

S 

St. Clair's Defeat 34 

St. John's Parish at Enochsburg — 275 

St. Maurice 129 

St. Maurice's Parish 273 



St. Omer— 

Aspirations Blasted 104 

Churches 103 

First Building 102 

Missed by Railroad 102 

Schools 103 

St. Paul— 

"Big John" 112 

Churches and Schools 108 

Disastrous Fires 111 

I'Wst Mill in County 107 

First Paul Cabin 107 

Founder of 106 

Industries and Commerce 109 

Railroad Booms Town 107 

St. Paul Bank 301 

St. Paul Christian Church 264 

St. Paul M. E. Church 225 

St. Paul Schools 1 201 

St. Paul's Catholic Church 275 

Salem Baptist Church 237 

Salt Creek Township — 

Boundaries 140 

Last Laid Out 140 

Newpoint 141 

Present Officers 141 

Settlement of 141 

Smith's Crossing 143 

Villages of 143 

Sand Creek Baptist Church 229 

Sand Creek Township — 

Boundaries of 143 

First Settlers 144 

Harris 148 

Letts 147 

Present Officers 145 

Sardinia Crossing 150 

Westport 145 

Sandusky 139 

Sandusky M. E. Church 221 

Sardinia 133 

Sardinia Presbyterian Clnirch 253 

Sardinia L^nited Brethren Church.. 267 

Schools of Greensburg 192 

Schools of the Pioneers 101 

Secret Societies and Fraternities... 307 

Senators, State 91 

Sent Bill for Prayer 532 

Settlement of the County 69 

Seventh Regiment 424 



HISTORICAL INDEX. 



Seventy-sixth Regiment 436 

Sheriffs, 89 

Sidelights on History of County 504 

Sixty-eighth Regiment 436 

Slavery, Rejected in Indiana 50 

Slaves Held in Decatur County 407 

Smith's Crossing 143 

Social and Literary Clubs 329 

Soil of Decatur County 64 

Soldiers of Civil War 424 

Soldiers of the Revolution 408 

Soldiers of War of 1812 411 

Soldiers of War With Mexico 419 

Spelling "Bees" 528 

Spring Hill 129 

Spring Hill Community Church 256 

Squatters 96 

State Politics at Early Date 470 

State Pride 62 

State Representatives 92 

State Senators 91 

Stock Breeders 380 

Supervision of Schools 191 

T 

Tax Payers in 1862 507 

Teachers' Gatherings 188 

Teachers. Qualifications of 184 

Tecumseh ^^ 

Temperance Movement 509 

Territorial Delegates to Congress-- 49 

Territorial Government 46 

"The Hoosier Schoolmaster" 504 

Third National Bank of Greensburg 299 

Thirty-seventh Regiment 433 

Tomato-growing Industry 382 

Topography of Decatur County 63 

Tourists' Club 335 

Towns and Townships 95 

Township Schools 195 

Townships and Towns 95 

Trained Nurses 363 

Treaty of Paris iS 

Tree on Court House Tower 81 

Turnpikes 391 



U 

"Underground Railroad" 398 

Union Baptist Church 245 

Union Trust Company of Greens- 
burg 303 

United Brethren in Christ 265 

United Presbj'terian Church 254 

V 

^'i^cennes, Capture of 37 

\'incennes. Oldest Indiana Settle- 
nient 38 

■W 

War of 1812 . 411 

War-Time Convention 441 

Washington Township — 

Boundaries 150 

Center of County 151 

First Settlers 152 

McCoy 154 

Present Officers 154 

Quarry Switch 154 

\\'ashingtonian Organization 509 

Water Transportation 392 

\\'ayne. Gen. .\nthony 34 

U'aynesburg 132 

Waynesburg Christian Church 264 

Waynesburg Farmers' Club . 385 

Wesley Chapel 220 

Westport 145 

Westport Baptist Church 241 

Westport Christian Church 262 

Westport High School 199 

Westport National Bank 301 

Whig Barbecue of 1844 52S 

Wild Game 101 

Williamstown 140 

Wolves Troublesome 100 

Woman's Christian Temperance 

Union 511 

W^oman's Club 335 

\\'oman's Relief Corps 458 

Workingmen's B. and L. .\ss'n 304 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 



A 

Ainsworth, Charles I. 688 

Alexander, Claj' 952 

Alexander, Frank S. 1109 

Alexander, John H., M. D. 632 

Alley, Jonathan L. 1008 

Allison, Francis M. 747 

Anderson, Hamlin 1160 

Anderson, Nicholas 1143 

Anderson, Robert 1067 

Angle, William M. , 752 

Annis, James X. 693 

Apple, Solomon 1045 

Ardery, David A. 572 

Armstrong, Alfred M. 842 

Armstrong, Francis D. 856 

Askin, Cliflford G. 943 

Aultman, Henry M. 575 

B 

Ballard, Daniel J., M. D. 756 

Ballard, Harry W. 1207 ' 

Beck, John W. 703 

Bentley, Alexander 1126 

Black, Jacob 1162 

Black, John C. 1071 

Blackamore, David M. 552 

Blackmore, Lawrence O. (deceased) 1010 

Blackmore, Lawrence O. 1015 

Blankman. Bernard H. 728 

Blankman, Henry 1196 

Boicourt, William T. 1042 

Boling, Albert 800 

Boling, George W. 771 

Boling, Walter T. 767 

Bonner, Judge Samuel A. 851 

Bonner, Walter W. 734 

Bostic, James M. 1111 

Bostic, Watson 983 

Bowman, Henry C. 806 



Boyd, Harry 543 

Bracken, John Locke 544 

Braden. Luther D. 618 

Braden, Richard J. 587 

Bruns, Benedict 906 

Buckley, Daniel ^ 914 

Burney, John W. 799 

Bush, James N. 773 

Bussell, Smith B. 741 

Byers, James M. 999 

C 

Carman, Ira C. 986 

Clark, Ira 711 

Clark, Samuel 894 

Cline, James 978 

Cobb, Jasper 640 

Collicott, Rev. John 1029 

Collins, John R. 885 

Cory, Joseph 792 

Cory, Walter B. 615 

Corya, John W. 1018 

Crawford, George S., M. D. 784 

Crisler, Will J. 547 

Crist. Scott F. 1204 

Cuskaden, John T. 789 

D 

Davis, Daniel 695 

Davis, Edward W. 880 

Davis, James B. 782 

Davis, James G. 992 

Davis, Robert J. 1098 

Davis, William 1014 

Day, Thomas E. 1031 

Deem. John W. 709 

DeMoss, John W. _•_ 824 

Denham, Benjamin F. 1123 

Deniston, John H. 1194 

Deniston, William H. 1117 



I 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



Deupree, Clarence C. 1174 

Deupree, Everett L. 1037 

Deupree. Thomas M. 1175 

Dietrich, Otto F. 779 

Donnell, Edwin D. 1079 

Douglas, Dilver £., M. D. 930 

Draping. Henry A. 974 

Dufifey, Thomas 642 



Eckhart, Leroy A. 1075 

Eddelman. Edgar 1119 

Elder, Oliver C. 698 

Elliott. Daniel W. 1138 

Elliott. Marion M. 1131 

Elliott. Theodore 993 

Emniert, Harry 730 

Emmert, Jacob 749 

Emmert, Len J. 550 

Erdmann. George E. 559 

Evans. John G. 960 

Evans, Milton E. 1133 



Fear. John 1085 

Fear, William S. 1097 

Fee. Edwin S. 933 

Foley, Gen. James B. 568 

Foley, John J. 560 

Ford, Lafayette 597 

Fry, Henry 831 

Fulton, Samuel D. 1129 



H 



Habig, Anthony 121 

Hahn, Valentine 920 

Hamilton. Chester 1170 

Hamilton, Everett 610 

Hamilton. Frank 656 

Hamilton, James F. 738 

Hamilton, Luther D. . 1183 

Hamilton, R. Ray 941 

Hamilton, Robert C. 570 

Hamilton, Thomas E. 878 

Hamilton, Thomas M. 907 

Hanks, Samuel B. 991 

Harding, James L. 864 

Harrod, Cecil G., M. D. 984 

Harwood. Cyrus D. 759 

Hays. John C. 948 

Heger, Michael 821 

Hess. George L. 1210 

Hill, Clarence L. 1156 

Hillis, Alexander 975 

Hite, Edgar E. 818 

Hitt, Sherman B., M. D. 596 

Hoeing, Bernard A. ■ 918 

Holcomb, Daniel Wesley 912 

Holcomb, John W. 840 

Holmes. Mrs. Dorcas E. (McLain).. 581 

Holmes. Webster H. 950 

Hopkins. Harry S., D. D. S 1047 

Howard. James 1017 

Hudson, Millard A. 690 

Hughes, Jason B. 696 

Hungerford. W^alter 874 

Hunter, John 1004 

I 
Isgrigg, William H. 814 



Galbraith. Francis I. 1215 

Garrison. Joseph W. 608 

Gartin, John G. 1088 

Gaston, J. Minor 936 

Gibson, Estill A. 1012 

Glass, Jacob C, M. D. 834 

Goddard, William 661 

Greeley, Clarence E. 797 

Grover. Dr. Charles B. 816 

Guthrie, John G. 924 



Jackson, Edward A. 988 

Jackson, Samuel L. 636 

Jackson. William E. 1034 

Jameson, Barton W. 1137 

Jenkins. Myron C. 1164 

Jewell. Allen 1001 

Jewett, Israel D. 1053 

Jewett. Lorin A. 1059 

lohannigmann, Mathias 931 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



Johnson, John 788 

Jones, Clifford F. 677 



K 



Kanouse, John R. 774 

Kelly, Samuel 1145 

Kennedy, Simeon H. 1198 

Kercheval, Clarence F., M. D, 562 

Kercheval, James T. 862 

Kessing, Edward 1200 

Ketchum, Francis G, 1191 

Ketchum, William S, 1064 

Kincaid, Gilbert G, 662 

Kirby, Henry C. 1077 

Kitchin, Guy E. 626 

Kitchin, Joseph B. 826 

Kitchin, Thomas J. 639 

L 

Lathrop, Harry 910 

Lathrop, James B, 724 

Lawson, William A. 1000 

Layton, Jephtha 977 

Lee, Orlando 1052 

Link, Albert 964 

Littell, Mrs. Benjamin F, 1028 

Littell, George S. 539 

Littell, Sam V. 699 

Logan, Aaron 1203 

Logan, Aaron L. 686 

Logan, George A. 889 

Logan, Henry R. 832 

Logan, John 844 

Logan, John H. 765 

Logan, Will W. 859 

Lowe, Arthur J. 584 

Lowe, Edward C. 674 



Mc 

McCoy, Curtis 904 

McCoy, Sutherland 592 

McCoy, William M. 604 

McCracken, Hugh T. 634 

McKee, Harley S., M. D. 902 

McLaughlin, James C. 648 



M 

Manlief. Omer T. 884 

Meek, Adam 658 

Meek, George M. 763 

Meek, John T. 1185 

Meek, Robert S. 576 

Menzie, George 721 

Messier, Cornelius 714 

Metz, George W. 846 

Metz, John }L 624 

Miers, Morgan L. 760 

Miers, VVillard A. 981 

Miers, William H. 946 

Miller, Charles P. 1166 

Minor, Joseph S. 966 

Mires, John A. 1006 

Mobley, William H. 794 

Moenkedick, Joseph 980 

Moor, George W. 1082 

Moore, Huber C. 804 

Morrison, Clyde C, M. D. 1211 

Mount, Harry H. 716 

Mowrey, Nelson 732 

Mozingo, Henry 972 

Mulford, Fred E. 876 

Mulroy, Anthony B. 780 

Myers, Judge David A. 1213 

Myers, George M. 1101 

Myers, James A. 646 

Myers, John T. 1003 

N 
Xesbitt, Charles M. 1187 

O 

Oldham, Eber J. 916 

Ortman, Bernard 901 

Osborn, John E. 768 

Owen, John S. 1140 

P 

Patterson, Joseph 603 

Pavy, John T. 776 

Perry. Dan S 606 

Perry, George S. 823 



n 



BIOGli.\PHICAL INDEX. 



Pleak. Ezra L. 1056 

Pleak, Strauther Van 1170 

Porter, Alexander 1152 

Porter, Edward A., M.D. 1105 

Porter, James 654 

Power, Ernest D. 682 

Powner, James L. , 995 

Powner, John C. 685 

Pulse, William C. 612 

Pumphrey, Cyrus W. 1026 

Pumphrey, Edward 1022 

Pumphrey, Francis M. 956 

Pumphrey, James A. 1021 

Puttmann, John J. 898 

R 

Redelman, George F. 888 

Redelman, Henry M. 958 

Reed, George N. 678 

Reniy, Charles E. 953 

Riley, Eden T., M. D. 557 

Riley, Hon. Zachariah T. 1039 

Risk, Charles F. 1073 

Robbins, Charles C. 1157 

Robbins, John E. 1120 

Robbins, John E. 535 

Robertson, John F. 1103 

Robertson, Josiah W. 967 

Robertson, Lafayette 1062 

Robertson, William W. 1050 

Robison, James B. 704 

Ruhl. Max 812 

Russell, Albert C. 579 

Russell, John F. 554 

S 

Sands, Linton W. 670 

Scheidler, George M. 820 

Schroeder, John H. 882 

Scott. Robert 629 

Scott, Walter 629 

Sefton, George W. 705 

Shafer, James H. 1146 

Shafer, Wilson M. L 854 

Shaw, Col. Benjamin C. 997 

Shaw, John J, 1134 

Shaw, Thomas N. 754 

Shera, Isaac 848 



Shortridge, James M. 786 

Shuperd, George W. 1065 

Smalley, Reuben 701 

Smiley, Thomas K. 736 

Smiley, William 650 

Smiley, William F. 620 

Smiley, William G. 668 

Smith, William S. 564 

Spears, John W. 1024 

Stark, Randolph 891 

Stevenson, Thomas H. 644 

Stewart, Samuel H. 718 

Stott & Company, W. T. 745 

Stott, 'Richard T. 802 

Stout, Frank C. 647 

Styers, Jesse H. 836 

Styers, William G. . 1094 

T 

Talbott, Abram PI. 672 

Taylor, Albert G. 1061 

Taylor, Isaac H. 940 

Taylor, John W^ 1072 

Templeton, Charles S. 1048 

Templeton, Nelson M. 652 

Thomson, Henry 707 

Throp, James B. 808 

Throp, Wesley 810 

Thurston, Jacob L. 1141 

Townsend. Henry 1107 

Travis, Louis O. 1206 

Tremain, John \Vt 1115 

Trimble, Oscar B. 928 

Turner, Rev. James W., A. M., D. D. 969 
Turner. R.dlin A. 600 

U 

Updike, William G. 743 

Urich, Rev. John A. 720 

V 

Van Pleak, Strauther 1170 

Venner, Abram F. 1086 

W 

Waits. Isaac D. ..1068 

Walker, Elmer E. -'. 922 



BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 



WalHngford, John N. 617 

Weadon, Frank M. 926 

Weadon, George A. 1190 

Welch, Oliver F., M. D. 1192 

Welsh, Glanton G. 664 

White, Isaac W. 692 

Willey, Andrew S. 680 

Williams, Andrew 1113 

Williams, Richard A. 1178 

Willoughby, Andrew M. 566 

Wood, James M., M.D. 1083 

Wooden, Elmer E. 588 



Woodfill, William C. 622 

Woodfill, William S. 627 

Woodruff, John H. 1100 

Woodward. Charles W. 594 

Worland, Charles W. 896 

Wright, Caleb S. 1148 

Wright, Londa 791 

Wright. Wilbur B. 1168 

Wynkoop, Isaac N. 1092 

Z 
Zoller, Charles 583 



HISTORICAL 



CHAPTER I. 



RELATED STATE HISTORY. 



The first white men to set foot upon the Northwest Territory were 
J'rench traders and missionaries under the leadership of La Salle. This was 
about the year 1670 and subsequent discoveries and explorations in this 
region by the French' gave that nation practically undisputed possession of 
all the territory organized in 1787 as the Northwest Territory. It is true 
that the English colonies of Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts claimed 
that their charters extended their grants westward to the Mississippi river. 
However, Erance claimed this territory and successfully maintained posses- 
sion of it until the close of the Erench and Indian War in 1763. At that 
time the treaty of Paris transferred all of the French claims east of the 
Mississippi river to England, as well as all claims of France to territory on 
the mainland of North America. For the next twenty years the Northwest 
Territory was under the undisputed control of England, but became a part 
of the United States by the treaty which terminated the Revolutionary War 
in 1783. Thus the flags of three nations have floated over the territory now 
comprehended within the present state of Indiana — the tri-color of France, 
the union jack of England and the stars and stripes of the United States. 

History will record the fact that there was another nation, however, 
which claimed possession of this territory and, while the Indians can hardly 
be called a nation, yet they made a gallant fight to retain their hunting 
grounds. The real owners of this territory struggled against heavy odds 
to maintain their supremacy and it was not until the battle of Tippecanoe, in 
the fall of iSii, that the Indians gave up the unequal struggle. Tecumseh, 
the Washington of his race, fought fiercely to save this territory for his 
people, but the white man finally overwhelmed him, and "Lo, the poor Indian" 
was pushed westward across the Mississippi. The history of the Northwest 

(3) 



34 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



Territory is full of the bitter fights which tlie Indians waged in trying to drive 
the Avhite man out and the defeat which the Indians inflicted on general 
St. Clair on November 4, 1792, will go down in the annals of American 
history as the worst defeat \\hich an American army ever suffered at the 
hands of the Indians. The greatest battle which has ever been fought in the 
United States against the Indians occurred in the state of Ohio. This was 
the battle of Fallen Timbers and occurred August 20, 1794, the scene of 
the battle being within the present county of Defiance. After the close 
of the Revolutionar}- War the Indians, urged on by the British, caused the 
settlers in the Northwest Territory continued trouble and defeated every de- 
tachment sent against them previous to their defeat b}- Gen. Anthony \Vayne 
at the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Although there was some trouble 
w itli the Indians after this time, they never offered serious resistance after 
this memorable defeat until the fall of 181 1. when Gen. William Henry Har- 
rison completely routed them at the battle of Tippecanoe. 

TERRITORY NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO (167O-I754). 

Ohio was the first state created out of the old Northwest Territory, 
although Indiana had been previously organized as a territory. When the 
land comprehended within the Northwest Territory was discovered by the 
French under La Salle about 1670, it was a battle ground of various Indian 
triljes. although tlie Fries, who were located along the shores of Lake Erie, 
were the only ones with a more or less definite territory. From 1670 to 
1763, the close of the French and Indian War, the French were in pos.session 
of this territory and established their claims in a positive manner by exten- 
sive exploration and scattered settlements. The chief centers of French 
settlement were at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Fort Crevecour 
and at se\-eral missionary stations around the shores of the great lakes. The 
French did not succeed in doing this without incurring the hostility of the 
Iroquois Indians, a bitter enmity w'hich was brought about chieflv because 
the French helped the Shawnees, Wyandots and Miamis to dri\-e the Iroquois 
out of the territory west of the Muskingum river in Ohio. 

It must not be forgotten that the English also laid claim to the North- 
west Territory, basing their claim on the discoveries of the Cabots and the 
subsequent charters of Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut. These 
charters extended the limits of these three colonies westward to the Pacific 
ocean, although, as a matter of fact, none of the three colonies made a settle- 
ment west of the Alleghanies until after the Revolutionary War. New York 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 35 

sought to Strengthen her claim to territory west of the Alleghanies in 1701, 
by getting from the Iroquois, the bitter enemies of the French, a grant to the 
territory from which the French and their Indian aUies had previously ex- 
pelled them. Although this grant was renewed in 1726 and again confirmed 
in 1744, it gave New York only a nominal claim and one which was never 
recognized by the French in any way. 

English traders from Pennsylvania and Virginia began in 1730 to pay 
more attention to the claims of their country west of the Alleghanies and 
north of the Ohio river. When their activities reached the ears of the French 
the governor of French Canada sent Celeron de Bienville up and down the 
Ohio and the rivers and streams running into it from the north and took 
formal possession of the territory by planting lead plates at the mouth of 
e\'ery river and stream of any importance. This peculiar method of the 
French in seeking to establish their claims occurred in the year 1749 and 
opened the eyes of England to the necessity of taking some immediate action. 
George II, the king of England at the time, at once granted a charter for the 
first Ohio Company (there were two others by the same name later organ- 
ized), composed of London merchants and enterprising Virginians, and the 
company at once proceeded to formulate plans to secure possession of the ter- 
ritory north of the Ohio and west of the INIississippi. Christopher Gist was 
sent down the Ohio river in 1750 to explore the country as far west as the 
mouth of the Scioto river, and made several treaties with the Indians. Things 
were now rapidly approaching a crisis and it was soon evident that there 
would be a struggle of arms between England and France for the disputed 
region. In 1754 the English started to build a fort at the confluence of the 
Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, on the site of the present city of Pitts- 
burgh, but before the fort was completed the French appeared on the scene, 
drove the English awav and finished the fort which had been begun. 



'to' 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1754-63). 

The crisis had finally come. The struggle which followed between the 
two nations ultimately resulted in the expulsion of the French from the 
mainland of America as well as from the immediate territory in dispute. 
The war is known in America as the French and Indian War and in the 
history of the world as the Seven Years' War, the latter designation being 
due to the fact that it lasted that length of time. The struggle developed 
into a world-wide conflict and the two nations fought over three continents, 
America, Europe and Asia. It it not within the province of this resume of 



36 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the history of Indiana to go into the details of this memorable struggle. It is 
sufficient for the purpose at hand to state that the treaty of Paris, which 
terminated the war in 1763, left France without any of her former posses- 
sions on the mainland of America. 

PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY ( 1 763-64). 

With the English in control of America east of the Mississippi river and 
the French regime forever ended, the Indians next command the attention 
of the historian who deals with the Northwest Territory. The French were 
undoubtedly responsible for stirring up their former Indian allies and 
Pontiac's conspiracy must be credited to the influence of that nation. This 
formidable uprising was successfully overthrown by Henry Bouquet, who 
led an expedition in 1764 into the present state of Ohio and compelled the 
Wyandots, Delawares and Shawnees to sue for peace. 

NORTHV/EST TERRITORY AND QUEBEC ACT. 

From 1764 to 1774, no events of particular importance occurred within 
the territory north of the Ohio river, but in the latter year (June 22, 1774), 
England, then at the breaking point with the colonies, passed the Quebec 
act, which attached this territory to the province of Quebec for administrative 
purposes. This intensified the feeling of resentment which the colonies 
bore against their mother country and is given specific mention in their list 
of grievances which they enumerated in their Declaration of Independence. 
The Revolutionary War came on at once and this act, of course, was never 
put into execution. 

REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1775-83). 

During the War for Independence (1775-1783), the various states with 
claims to western lands agreed with the Continental Congress to surrender 
their claims to the national government. In fact, the Articles of Confedera- 
tion were not signed until all of the states had agreed to do this and Mary- 
land withheld her assent to the articles until March i, 1780, on this account. 
In accordance with this agreement New York ceded her claim to the United 
States in 1780, Virginia in 1784, Massachusetts in 1785 and Connecticut in 
1786, although the latter state excepted a one-hundred-and-twenty-mile strip 
of three million five hundred thousand acres bordering on Lake Erie. This 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 37 

strip was formally relinciuished in 1800, with the understanding that the 
United States would guarantee the titles already issued by that state. Vir- 
ginia was also allowed a reservation, known as the Virginia Military Dis- 
trict, which lay between the Little Miami and Scioto rivers, the same being 
for distribution among her Revolutionary veterans. There is one other fact 
which should be mentioned in connection with the territory north of the 
Ohio in the Revolutionary period. This was the memorable conquest of the 
territory bv Gen. George Rogers Clark. During the years 1778 and 1779, 
this redoubtable leader captured Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes and 
thereby drove the English out of the Northwest Territory. It is probable 
that this notable campaign secured this territory for the Americans and that 
without it we would not have had it included in our possessions in the treaty 
which closed the Revolutionary War. 

CAPTURE OF VINCENNES. 

One of the most interesting pages of Indiana history is concerned with 
the capture of Vincennes by Gen. George Rogers Clark in the spring of 1779. 
The expedition of this intrepid leader with its successful results marked him 
as a man of more than usual ability. Prompted by a desire to secure the 
territory northwest of the Ohio river for the Americans, he sought and ob- 
tained permission from the governor of Virginia the right to raise a body of 
troops for this purpose. Early in the spring of 1778 Clark began collecting 
his men for the proposed expedition. Within a short time he collected about 
one hundred and fifty men at Fort Pitt and floated down the Ohio to the 
falls near Jeffersonville. He picked up a few recruits at this place and in 
June floated on down the river to the mouth of the Tennessee river. His 
original intention was to make a descent on Vincennes first, but, having re- 
ceived erroneous reports as to the strength of the garrison located there, he 
decided to commence active operations at Kaskaskia. After landing his 
troops near the mouth of the Tennessee in the latter part of June, 1778, he 
marched them across southern Illinois to Kaskaskia, arriving there on the 
evening of July 4. The inhabitants were terror stricken at first, but upon 
being assured by General Clark that they were in no danger and that all he 
wanted was for them to give their support to the American cause, their fears 
were soon quieted. Being so far from the scene of the war, the French 
along the Mississippi knew little or nothing about its progress. One of the 
most important factors in establishing a friendly relation between the Amer- 
icans and the French inhabitants was the hearty willingness of Father Gibault, 



38 DECATUK COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the Catholic priest stationed at Kaskaskia, in making his people see that their 
best interests would be served by aligning themselves with the Americans. 
Father Gibault not only was of invaluable assistance to General Clark at 
Kaskaskia, but he also ofifered to make the overland trip to A'incennes and 
win over the French in that place to the American side. This he successfully 
did and returned to Kaskaskia in August with the welcome news that the 
inhabitants of Vincennes were willing to give their allegiance to the 
Americans. 

However, before Clark got his troops together for the trip to Vincennes, 
General Flamilton, the lieutenant-governor of Detroit, descended the \Vabash 
and captured Vincennes (December 15, 1778). At that time Clark had only 
two men stationed there, Leonard Helm, who was in command of the fort, 
and a private by the name of Henry. As soon as Clark heard that the British 
had captured \"incennes, he began to make plans for retaking it. The terms 
of enlistment of many of his men had expired and he had difficulty in getting 
enough of them to re-enlist to make a body large enough to make a successful 
attack. A number of young Frenchmen joined his command and finally, in 
January, 1779, Clark set out from Kaskaskia for Vincennes with one hundred 
and seventy men. This trip of one hundred sixty miles was made at a time 
when traveling overland was at its worst. The prairies were wet, the 
streams were swollen and the rivers overflowing their banks. Notwithstand- 
ing the difficulties which confronted him and his men, Clark advanced rapidlv 
as possible and by February 23, 1779, he was in front of Vincennes. Two 
days later, after considerable parleying and after the fort had suffered from 
a murderous fire from the Americans, General Hamilton agreed to surrender. 
This marked the end of British dominion in Indiana and ever since that day 
the territory now comprehended in the state has been American soil. 

VINCENNES, THE OLDEST SETTLEMENT OF INDIANA. 

Historians have never agreed as to the date of the founding of Vin- 
cennes. The local historians of that city have always claimed that the 
settlement of the town dates from 1702, although those who have examined 
all the facts and documents have come to the conclusion that 1732 comes 
nearer to being the correct date. It was in the latter year that George Wash- 
ington was born, a fact which impresses upon the reader something of the age 
of the city. Vincennes was an old town and had seen several generations 
pass away when the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was in 
Vincennes and vicinity that the best blood of the Northwest Territory was 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 39 

found at the time of the Revohitionary War. It was made the seat of justice 
of Knox county when it was organized in 1790 and consequently it is by 
many years the oldest county seat in the state. It became the first capital of 
Indiana Territory in 1800 and saw it removed to Corydon in 181 3 for the 
reason, so the Legislature said, that it was too near the outskirts of civiliza- 
tion. In this oldest city of the Mississippi valley still stands the house into 
which Governor Harrison moved in 1804, and the house in which the Terri- 
torial Legislature held its sessions in 1805 is still in an excellent state of 



'-s 



preservation. 

Today Vincennes is a thriving city of fifteen thousand, with paved 
streets, street cars, fine public buildings and public utility plants equal to any 
in the state. It is the seat of a university which dates back more than a 
century. 

FIRST SURVEYS AND EARLY SETTLERS. 

The next period in the history of the territory north of the Ohio begins 
with the passage of a congressional act (May 20, 1785), which provided for 
the present system of land surveys into townships six miles square. As soon 
as this was put into operation, settlers — and mostly Revolutionary soldiers — 
began to pour into the newly surxeyed territory. A second Ohio Company 
was organized in the spring of 1786, made up chiefly of Revolutionary 
officers and soldiers from New England, and this company proposed to estab- 
lish a state somewhere between Lake Erie and the Ohio river. At this junc- 
ture Congress realized that definite steps should be made at once for some 
kind of government over this extensive territory, a territory which now in- 
cludes the present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and 
about a third of Minnesota. Various plans were proposed in Congress and 
most of the sessions of 1786 and the first half of 1787 were consumed in 
trying to formulate a suitable form of government for the extensive terri- 
tory. The result of all these deliberations resulted in the famous Ordinance 
of 1787, which was finally passed on July 13, 1787. 

ORDINANCE OF 1 787. 

There have been many volumes written about this instrument of gov- 
ernment and to this day there is a difference of opinion as to who was its 
author. The present article can do no more than merely sketch its outline 
and set forth the main provisions. It was intended to provide only a tem- 
porary government and to serve until such a time as the population of the 



40 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

territory would warrant the creation of states with the same rights and 
privileges which the thirteen original states enjoyed. It stipulated that not 
less than three nor more than five states should ever be created out of the 
whole territory and the maximum number was finally organized, although it 
was not until 1848 that the last state, Wisconsin, was admitted to the Union. 
The third article, "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good 
government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of educa- 
tion shall forever be encouraged," has given these five states the basis for 
their excellent system of public schools, state normals, colleges and uni- 
versities. Probably the most widely discussed article was the sixth, which pro- 
vided that slavery and involuntary servitude should never be permitted within 
the territory and by the use of the word "forever" made the territory free 
for all time. It is interesting to note in this connection that both Indiana 
and Illinois before their admission to the Union sought to have this pro- 
vision set aside, but every petition from the two states was refused by Con- 
gress in accordance with the provision of the Ordinance. 

FIRST STAGE OF GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ORDINANCE. 

The ordinance contemplated two grades of territorial government. 
During the operation of the first grade of government the governor, his secre- 
tary and the three judges provided by the ordinance were to be appointed by 
Congress and the governor in turn was to appoint "such magistrates and 
other civil officers in each county and township as he shall deem necessary 
for the preservation of the peace and good will of the same." After the 
federal government was organized a statutory provision took the appoint- 
ment of these oflicers out of the hands of Congress and placed it in the hands 
of the President of the United States. All executive authority was given 
to the governor, all judicial authority to the three judges, while the governor 
and iudges, in joint session, constituted the legislative body. This means 
that during the first stage of territorial government the people had absolutely 
no voice in the affairs of government and this state of affairs lasted until 
1799, a period of twelve years. 

SECOND STAGE OF GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ORDINANCE. 

The second stage of government in the territory was to begin whenever 
the governor was satisfied that there were at least five thousand free male 
inhabitants of the age of twenty-one and above. The main difference be- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4I 

tween the first and second stages of territorial government lay in the fact 
that the legislative functions were taken from the governor and judges and 
given to a "general assembly or legislature." The ordinance provided for 
the election of one representative for each five hundred free male inhabitants, 
the tenure of the office to be two years. While the members of the lower 
house were to be elected by the qualified voters of the territory, the upper 
house, to consist of five members, were to be appointed by Congress in a 
somewhat complicated manner. The house of representatives was to select 
ten men and these ten names were to be sent to Congress and out of this 
number five were to be selected l)y Congress. This provision, like the ap- 
pointment of the governor, was later changed so as to make the upper house 
the appointees of the President of the United States. The five men so selected 
were called councilors and held office for five years. 

INDIAN STRUGGLES (1787-1803). 

The period from 1787 to 1803 in the Northwest Territory was marked 
by several bitter conflicts with the Indians. Just as at the close of the French 
and Indian War had the French stirred up the Indians against the Americans, 
so at the close of the Revolutionary War did the English do the same. In 
fact the War of 1812 was undoubtedly hastened by the depredations of the 
Indians, who were urged to make forays upon the frontier settlements in the 
Northwest Territory by the British. The various uprisings of the Indians 
during this critical period greatly retarded the influx of settlers in the new 
territory, and were a constant menace to those hardy pioneers who did ven- 
ture to establish homes north of the Ohio river. Three distinct campaigns 
were waged against the savages before they were finally subdued. The first 
campaign was under the command of Gen. Josiah Harmar (1790) and re- 
sulted in a decisive defeat for the whites. The second expedition was under 
the leadership of Gen. Arthur St. Clair (1791), the governor of the Territory, 
and was marked by one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American 
army at the hands of the Indians. A lack of knowledge of Indian methods 
of warfare, combined with reckless mismanagement, sufficiently accounts for 
both disasters. It remained for Gen. Anthony Wayne, the "Mad Anthony" 
of Revolutionary fame, to bring the Indians to terms. The battle of Fallen 
Timbers, which closed his campaign against the Indians, was fought August 
20, 1794, on the Maumee river within the present county of Defiance county, 
Ohio. This crushing defeat of the Indians, a rout in which they lost twelve 
out of thirteen chiefs, was so complete that the Indians were glad to sue for 



42 DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. 

peace. On June lo, 1795, delegates from the various Indian tribes, headed 
by their respective chiefs, met at Greenville, Ohio, to formulate a treaty. A 
treaty was finally consummated on August 3, and was signed by General 
Wayne on behalf of the United States and by ninety chiefs and delegates of 
twelve interested tribes. This treaty was faithfully kept by the Indians and 
ever afterwards Little Turtle, the real leader of the Indians at that time, 
was a true friend of the whites. While th.ere were several sporadic forays 
on the part of the Indians up to iSii, there was no battle of any importance 
with them until the liattle of Tippecanoe in the fall of 181 1. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORV. 

The first governor of the newly organized territory was Gen. Arthur 
St. Clair, a gallant soldier of the Revolution, who was appointed on October 
5, 1787, and ordered to report for duty on the first of the following February. 
He held the office until November 22, 1802, when he was dismissed by Presi- 
dent Jefferson "for the disorganizing spirit, and tendency of every example, 
violating the rules of conduct enjoined by his public station, as displayed in 
his address to the convention." The governor's duties were performed by 
his secretary, Charles W. Byrd, until March i, 1803, when the state officials 
took their office. The first judges appointed were Samuel Holden Parsons, 
James Mitchell \'arnum and John Armstrong. Before the time came for 
the judges to qualify, Armstrong resigned and John Cleves Symmes was ap- 
pointed in his place. The first secretary was Wihthrop Sargent, who held 
the position until he was appointed governor of Mississippi Territory by the 
President on May 2, 1798. Sargent was succeeded by William Henry Har- 
rison, who was appointed by the President on June 26, 1798, and confined 
by the Senate two days later. Harrison was later elected as the first dele- 
gate of the organized Northwest Territory to Congress and the President 
then appointed Charles Willing Byrd as secretary of the Territory, Byrd's 
appointment being confirmed by the Senate on December 31, 1799. 

REPRESENTATIVE ST.\GE OF GOVERNMENT (1799-1803). 

The Northwest Territory remained under the government of the first 
stage until September i6, 1799, when it formally advanced to the second or 
representative stage. In the summer of 1798 Governor St. Clair had ascer- 
tained that the territory had a population of at least five thousand free male 
inhabitants and, in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance of 1787, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 43 

was ready to make the change in its form of government. On October 29, 
1798, the governor issued a proclamation to the quaHiied voters of the terri- 
tory directing them to choose members for the lower house of the territorial 
Legislature at an election to be held on the third Monday of the following 
December. The twenty-two members so elected met on January 16, 1799, 
and, pursuant to the provisions of the ordinance, selected the ten men from 
whom the President of the United States later chose five for the Legislative 
Council. They then adjourned to meet on September 16, 1799, but since 
there was not a quorum on that day they held adjourned sessions until the 
23rd, at which time a quorum was present. 

At the time the change in the form of government went into effect there 
were only nine counties in the whole territory. These counties had been 
organized either by the governor or his secretary. The following table gives 
the nine counties organized before 1799 with the dates of their organization 
and the number of legislators proportioned to each by the governor: 

Date of Number of 

County. Organization. representatives. 

Washington July 27, 1788 2 

Hamilton January 4, 1790 7 

St. Clair April 27, 1790 ^ i 

Knox June 20, 1790 i 

Randolph October 5, 1795 i 

Wayne August 6, 1796 3 

Adams July 10, 1797 2 

Jefferson July 29, 1797 i 

Ross August 20, 1798 4 

FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

The twenty-two representatives and five councilors were the first rep- 
resentative body to meet in the Northwest Territory and they represented a 
constituency scattered over a territory of more than two hundred and sixty- 
five thousand square miles, an area greater than Germany or France, or even 
Austria-Hungary. It would be interesting to tell something of the delibera- 
tions of these twenty-seven sterling pioneers, but the limit of the present 
article forbids. It is necessary, however, to make mention of one important 
thing which they did in view of the fact that it throws much light on the 
subsequent history of the Northwest Territory. 



44 DECATUR COUXTV, INDIANA. 

DIVISION OF ISOO. 

The Legislature was authorized to elect a delegate to Congress and two 
candidates for the honor presented their names to the Legislature, William 
Henry Harrison and Arthur St. Clair, Jr., the son of the governor. The 
Legislature, by a joint ballot on October 3, 1799, elected Harrison by a vote 
of eleven to ten. The defeat of his son undoubtedly had considerable to do 
with the subsequent estrangement which arose between the governor and his 
legislature and incidentally hastened the division of the Northwest Terri- 
tory. Within two years from the time the territory had advanced to the 
second stage of government the division had taken place. On May 7, 1800, 
Congress passed an act dividing the Northwest Territory by a line drawn 
from the mouth of the Kentucky river to Fort Recovery, in Mercer county, 
Ohio, and thence due north to the boundary line between the United States 
and Canada. Governor St. Clair favored the division because he thought it 
would delay the organization of a state and thus give him a longer lease on 
his position, but he did not favor the division as finally determined. He was 
constantly growing in disfavor with the people on account of his overbearing 
manner and he felt that he would get rid of some of his bitterest enemies if 
the western inhabitants were set off into a new territory. However, the 
most of the credit for the division must be given to Harrison, who, as a dele- 
gate to Congress, was in a position to have the most influence. Harrison also 
was satisfied that in case a new territory should be formed he would be ap- 
pointed its first governor and he was not disappointed. The territory west 
of the line abo\-e mentioned was immediately organized and designated as 
Indiana Territory, while the eastern portion retained the existing govern- 
ment and the old name — Northwest Territory. It is frequently overlooked 
that the Northwest Territory existed in fact and in name up until March i 
1803. 

CENSUS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY IN 180O. 

The division of iSoo left the Northwest Territory with only about one- 
third of its original area. The census of the territory taken by the United 
States government in iSoo showed it to have a total population of forty-five 
thousand three hundred and sixty-five, which fell short by about fifteen thou- 
sand of being sufficient for the creation of a state as provided by the Ordi- 
nance of 1787, which fixed the minimum population at sixty-thousand. The 
counties left in the Northwest Territory, with their respective population. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4^ 

are set forth in the appended table, all of which were within the present state 
of Ohio, except Wayne: 

Adams 0.432 

Hamilton 14.632 

Jefferson 8,766 

Ross 8,540 

Trumbull 1,302 

Washington 5.427 

Wayne 3,206 

Total 45,365 



The population as classified by the census with respect to age and sex is 
interesting and particularly so in showing that considerably more than one- 
third of the total population were children under ten years of age. 



Males. Females. 

Whites up to ten years of age 9,362 8,644 

Whites from ten to sixteen 3,647 3.353 

Whites from sixteen to twenty-six 4,636 3,861 

Whites from twenty-six to forty-five__ 4,833 3,342 

Whites forty-five and upward i,955 i>395 

Total 24,433 20,595 

Total of both sexes 45,028 

Total of other persons, not Indians 2)2>7 



Grand total 45,36 



.^ 



The above table shows in detail the character and distribution of the 
population of the Northwest Territory after the division of 1800. It is at 
this point that the history of Indiana properly begins and it is pertinent to set 
forth with as much detail as possible the population of Indiana Territory at 
that time. The population of 5,641 was grouped about a dozen or more 
settlements scattered at wide intervals throughout the territory. The follow- 
ing table gives the settlements in Indiana Territory in 1800 with their re- 
spective number of inhabitants: 



46 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mackinaw, in nortliern Michigan 251 

Green Bay, Wisconsin 50 

Prairie dii Chien, Wisconsin 65 

Cahokia, Monroe county, Illinois 719 

Belle Fontaine, Monroe count}', Illinois 28'6 

L'Aigle, St. Clair county, Illinois 250 

Kaskaskia, Randolph county, Illinois 467 

Prairie du Rocher, Randolph county, Illinois 212 

Settlement in Mitchel township, Randolph county, 111 334 

Fort Massac, southern Illinois 90 

Clark's Grant, Clark county, Indiana 929 

Vincennes, Knox county, Indiana 714 

Vicinity of \'incennes (traders and trappers) 819 

Traders and trappers at Ouitenon and Fort Wa^-ne 155 

Fur traders, scattered along the lakes 300 

Of this total population of nearly six thousand, it was about equally 
divided between what is now Indiana and Illinois. There w-ere one hun- 
dred and sixty-three free negroes reported, -while there were one hundred and 
thirty-five slaves of color. Undoubtedly, this census of 1800 failed to give 
all of the slave population, and it is interesting to note that there were efforts 
to ensla\e the Indian as well as the negro. 

All of these settlements with the exception of the one in Clark's Grant 
were largely French. The settlement at Jeffersonville was made in large 
part by soldiers of the Re\-olutionary War and w-as the only real American 
settlement in the Indiana Territory when it was organized in 1800. 

FIR.ST ST.\GE OF TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT. 

The government of Indiana Territory was formally organized July 4, 
1800, and in a large book kept in the secretary of state's office at Indianapolis, 
there appears in the large legible hand of John Gibson the account of the first 
meeting of the officials of the Territory. It reads as follows : 

"St. Vincennes, July 4, 1800. This day the government of the Indiana 
Territory commenced, William Henry Harrison having been appointed 
governor, John Gibson, secretary, ^Villiam Clarke, Henry Vanderburgh & 
John Griffin Judges in and over said Territorv." 

Until Governor Harrison appeared at \'incennes. his secretary, John 
Gibson, acted as governor. The first territorial court met March 3, i8or, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 47 

the first meeting of the go\'crnor and judges having begun on the 12th of the 
preceding January. Tlie governor and judges, in accordance with the pro- 
visions of the Ordinance of 1787, continued to perform all legislative and 
judicial functions of the territory until it was ad\'anced to the representative 
stage of govern.nient in 1805. The governor had sole executive power and 
appointed all officials, territorial and county. 

CHANGES IN BOUNDARY LIMITS OF INDIANA, 

During this period from 1800 to 1805, the territory of Indiana was con- 
siderably augmented as result of the organization of the state of Ohio in 
1S03. At that date Ohio was given its present territorial limits, and all of 
the rest of the Northwest Territory was included within Indiana Territory 
from this date until 1805. During this interim Louisiana was divided and 
the northern part was attached to Indiana Territory for purposes of civil and 
criminal jurisdiction. This was, however, only a temporary arrangement, 
which lasted only about a year after the purchase of Louisiana from France. 
The ne.xt change in the limits of Indiana Territory occurred in 1805, in 
which year the territory of Michigan was set of¥. The southern line of 
!\iichigan was made tangent to the southern extreme of Lake Michigan, and 
it so remained until Indiana was admitted to the Union in 181 6. From 1805 
to 1809 Indiana included all of the present states of Indiana, Illinois, Wiscon- 
sin and about one-third of Minnesota. In the latter year Illinois was set off 
as a territorv and Indiana was left with its present limits with the exception 
of a ten-mile strip along the northern boundary. This strip was detached 
from Michigan and this subsequently led to friction between the two states, 
which was not settled until the United States government gave ■Michigan a 
large tract of land west of Lake Michigan. Thus it is seen how Indiana has 
received its present boundary limits as the result of the successive changes 
in 1803, 1805, 1809 and 1816. 

SECOND STAGE OF TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT (1805-1S16.) 

The Ordinance of 1787 provided that whenever the population of the 
territory reached five thousand free male inhabitants it should pass upon the 
question of advancing to the second or representative stage. Governor Har- 
rison issued a proclamation August 4, 1804, directing an election to be held 
in the various counties of Indiana territory on the nth of the following 
month. In the entire territorv, then comprehending six counties, there were 



48 DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. 

ciiil\- tliree liundred and ninety-one \-otes cast. The following table gives 
the result of this election: 

Count}". For Ad\ance. Against Advance. Total. 

Clark 35 13 48 

Dearborn o 26 26 

Kno.x 163 12 175 

Randolph 40 21 61 

St. Clair 22 59 81 

W'ayne 000 

Total 260 131 391 

It will be noticed that there is no vote returned from Wayne and this is 
accounted for by the fact that the proclamation notifying the sheriff was not 
received in time to give it the proper advertisement. Wayne county at that 
time included practically all of the present state of Michigan and is not to 
be confused with the Wayne county later formed within the present limits of 
Indiana. As result of this election and its majority of one hundred and 
twenty-nine in favor of advancing to the second stage of government, the 
governor issued a proclamation calling for an election on January 3, 1805, of 
nine representatives, the same being proportioned to the counties as follows : 
Wayne, three ; Knox, two ; Dearborn, Clark, Randolph and St. Clair, one 
each. The members of the first territorial legislature of Indiana convened 
at Vinccnnes on July 29, 1805. The members of the house were as follows: 
Dr. George Fisher, of Randolph; William Biggs and Shadrach Bond, of St. 
Clair; Benjamin Parke and John Johnson, of Knox; Davis Floyd, of Clark, 
and Jesse B. Thomas, of Dearborn. This gives, however, only seven repre- 
sentatives, Wayne county having been set off as the territory of Michigan 
in the spring of this same year. A re-apportionment was made by the 
governor in order to bring the quota of representatives up to the required 
number. 

The Legislative Council consisted of five men as provided by the Ordin- 
ance of 1787, namely: Benjamin Chambers, of Dearborn; Samuel Gwath- 
mey, of Clark; John Rice Jones, of Knox; Pierre Menard, of Randolph, and 
John Hay, of St. Clair. It is not possible in this connection to give a detailed 
history of the territory of Indiana from 1805 until its admission to the Union 
in 18 1 6. Readers who wish to make a study of our state's history can find 
volumes which will treat the historv of the state in a much better manner 



b 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ^Q 

than is possible in a volume of this character. It may be noted that there 
were five general assemblies of the Territorial Legislature during this period 
of eleven years. Each one of the five general assemblies was divided into 
two sessions, which, with the dates, are given in the appended table : 

First General Assembly — First session, July 29, 1805; second session, 
November 3, 1806. 

Second General Assembly — First session, August 12, 1807: second 
session, September 26, 1808. 

Third General Assembly — First session, November 12, 1810; second 
session, November 12, 181 1. 

Fourth General Assembly — First session, February i, 1813: second 
session, December 6, 1813. 

Fifth General Assembly — First session, August 15, 1814; second session, 
December 4, 1815. 

CONGRE.SSIONAL DELEG.ATES OF INDIANA TERRITORY. 

Indiana Territory was allowed a delegate in Congress from 1805 until 
the close of the territorial period. The first three delegates were elected by 
the Territorial Legislature, while the last four were elected by the qualified 
voters of the territory. The first delegate was Benjamin Parke, who was 
elected to succeed himself in 1807 over John Rice Jones, Waller Taylor and 
Shadrach Bond. Parke resigned March i, 1808, to accept a seat on the 
supreme judiciary of Indiana Territory, and remained on the supreme bench 
of Indiana after it was admitted to the Union, holding the position until his 
death at Salem, Indiana, July 12, 1835. Jesse B. Thomas was elected Octo- 
ber 22, 1808, to succeed Parke as delegate to Congress. It is this same 
Thomas who came to Brookville in 1808 with Amos Butler. He was a 
tricky, shifty, and, so his enemies said, an unscrupulous politician. He was 
later elected to Congress in Illinois and became the author of the Missouri 
Compromise. In the spring of 1809 the inhabitants of the territory were 
permitted to cast their first vote for the delegate to Congress. Three candi- 
dates presented themselves for the consideration of the voters, Jonathan 
Jennings, Thomas Randolph and John Johnson. There were only four 
counties in the state at this time, Knox, Harrison, Clark and Dearborn. Two 
counties, St. Clair and Randolph, were a part of the new territory of Illinois, 
which was cut of¥ from Indiana in the spring of 1809. The one newspaper 
of the territory waged a losing fight against Jennings, the latter appealing for 
(4) ' ^ 



50 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

support on the ground of his anti-slavery views. The result of the election 
was as follows: Jennings, 428; Randolph, 402; Johnson, 81. Jonathan 
Jennings may be said to be the first successful politician produced in Indiana. 
His congressional career began in 1809 and he was elected to Congress four 
successive terms before 1816. He was president of the constitution conven- 
tion o"f 1816, first governor of the state and was elected a second time, but 
resigned to go to Congress, where he was sent for four more terms by the 
voters of his district. 

EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH SLAVERY IN INDIANA. 

The Ordinance of 1787 specifically provided that neither slavery nor any 
voluntary servitude should ever exist in the Northwest Territory. Notwith- 
standing this prohibition, slavery actually did exist, not only in the North- 
west Territory, but in the sixteen years while Indiana was a territory as well. 
The constitution of Indiana in 1S16 expressl}' forbade slavery and yet the 
census of 1820 reported one hundred and ninety slaves in Indiana, which 
was only forty-seven less than there was in 1810. Most of these slaves were 
held in the southwestern counties of the state, there being one hundred and 
eighteen in Knox, thirty in Gibson, eleven in Posey, ten in Vanderburg and 
the remainder widely scattered throughout the state. As late as 18 17 Frank- 
lin county scheduled slaves for taxation, listing them at three dollars each. 
The tax schedule for 1813 says that the property tax on "horses, town lots, 
servants of color and free males of color shall be the same as in 1814." 
Franklin county did not return slaves at the census of 1810 or 1820, but the 
above extract from the commissioners' record of Franklin county proved con- 
clusively that slaves were held there. Congress was petitioned on more 
than one occasion during the territorial period to set aside the prohibition 
against slavery, but on each occasion refused to assent to the appeal of the 
slavery advocates. While the constitution convention of 181 6 was in session, 
there was an attempt made to introduce slavery, but it failed to accomplish 
anything. 

THE INDIAN L.\NDS. 

The United States government bought from the Indians all of the land 
within the present state of Indiana with the exception of a small tract around 
Vincennes, which was given by the Indians to the inhabitants of the town 
about the middle of the eighteenth century. The first purchase of land was 
made in 1795, at which time a triangular strip in the southeastern part of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



51 



State was secured by the treaty of Greenville. By the time Indiana was ad- 
mitted to the Union in 1S16, the following tracts had been purchased: Vin- 
cennes tract, June 7, 1803; Vincennes treaty tract, August 18 and 27, 1804; 
Grouseland tract, August 21, 1805; Harrison's purchase, September 30, 1809; 
Twelve-mile purchase, September 30, 1809. 

No more purchases were made from the Indians until the fall of 1818, 
at which time a large tract of land in the central part of i.ne state was pur- 
chased from the Indians. This tract included all of the land north of the 
Indian boundary lines of 1805 and 1809, and south of the Wabash river with 
the exception of what was known as the Miami reservation. This treaty, 
known as St. Mary's, was finally signed on October 6, 1818, and the next 
Legislature proceeded to divide it into two counties, Wabash and Delaware. 

ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES. 



As fast as the population would warrant, new counties were established 
in this New Purchase and Hamilton county was the tenth to be so organized. 
This county was created by the legislative act of January 8, 1823, and began 
its formal career as an independent county on the 7th of the following April. 
For purposes of reference, a list of the counties organized up until 1823, 
when Hamilton county was established, is here appended. The dates given 
represent the time when the organization of the county became effective, since 
in many instances it was from a few months to as much as seven years after 
the act establishing the county was passed before it became effective. 



I 
2 

3 
4 

5' 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
II 
12 

13 
14 



Knox JtJne 

Clark Feb. 

Dearborn Mch. 

Harrison Dec. 

Jefferson Feb. 

Franklin Feb. 

Wayne Feb. 

Warrick Apr. 

Gibson Apr. 

Washington Jan. 

Switzerland Oct. 

Posey Nov. 

Perry Nov. 

Jackson Jan. 



20, 


1790 


15- 


3. 


1 801 


16. 


7. 


1803 


17- 




1808 


18. 




I8II 


19. 




I8II 


20. 




I8II 


21. 




I8I3 


22. 




I8I3 


23- 


17. 


I8I4 


24- 




I8I4 


25- 




I8I4 


26. 




I8I4 


27. 




I8I6 


28. 



Orange Feb. i, 1816 

Sullivan Jan. 15, 1817 

Jennings Feb. i, 1817 

Pike Feb. i, 1817 

Daviess Feb. 15, 1817 

Dubois Feb. i, 1818 

Spencer Feb. i, 1818 

Vanderburgh Feb. i, 181 8 

Vigo Feb. 15, 1818 

Crawford Mch. i, 1818 

Lawrence Mch. i, 1818 

Monroe Apr. 10, 1818 

Ripley Apr. 10, 1818 

Randolph Aug. 10, 1818 



52 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

29. Owen Jan. i, 1819 38. Morgan Feb. 15, 1822 

30. Fayette Jan. i, 1819 39. Decatur Mch. 4, 1822 

31. Floyd Feb. 2, 1819 40. Shelby Apr. i, 1822 

32. Scott Feb. I, 1820 41. Rush Apr. i, 1822 

33. Martin Feb. i, 1820 42. Marion -^ Apr. i, 1822 

34. Union Feb. i, 1821 43. Putnam Apr. i, 1822 

35. Greene Feb. 5, 1821 44. Henry June i, 1822 

36. Bartholomew Feb. 12, 1821 45. Montgomery Mch. i, 1823 

37. Parke Apr. 2, 1821 46. Hamilton Apr. 7, 1823 

The first thirteen counties in the above list were all that were organized 
when the territory of Indiana petitioned Congress for an enabling act in 1815. 
They were in the southern part of the state and had a total population of 
sixty-three thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven. At that time the total 
state tax was only about five thousand dollars, while the assessment of the 
whole state in 18 16 amounted to only six thousand forty-three dollars and 
thirty-six cents. 

CHANGES IN THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIANA. 

The Constitution of 1816 was framed by forty-three delegates who met 
at Corydon from June 10 to June 29 of that year. It was provided in the 
Constitution of 1816 that a vote might be taken every twelve years on the 
question of amending, revising or writing a wholly new instrument of gov- 
ernment. Although several efforts were made to hold constitution conven- 
tions between 1816 and 1850, the vote failed each time until 1848. Elections 
were held in 1823, 1S28, 1840 and 1846, but each time there was returned 
an adverse vote against the calling of a constitutional convention. There were 
no amendments to the 1816 Constitution, although the revision of 1824, by 
Benjamin Parke and others was so thorough that it was said that the revision 
committee had done as much as a constitution convention could have done. 

It was not until 1848 that a successful vote on the question of calling a 
constitution convention was carried. There were many reasons which in- 
duced the people of the state to favor a convention. Among these may be 
mentioned the following: The old Constitution provided that all the state 
officers except the governor and lieutenant-governor should be elected by the 
legislature. Many of the county and township officers were appointed by 
the county commissioners. Again, the old Constitution attempted to handle 
too many matters of local concern. All divorces from 181 6 to 1851 were 



t> 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 53 

granted by the Legislature. Special laws were passed which would apply to 
particular counties and even to particular townships in the county. If Nobles- 
ville wanted an alley vacated or a street closed, it had to appeal to the Legis- 
lature for permission to do so. If a man wanted to ferry people across a 
stream in Posey county, his representative presented a bill to the Legislature 
asking that the proposed ferryman be given permission to ferry people across 
the stream. The agitation for free schools attracted the support of the edu- 
cated people of the state, and most of the newspapers were outspoken in their 
advocacy of better educational privileges. The desire for better schools, for 
freer representation in the selection of officials, for less interference by the 
Legislature in local affairs, led to a desire on the part of majority of the 
people of the state for a new Constitution. 

The second constitutional convention of Indiana met at Indianapolis, 
October 7, iS'50, and continued in session for four months. The one hun- 
dred and fifty delegates labored faithfully to give the state a Constitution 
fully abreast of the times and in accordance with the best ideas of the day. 
More power was given the people by allowing them to select not only all of 
the state officials, but also their county officers as well. The convention of 
1850 took a decided stand against the negro and proposed a referendum on 
the c|uestion of prohibiting the further emigration of negroes into the state 
of Indiana. The subsequent vote on this cpiestion showed that the people 
were not disposed to tolerate the colored race. As a matter of fact no negro 
or mulatto could legally come into Indiana from 1852 until 1881, when the 
restriction was removed by an amendment of the Constitution. Another 
important feature of the new Constitution was the provision for free schools. 
What we now know as a public school supported at the expense of the state, 
was unknown under the 1816 Constitution. The new Constitution estab- 
lished a system of free public schools, and subsequent statutory legislation 
strengthened the constitutional provision so that the state now ranks among 
the leaders in educational matters throughout the nation. The people of the 
state had voted on the question of free schools in 1848 and had decided that 
thev should be established, but there was such a strong majority opposed to 
free schools that nothing was done. Orange county gave only an eight per 
cent vote in favor of free schools, while Putnam and Monroe, containing 
DePauw and Indiana Universities, respectively, voted adversely by large 
majorities. But, with the backing of the Constitution, the advocates of free 
schools began to push the fight for their establishment, and as a result of the 
legislative acts of 1855, 1857 and 1867, the public schools were placed upon 
a sound basis. 



54 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Such in brief were the most important features of the 1832 Constitution, 
It has remained substantially to this day as it was written sixty-five years 
ago. It is true there have been some amendments, but the changes of 1878 
and 1 88 1 did not alter the Constitution in any important particular. There 
was no concerted effort toward calling a constitutional convention until the 
Legislature of 19 13 provided for a referendum on the question at the polls, 
November 4, 19 14. Despite the fact that all the political parites had de- 
clared in favor of a constitutional convention in their platforms, the question 
was voted down by a large majority. An effort was made to have the ques- 
tion submitted by the Legislature of 191 5, but the Legislature refused to 
submit the question to the voters of the state. 

CAPITALS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY AND INDIANA. 

The present state of Indiana was comprehended within the Northwest 
Territory from 1787 to 1800, and during that time the capital was located 
within the present state of Ohio. When the Ordinance of 1787 was put in 
operation on July 17, 1788, the capital was established at Marietta, the name 
being chosen by the directors of the Ohio Company on July 2, of the same 
year. The name Marietta was selected in honor of the French Queen, Marie 
Antoinette, compounded by curious combination of the first and last syllables 
of her name. 

When Indiana was set off by the act of May 7, iSoo, the same act 
located the capital at Vincennes where it remained for nearly thirteen years. 
The old building in which the Territorial Assembly first met in 1805 is still 
standing in Vincennes. In the spring of 1813 the capital of the territory 
was removed to Corydon and it was in that quaint little village that Indiana 
began its career as a state. It remained there until November, 1824, when 
Samuel Merrill loaded up all of the state's effects in three large wagons and 
hauled them overland to the new capital — Indianapolis. Indianapolis had 
been chosen as the seat of government by a committee of ten men, appointed 
in 1820 by the Legislature. It was not until 1824, however, that a building 
was erected in the new capital which would accommodate the state officials 
and the General Assembly. The first court house in Marion county was built 
on the site of the present building, and was erected with a view of utilizing 
it as a state house until a suitable capitol building could be erected. The state 
continued to use the Marion county court house until 1835, by which time an 
imposing state house had been erected. This building was in use until 1877, 
when it was razed to make way for the present beautiful building. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 55 

MILITARY HISTORY. 

Indiana has had some of its citizens in four wars in which United States 
has engaged since iSoo: The War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil 
War, and the Spanish-American War. One of the most important engage- 
ments ever fought against the Indians in the United States was that of the 
battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, iSii. For the two or three years pre- 
ceding, Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, had been getting the Indians 
ready for an insurrection. Tecumseh made a long trip throughout the west- 
ern and soutliern part of the United States for the purpose of getting the 
Indians all over the country to rise up and drive out the white man. While 
he was still in the South, Governor Harrison descended upon the Indians at 
Tippecanoe and dealt them a blow from which they never recovered. The 
British had been urging the Indians to rise up against the settlers along the 
frontier, and the repeated depredations of the savages but increased the hos- 
tility of the United States toward England. General Harrison had about 
seven hundred fighting men, while the Indians numbered over a thousand. 
The Americans lost thirty-seven by death on the battlefield, twenty-five mor- 
tally wounded and one hundred and twenty-six more or less seriously 
wounded. The savages carried most of their dead away, but it is known that 
about forty were actually killed in the battle and a proportionately large num- 
ber wounded. In addition to the men who fought at Tippecanoe, the pio- 
neers of the territory sent their quota to the front during the War of 1812. 
Unfortunately, records are not available to show the enlistments by counties. 

During the administration of Governor Whitcomb (1846-49) the United 
States was engaged in a war with Mexico. Indiana contributed five regi- 
ments to the government during this struggle, and her troops performed with 
a spirit of singular promptness and patriotism during all the time they were 
at the front. 

No Northern state had a more patriotic governor during the Civil War 
than Indiana, and had every governor in the North done his duty as conscien- 
tiously as did Governor Morton that terrible struggle would undoubtedly 
have been materially shortened. When President Lincoln issued his call on 
April 15. "1861. for 75,000 volunteers, Indiana was asked to furnish 4,683 
men as its quota. A week later there were no less than 12,000 volunteers 
at Camp Morton at Indianapolis. This loyal uprising was a tribute to the 
patriotism of the people, and accounts for the fact that Indiana sent more 
than 200,000 men to the front during the war. Indiana furnished prac- 
tically seventy-five per cent of its total population capable of bearing arms, 



[j6 DECATL'R COL'XTV. IXDIAXA. 

and on this basis Delaware was the only state in the Union which exceeded 
Indiana. Of the troops sent from Indiana, 7,243 w^ere killed or mortally 
wounded, and 19,429 died from other causes, making a total death loss of 
over thirteen per cent for all the troops furnished. 

During the summer of 1863 Iniliana \vas thrown into a frenzy of excite- 
ment when it was learned that General Morgan had crossed the Ohio with 
2,000 cavalryn.icn under his command. Probably Indiana never experienced 
a more exciting month than July of th.at year. Morgan entered the state in 
Harrison countv and ad\anced northward through Corydon to Salem in 
Washington county. As his men went along they robbed orchards, looted 
farm houses, stole all llic horses which they could find and burned consider- 
able property. From Salem. Morgan turned with his men to the east, having 
been deterred from his threatened advance on Indianapolis by the knowledge 
that the local militia of the state would soon be too strong for him. He hur- 
ried with his men toward the Ohio line, stopping at Versailles long enough 
to loot the county treasury. Morgan passed through Dearborn county over 
into Ohio, near Harrison, and a few days later, Morgan and most of his band 
were captured. 

During the latter part of the war there was considerable opposition to 
its prosecution on the part of tlie Democrats of this state. An organization 
known as the Knights of the Golden Circle at first, and later as the Sons of 
Liberty, was instrumental in stirring up much trouble throughout the state. 
Probably historians will never be able to agree as to the degree of their 
culpability in thwarting the go\'ernment authorities in the conduct of the war. 
That they did many o\ert acts cannot be questioned and that they collected 
fire arms for traitorous designs cannot be denied. Governor Morton and 
General Carringlon, by a system of close espionage, were able to know at all 
times just what w^as transpiring in the councils of these orders. In the cam- 
paign of 1864 there was an open denunciation through the Republican press 
of the Sons of Liberty. On October 8 of that year the Republican news- 
papers carried these startling headlines : "You can reliuke this treason. The 
traitors intend to bring war to your home. Meet them at the ballot box 
while Grant and Sherman meet them on the battle field." A number of the 
leaders were arrested, convicted in a military court and sentenced to be shot. 
H(iwe\er, they were later pardoned. 

Th.e S])anish-.American War of 1898 has been the last one in which 
troops from Indiana have borne a jjart. W^hen President McKinley issued 
his call for 75,000 volunteers on April 25. 1898, Indiana was called upon to 
furnish three regiments, ^^'ar was ofticially declared A]iril 2^. and formally 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. zy 

came to an end by th.e signing of a protocol on August 12 of the same year. 
The main engagements of importance were the- sea battles of Manila and 
Santiago and the land engagements of El Caney and San Juan Hill. .Ac- 
cording to the treaty of Paris, signed December 12, 1898, Spain relini|uished 
her so\-ereignty over Cuba, ceded to the United States Porto Rico and her 
other West India Island pos.sessions, as well as the island of Guam in the 
Pacific. Spain also transferred her rights in the Philippines for the sum of 
twenty million dollars paid to her for public work and impro\cmcnts con- 
structed by the Spanish government. 

POLITICAL HISTORY. 

It is not possible to trace in detail the political history of Indiana for the 
past century and in this connection an attempt is made onlv to survev brietlv 
the political history of the state. For more than half a century Indiana has 
been known as a pivotal state in politics. In 1816 there was only nno. political 
party and Jennings, Noble, Taylor, Hendricks and all of the politicians of 
that day were grouped into this one — the Democratic party. Whatever 
differences in views they might have had were due to local issues and not to 
any questions of national portent. Questions concerning the improvements 
of ri\-ers, the building of canals, the removal of court houses and similar 
questions of state importance only divided the politicians in the early history 
of Indiana into groups. There was one group known as the White Water 
faction, another called the Vincennes crowd, and still another designated as 
the White ri\er delegation. From 1S16 until as late as 1832, Indiana was 
the scene of personal politics, and during the years Adams, Clay and Jackson 
were candidates for the presidency on the same ticket, men were known 
politically as Adams men. Clay men or Jackson men. The election returns 
in the twenties and thirties disclose no tickets labeled Democrat, Whig or 
Republican, but the words "Adams," "Clay," or Jackson." 

The question of internal improvements which arose in the Legislature 
of 1836 was a large contributing factor in the di\-ision of the politicians of 
the state. The \Vhig party may be dated from 1832, although it was not 
until four years later that it came into national prominence. The Democrats 
elected the state officials, including the governor, down to i8'3i, but in that 
year the opposition party, later called the Whigs, elected Noah Noble 
governor. For the next twelve years the Whigs, with their cry of internal 
improvements, controlled the state. The Whigs went out of power with 
Samuel Bigger in 1843, and when they came into power again they appeared 



S8 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



under the name of Republicans in 1861. Since the Civil War the two parties 
have practically divided the leadership between them, there having been seven 
Republicans and six Democrats elected governor of the state. The following 
table gives a list of the governors of the Northwest Territory, Indiana Terri- 
tory and the state of Indiana. The Federalists were in control up to 1800 
and Harrison and his followers may be classed as Democratic-Republicans. 
The politics of the governors of the state are indicated in the table. 

GOVERNORS OF INDIANA. 



Of the Territory Northwest of the Ohio — 

Arthur St. Clair 1787-1800 

Of the Territory of Indiana — 



John Gibson (acting) July 4, 1800- 

VVilliam H. Harrison 1801- 

Thomas Posey 1812- 

Of the State of Indiana — 

Jonathan Jennings, Dem. 1816- 

Ratliff Boon, Dem. September 12 to December 5, 

William Hendricks, Dem. 1822- 

Janies B. Ray (acting), Dem. Feb. 12 to Dec. 11, 

James B. Ray, Dem. 1825- 

Noah Noble, \Whig 1831- 

David Wallace, Whig 1837- 

Samuel Bigger, Whig 1840- 

James Whitcomb, Dem. 1843- 

Paris C. Dunning (acting), Dem. 1848- 

Joseph A. Wright, Dem. 1849- 

Ashbel P. Willard, Dem. 1857- 

Abram A. Hammond (acting), Dem. 1860- 

Plenry S. Lane, Rep. January 14 to January 16, 

Oliver P. Morton (acting), Rep. 1861- 

Oliver P. Morton, Rep. 1865- 

Conrad Baker (acting). Rep. 1867- 

Conrad Baker, Rep. 1869- 

Thomas A. Hendricks, Dem. 1873- 

James D. Williams, Dem. 1877- 

Isaac P. Gray (acting), Dem. 1880- 

Albert G. Porter. Rep. 1881- 



801 
812 
816 

822 

822 
825 
825 
831 
837 
840 

843 
848 

849 
857 
860 
861 
861 
865 
867 
869 
873 
877 
880 
881 
885 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 59 

Isaac p. Gray, Dem. 1885-1889 

Alvin P. Hoyey, Rep. 1889-1891 

Ira J. Chase (acting). Rep Nov. 24, 1891 to Jan. 9, 1893 

Claude Matthews, Dem. 1893-1897 

James A. Mount, Rep. 1897-1901 

Winfield T. Durbin, Rep. 1901-1905 

J. Frank Hanley, Rep. 1905-1909 

Thomas R. Marshall, Dem. 1909-1913 

Samuel R. Ralston, Dem. 1913- 

A CENTURY OF GROWTH. 

I 

Indiana was the first territory created out of the old Northwest Territory 
and the second state to be formed. It is now on the eve of its one hundredth 
anniversary, and it becomes the purpose of the historian in this connection to 
give a brief survey of what these one hundred years have done for the state. 
There has been no change in territory limits, but the original territory has 
been subdivided into counties year by year, as the population warranted, until 
from thirteen counties in i8'i6 the state grew to ninety-two counties by 1859. 
Frorn 181 6 to 1840 new counties were organized every year with the exception 
of one year. Starting in with a population of 5,641 in 1800, Indiana has 
increased by leaps and bounds until it now has a population of two million 
seven hundred thousand eight hundred and seventy-six. The appended table 
is interesting in showing the growth of population by decades since 1800 : 

Per Cent 

Census Decades. Population. Increase. of Increase. 

1800 5.641 

1810 24,520 18,879 334.7 

1820 147,178 122,658 500.2 

1830 343.031 195.853 1331 

1840 685.866 342,835 99.9 

1850 988,416 302,550 44.1 

i860 1,350,428 362,012 '36.6 

1870 1,680,637 330,209 24.5 

1880 1,978,301 297,664 17.7 

1890 2,192,404 214,103 10.8 

1900 2,516,462 324,058 14.8 

1910 2.700,876 184,414 y.T, 



60 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Statistics are usuall}' very dry and uninteresting, but there are a few 
figures wliicli are at least instructi\e if not interesting. For instance, in 1910, 
1,143,835 people of Indiana lived in towns and cities of more than 2,500. 
There were S'22,434 voters, and 580,557 men between the ages of eighteen and 
forty-four were eligible for military service. An interesting book of statistics 
from which these figures are taken covering every phase of the growth of the 
state is found in the biennial report of the state statistician. 

The state has increased in wealth as well as population and the total state 
tax of si.x thousand forty-three dollars and thirty-six cents of 1816 increased 
in 1915 to more than six million. In 1816 the only factories in the state were 
grist or saw mills ; all of the clothing, furniture and most of the farming tools 
were made by the pioneers themselves. At that time the farmer was his own 
doctor, his own blacksmith, his own lawyer, his own dentist and, if he had 
di\ine services, he had to be the preacher. But now it is changed. The spin- 
ning wlieel finds its resting place in the attic ; a score of occupations have arisen 
to satisfy the manifold wants of the farmer. Millions of dollars are now in- 
\'ested in factories, other millinns are invested in steam and electric roads, still 
other millions in public utility plants of all kinds. The governor now receives 
a larger salary than did all the state officials put together in 1861, while the 
county sheriff has a salary which is more than double the compensation first 
allowed the governor of the state. 

Indiana is rich in natural resources. It not only has millions of acres of 
good farming land, but it has had fine forests in the past. From the timber 
of its woods have been built the hom.es for the past one hundred years and, if 
rightly conser\'ed there is timlier for many years yet to come. The state has 
beds of coal and cjuarries of stone which are not surpassed in any state in the 
Union. For many years natural gas was a boon to Indiana manufacturing, 
but it was used so extravagently that it soon became exhausted. Some of the 
largest factories of their kind in the country are to be found in the Hoosier 
state. The steel works at Gary employs tens of thousands of men and are 
constantly increasing in importance. At Elwood is the largest tin plate fac- 
tor}- in the world, while Evansville boasts of the largest cigar factory in the 
world. At South end the Studebaker and Oliver manufacturing plants turn 
out millions of dollars worth of goods every year. When it is known that 
over half of the population of the state is now living in towns and cities, it 
must be readily seen that farming is no longer the sole occupation. .A. sys- 
tem of railroads has been built which brings every corner of the state in close 
touch with Indianapolis. In fact, every county seat but four is in railroad 
connection with the capital of the state. Every county has its local telephone 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 6l 

systems, its rural free deliveries and its good roads unifying the various 
parts of the county. -Ml of this makes for better civilization and a happier 
and more contented people. 

Indiana prides herself on her educational system. With si.xteen thousand 
public and parochial school teachers, with three state institutions of learning, a 
score of church schools of all kinds as well as private institutions of learning, 
Indiana stands high in educational circles. The state maintains universities 
at Bloomington and Lafayette and a normal school at Terre Haute. Many of 
the churches have schools supported in part by their denominations. The 
Catholics have the largest Catholic university in the United States at Notre 
Dame, while St. Mary's of the Woods at Terre Haute is known all over the 
world. Academies under Catholic supervision are maintained at Indianapolis, 
Terre Haute, Fort \\''ayne, Rensselaer, Jasper and Oldenburg. The Method- 
ists have institutions at DePauw, Moore's Hill and Upland. The Presby- 
terian schools are Wabash and Hanover Colleges. The Christian church is 
in control of Butler and ]\Ierom Colleges. Concordia at Fort Wayne is one 
of the largest Lutheran schools in the LInited States. The Quakers support 
Earlham College, as well as the academies at Fairmount, Bloomingdale, 
Plainfield and Spiceland. The Baptists are in charge of Franklin College, 
while the LTnited Brethern gi\'e their allegiance to Indiana Central University 
at Indianapolis. The Seventh-Day Adventists have a school at Boggstown. 
The Dunkards at North Manchester and the Mennonites at Goshen maintain 
schools for their respective churches. 

The state seeks to take care of all of its unfortunates. Its charitable, 
benevolent and correctional institutions rank high among similar institutions 
in the country. Insane asylums are located at Indianapolis, Richmond, 
Logansport, Evansville and Madison. The State Soldiers' Home is at 
Lafavette, while the National Soldiers' Home is at Marion. 

The Soldiers and Sailors' Orphans' Home at Knightstown, is main- 
tained for the care and education of the orphan children of Union soldiers 
and sailors. The state educates and keeps them until they are sixteen years 
of age if they have not been given homes in families before they reach that 
age. Institutions for the education of the blind and also the deaf and dumb 
are located at Indianapolis. The state educates all children so afflicted and 
teaches them some useful trade which will enable them to make their own 
way in the world. The School for Feeble Minded at Fort Wayne has had 
more than one thousand children in attendance annually for several years. 
Within the past few years an epileptic village has been established at New 
Castle, Indiana, for the care of those so afflicted. A prison is located at 



62 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Michigan City for the incarceration of male criminals convicted by any of 
the courts of the state of treason, murder in the first or second degree, and 
of all persons convicted of any felony who at the time of conviction are 
thirty years of age and over. The Reformatory at Jeffersonville takes care 
of male criminals between the ages of sixteen and thirty, who are guilty of 
crimes other than those just mentioned. The female criminals from the 
ages of fifteen upwards are kept in the women's prison at Indianapolis. A 
school for incorrigible boys is maintained at Plainfield. It receives boys be- 
tween the ages of seven and eighteen, although no boy can be kept after he 
reaches the age of twenty-one. Each county provides for its own poor and 
practically every county in the state has a poor farm and many of them have 
homes for orphaned or indigent children. Each county in the state also 
maintains a correctional institution known as the jail, in which prisoners are 
committed while waiting for trial or as punishment for convicted crime. 

But Indiana is great not alone in its material prosperity, but also in those 
things which make for a better appreciation of life. Within the limits of 
our state have been born men who were destined to become known through- 
out the nation. Statesmen, ministers, diplomats, educators, artists and 
literary men of Hoosier birth have given the state a reputation which is 
envied by our sister states. Indiana has furnished Presidents and Vice- 
Presidents, distinguished members of the cabinet and diplomats of world 
wide fame; her literary men have spread the fame of Indiana from cnast 
to coast. Who has not heard of Wallace, Thompson, Nicholson, Tarking- 
ton, McCutcheon, Bolton, Ade, Major, Stratton-Porter, Riley and hundreds 
of others who have courted the muses? 

And we would like to be living one hundred years from today and see 
whether as much progress will have been made in the growth of the state as in 
the first one hundred years of its history. In 2015 poverty and crime will be 
reduced to a minimum. Poor houses will be unknown, orphanages will have 
vanished and society will have reached the stage where happiness and con- 
tentment reign supreme. Ever}' loyal Hoosier should feel as our poete.'^s, 
Sarah T. Bolton, has said : 

"The heavens never spanned, 
The breezes never fanned, 
A fairer, brighter land 
Than our Indiana." 



CHAPTER II. 



c;e(,)i.ogy and topography. 



l.OCATION AND SIZE. 

Decatur county is in the SDUtheastern part of Indiana, one county 
removed from the Ohio boundary, and two removed from the Ohio river. 
Its greatest length is twenty-one miles, greatest breadth the same. Its area 
is approximately three hundred and seventy-five scjuare miles. 

GEOLOGY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY. 

Geologically, there is very little difference between this county and 
Jennings. In the deepest stream lieds in the southern part of the county 
the soft limestones of the Hudson River formation appear. These outcrops 
are small and of no practicable importance, since they contriluite nothing 
to the soils and are in themselves of no value. The southeastern third of 
this county is underlain by the Niagara limestone, perhaps the most valuable 
stone in the state, after the oolitic. In Decatur county it lies, as a rule, close 
to the surface, usuallv at depths of four to twelve feet on the level, out- 
cropping on stream banks, and occasionally being found only at depths of 
thirty feet. It is a very valuable rock commercially in this county, being 
quarried extensively at Newpoint. Westport, St. Paul and in many small 
local quarries. The product is used for building stone, especially for trim- 
ming, for abutments, for flagging in sidewalks, and in a crushed state for 
macatlam and for concrete construction. From the standpoint of soils, it is 
of im])urtance chiefly from the fact of its resistance to weathering, which 
has resulted in very flat uplands. The northwestern half of the county is 
underlain at depths of five to forty feet by the corniferous limestone, a softer 
rock as a rule than the Niagara. Finally, the entire surface of the county, 
except near the streams, is covered with a mantle of glacial waste, which 
effectively covers the underhiiig rocks o\'er practicall}' all the county. 



64 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The topography of the county is a product of two great factors — the 
Niagara limestone and tlie arrangement of tlie (h-ift. The latter is disposed 
in belts of one to fi\e miles in width crossing the count}- from southwest to 
northeast. In the northwest corner there occurs a till-plain where the sur- 
face is nearh- le\el, rolling in gentle waves and only ;i little broken by streams. 
Then comes a belt about four luiles in width of ujjland — a glacial moraine. 
This is followed by another till-plain, from si.x to ten miles in width, gently 
rolling, with occasional knolls and swales, somewhat cut by strcatus. This 
is followed by a second ridge, averaging five miles in width, with the remain- 
ing southeastern corner occupied by a flat plain of loess. Under the last fea- 
ture lies the Niagara limestone, at an average depth of seven feet. The 
streams are comparatively of little importance in this county as agents in 
bringing about the present surface, since this surface would be jiractically 
the same if the streams had not come into lieing. Their courses have been 
largely determined by the belts of drift. 

THE SOILS IN DETAIL. 

In describing the soils of this county, one can do no better than take 
them in their order from one side of the county to the other. .\t the outset, 
it is evident that one factor which has been of the first importance heretofore 
will have little to do with the soils here, namely, the character of the under- 
Iving rock. It is proljable that not an acre of tillable soil in this cotnitv has 
resulted from the disintegration of the underlying rock, InU has, on the C(jn- 
trary. been carried here through the agency of the ice from some region to 
the north. We shall begin our discussion of the soils in this county with a 
soil which is known as the Miami clay loam. 

This soil occurs in a small area in the extreme southeastern corner of 
the count}-. It is part of the great area of this soil which occurs in Ripley 
county. It is there described as a yellow clay, sometimes almost white 
where it is dry, with mottles of darker \-ellow in its deeper portions. This 
soil is underlain with I)lue till, and ii-i most places grades into that form of 
glacial waste imperceptil)ly. It consists almost entirel}- of clay, with a small 
admixture (usually less than five per cent) of sand. There are practically 
no gra\-el peliljles in it. It is a pretty good material for tile and brickmaking, 
and has been used considerably for that in the past. From the farming 
standpoint it is poor. Grasses do fairly well, and -wheat. Fertilizing must 
be constantly done, and, away from the streams, tiling. 



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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 65 

THE MIAMI SILT LOAM. 

This soil is distributed so as to cover almost one-third tlie area of the 
county. It forms a belt in the southeastern part of the county, almost the 
full width of the territory on the south, and narrowing to about five miles 
on the north. It must be understood that this soil is not uniform through- 
out its extent. An average sample would show about sixty per cent clay, 
twenty per cent silt, fifteen to eighteen per cent fine sand, and some little 
gravel in spots. As one approaches the Miami clay loam, however, this com- 
position changes until the sand is reduced to five per cent or less, and the 
clay correspondingly larger in amount. It is impossible to use any hard 
and fast rule in separating these areas, but the presence or absence of gravel 
pebbles gives about the line as mapped. Going to the northwest, as one 
approaches the ridge, this soil becomes sandier on account of the outwash 
from the moraine, and is to be distinguished from the ]\Iiami sand}' loam 
because the latter has no clay subsoil, while the silt loam has. 

The Miami silt loam is a yellow to brown soil with a subsoil usually 
darker in color, and much streaked and mottled with iron oxide. A few con- 
cretions of bog iron ore occur in this soil, an<l a good many glacial pebbles. 
Rarely bowlders are found, sometimes of large size. The subsoil grows 
heavier and more tenacious as one digs deeper, and at four to eight feet is a 
very stiff clay. It is not, however, blue till ; and this character serves to 
distinguish the Miami silt li:)am from the Miami clay loam. The farming- 
value of this soil varies considerably with reference to the place of observa- 
tion. Down near the Miami clay, this soil is very much like its neighbor — 
poor, ill-drained and not \alued very highly. It is flat and swampy by nature, 
due to the closeness to the surface of the Niagara. Tiling must be resorted 
to constantly, and the soil is so poor that often a field will not repay the 
expense of drainage. Practically the only good crops are grasses, and some- 
times wheat, if fertilizer enough be used. As one approaches the ridge, 
however, the increasing percentage of sand results in a looser soil, permitting 
much of the rainfall to soak into the soil ; tiling helps here, also. Then the 
Niagara is here somewhat deeper, and the surface, therefore, more rolling. 
In this sandier region corn can l)e grown with success, as well as wheat and 
grass. Some of the best farms in Decatur county are in this region, close 
to the foot of the ridge. They owe their superior fertility solely to the out- 
wash from this ridge, for at distances of two to four miles out from it corn 
(5) 



66 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

makes onl_v half a crop. It is said that one can tell within five rows where 
one soil begins and the other ends. 

UPLAND CLAY LOAM. 

A belt some four miles in width succeeds the Aliami silt loam, which 
has been called here the upland clay loam. It has been so called for two 
reasons. First, much of it is really upland, standing visibly higher than the 
till-plains on either side. Secontlly. the knolls appear to be principally clay, 
and very often are entirely of that material. It must not lie understood that 
this belt is a continuous ridge, extending as a well-marked divide from one 
corner of the county to the other. It is, on the contrary, a belt of hill and 
hollow. It is made up of a great number, possibly five hundretl, low. rountled 
knolls, with swales or sags between. The knolls average, perhaps, thirty 
feet higher than the plains, and the swales are probably about at the plain 
level. The soil of the typical knoll is yellow in color at the surface, grading 
into a darker yellow at depths of two to four feet. It is made up principally 
of clay, with a good deal (about ten per cent.) of fine sand in its composition. 
Besides these, it contains, here and there, small pockets of gravel, and often, 
at depths of sixteen to thirty feet, a gravel base; and huge boulders are often 
found in these gra\'el bases. In the swales, the soil is sandw with little clav 
in evidence. It is lilack or brown in color, due to the presence of much 
humus. Usuall}', at depths of si.\ to ten feet, sheets of clay are found, which 
dip upward in every direction, forming a little saucer-shaped depression, in 
the middle of which lies the lowland. Many of these little hollows were 
unodubtedly, in a former age, lakes. Some of them are still marshy, and 
practically all require tiling. The soil here is remarkably fertile, ranking 
with any in the state. It is great com soil, and is rarely planted to anything 
else, unless it l)e clover. The knolls, on the other hand, are lietter for wheat 
and grass. A farm in this belt is a joy forever, with its capacity for \-aried 
crops, with its excellent drainage, and the aliundance of pure water which 
can be had by driving wells into the gravel at the base of the hills. \'ery 
little fertilizer is used here aside from the barn^-ard products and clover. 
There are many fine farms in this belt. 

MIAMI SAND LOAM. 

The JNIiann sand loam occupies a belt averaging five miles in width lying 
west of the ridge soil. It is, as the name implies, a "light-colored glacial 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 67 

soil." It is, however, light-colored only on the knolls and knohs, which occur 
plentifully in its surface, interrupted hy extensive lower grounds. It is a 
typical till-plain, uninfluenced by anything except glacial action. In general, 
it would be called level, varying throughout the county probably less than 
fifty feet between its highest and lowest points. Yet there is not a flat farm 
in the area, and not many single fields so flat that cultivation is difficult. A 
good deal of tile is used in the lower grounds, and is said to yield a high 
income on the investment. The knolls, which make up perhaps ten per cent 
of the total area, are far less fertile than the lowlands. They contain con- 
siderable sand, and give up their water content easily, either by evaporation 
into the air or by conduction into the nearby lowlands. In a dry summer, 
even of average dr}uess. they therefore usually yield far less than the swales. 
They make up so little of the total surface, however, that one forgets their 
shortcomings on account of the superior excellence of the lowlands. These 
areas, which often are two hundred acres in extent, are the banner corn soils 
of Decatur county. They are carefully farmed also, being put in clover 
every fourth or fifth year. Oats are good here also, and, over this soil 
area, wheat yields well enough to be a very important crop, especially on 
farms where the knoll land is much in evidence. Occasionally throughout 
this area occur drumlins, whose graceful swells have tempted every farmer 
owning one to build his house upon it. Some of the famous farms of this 
county have, as no little part of their claim to honor, the beautiful situation 
of the homestead on one of these hills, commanding a view of every field of 
the estate. A particularly large and beautiful one of these drumlins can be 
seen from the cars of the Big Four railway and the interurban about one-half 
mile east of Adams. 

The remainder of the soils in this county belong to one or the other of 
the soils already described. In the extreme northwest corner is a little tri- 
angle of ]\Iiami sandy loam, and just east of this there is a small belt of up- 
land clay loam. Along the larger streams there occur little strips of bottom 
ground ( mapped as Waverley ) which differ little from the surrounding 
slopes, and are of such little extent as to need no extended description. These 
bottoms are usualh' not more than one-fourth mile in widtli, and are com- 
posed of material washed from the neighboring uplands. As a rule, the_\- are 
pretty wet and require tiling, but when draineil they are valuable little fields. 

There are few counties in the state which are any better farmed than 
Decatur, especially on the sandier portions. In the southeast corner the 
heavy clay soil limits farming practically to the grasses and .small grain, but 
in at least eighth-tenths of the county any crop suitable to the latitude can 



68 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



bu grown successful!)'. On tlie topical corn lands corn _\iel(ls as well, year 
b\- year, as an\where in the stale, and the same farm which }ields a "bumper" 
corn crop may, the same- year, yield a good wheat crop on the more clayey 
knolls. Grasses thri\e in the wet bottom grounds, and good water is easily 
obtained. All conditions are favorable to stock raising, and much of the 
corn of this county goes to market as fat hogs and cattle. Such a method, 
of course, cannot be otherwise than good farming, since practically e\'ery- 
thing is returned to the soil, and in Decatur county most of the farm lands 
are continually increasing in value. The excellence of transportation has a 
great deal to dn with farm values here. There is scarcely a farm in the 
county farther than six miles from a railway, and the vast majority are 
within three miles. An excellent system of macadamized and gravelled 
roads connects almost every community with the railway. 

MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF DECATUR COUNTY SOILS. 



Suil _^ 

Subsoil 



imm"^ 
Gravel. 

0.7% 
.6% 



Miaiiii Clay Loam. 

. 1 6mm + .o8mm+ 

Sand. \^ery fine sand. 
11.8% 6.3% 

16.3% 8.8% 



04mm+ 


.0017mm 


Silt. 


Clay. 


61.3% 


20.2% 


56.6% 


17.6% 



+ 





imm + 


.i6mm 




Gravel. 


Sand. 


Soil _- 


4.6% 


18.3% 


Suljsoil 


5.8% 


19.8% 



Miami Sandy Loam-. 

.o8nim+ 
V'er}' fine sand. 
18.8% 
16.6% 



.04mm 
Silt. 

32.5% 
33-8% 



+ 



.ooi7mm+ 

Clay. 

26.1% 

24.2% 



CHAPTER III. 



COL'NTY ORGANIZATION. 



Early in the spring of 1820 the Federal go\ernment sent out several 
squads of surveyors to lay out the "New Purchase," lands acquired from 
the Delaware Indians by the treaty of St Mary's (1819), embracing all of 
the eastern and central part of the present state of Indiana. Mose of these 
sur\-eyors were young men, some of whom were inexperienced; but they 
were all well endowed with high animal spirits and bodily vigor. 

They worked their way through the wilderness, much of which had 
never before been traversed by white men, cutting their way through thickets 
with axes, wading swamps and fording rivers, sleeping out at nights, wher- 
e\'er they happened to Ije when the sun sank, and enduring much keen dis- 
comfort in order that the land might be surveyed and opened for settlement. 

Farms and towns are still laid out in accordance with this original 
survey, and whenever a section is large by a few acres or small by a hundred 
or so, the cause can be directly traced to mistakes made by these pioneer 
engineers, the men who ran their blind lines through the forests. In one 
section of the "New Purchase" there is a point toward which all lines in 
that part of the country tend to veer. It is said that in 1820 a distillery 
stood at this place, and that, thinking of it, the surveyors unconsciously let 
their instruments veer in its direction. 

Decatur county was surveyed by men who li\-ed here and wlm later 
became leaders in the communit}', which grew up rapidly after the "New 
Purchase" was thrown open for settlement. The survey of what later be- 
came Decatur county was made by Thomas Hendricks and Samuel Hueston, 
with four assistants. Hendricks was a nati\'e of Westmoreland county, 
Pennsyh'ania, and it is presumed he got the job of surve^'ing this section 
of the "New Purchase" through his brother, William Hendricks, who was 
then governor of Indiana. His assistants were neighbors whom he brought 
from Pennsylvania with him. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT. 

In October of the year 1820, a go\-ernment land office opened at Brook- 
ville ; the survevcd land was readv for settlement and the tide of immigra- 



/O DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tion began. The first land patent issued in what is now Decatur county 
was to John ■Shellhorn, for what has since been known as the Shelliiorn 
farm, between the Big and Little Flatrock, on the Moscow road. The Shell- 
horn faniily still retains this property for which its ancestor recei\ed a 
patent from the United States go\-ernment, October 3, 1820. 

Shellhorn took his claim near the junction of the Big and Little Flat- 
rock, thmking that it would probably be but a short time until that place 
would be chosen for a county seat. He laid out the town of Rockville and 
then Maited for his visions of towering spires to materialize. But the legis- 
lature, in fixing the boundaries of Decatur count}-, threw Rockxille into one 
corner of the county and Shellhorn's dreams were gone fore\er. He died 
a few months later. Rockville has never appeared upon a map of the county. 

Two of John Shellhorn's neighbors, James Hobbs and James Wise, took 
out land patents six days later, Hobbs locating one mile east of the present 
site of C'larksljurg. and Wise one mile south of where that town is now lo- 
cated. Although Shellhorn was' the first to enter land in Decatur county, 
he was by no means the first settler. No sooner was the ink on the treaty 
of St. Clary's dry, than the tide of immigration to the "New Purchase"' be- 
gan. All along the border were bold spirits waiting for this unknown 
country to become the property of the government. No sooner had the 
Indians renounced all claims to it than the settlers flocked into it. 

By the treaty of St. Mary's, all land located between the Whitewater 
on the east and White river on the west, north of the old boundary line, 
was made the property of the national government. All along the borders 
of this territory were pioneers waiting for the Lidians to be shoved out. 
No sooner was the treaty made than the mo\ement of the pioneers began. 

Probably the first to reach Decatur county was John Fugit and his 
son, John, (jrifi'y Griffiths, with his wife and son, Ishmael, came ne.xt. 
Then came the remainder of the Fugit famil}-; the wife, four sons, a daugh- 
ter, and a Mrs. Garrison. Later in the spring Cornelius and Jesse Cain, 
Elias Garrard, \\'illiam McCoy and their families arrived settling in the vi- 
cinity of Clarksburg. 

About the same time a settlement was made on Little Flatrock, east 
of Milroy, which has produced a number of men of high distinction, among 
them being Dr. Raymond T. Brown, William J. Brown, three times a mem- 
ber of Congress, and .\dmiral George W. Brown, of the L^nited States navy. 
Early in the spring of 1820, a number of families settled in the Clarksburg 
and .'^pringhill neighborhoods, among them Dr. Andrew Rankin. David 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 7I 

Martin, Cornelius Cain and Andrew Rankin. About the same time Seth 
Lowe and William Custer settled in the Kingston neighborhood. 

From the date of the first entry to the end of the year there were 
eight3'-nine land entries. Some of these were for as much as half a sec- 
tion, but most of them were eighty-acre tracts. The entries this year, by 
township, follow : 

Fugit township — John Hicklin, Nathan Lewis, John Schultz, Robert 
Lochridge, John Lochridge, William Henderson, George Kline, George Bry- 
son, Edward Jackman, Jesse Robinson, William Penny, Griffe Griffiths, Cor- 
nelius Lain, George Craig, John Short, Jesse Cain, John Davison, Moses 
Wyley, Richard Tyner, James Henderson, George Cowan, Joseph Hender- 
son, David Martin, \\'illiam Lindsey, Joseph K. Rankin, Thomas Martin, 
Thomas Thorp, Adam Rankin, Martin Logan, Alex Logan, James Logan, 
Robert Imlay, Daniel Swem, Elias Jarrard, Thomas E. Hall, Charles Collett, 
William Paj-den, James Hobbs, David Stout, James Saunders and Joseph 
Hopkins. 

Washington township — Benjamin Drake, William Ross, Joshua Cobb, 
John Marrs, Thomas Hendricks, James Wooley, James Elder, Robert Elder, 
Andrew Elder, Adam R. Meek, Joseph Pryor, Allen Pryor and William 
Parks. 

Sand Creek township — Elijah Davis. 

Adams township — John Shellhorn, John M. Robinson, Jonathan Paul, 
Isaac Sandford, Jonathan McCarty, Joseph Owens, David Jewitt, Thomas 
Price, IManley Kimble, John G. Dawson, .Vliraham Heaton, George Evans. 
William Copeland, Abner Leland, William Pearce, Edward Sweet, James 
H. Brown, Jacob Sidner, Peter Zeizler, Philip Isley, John Wood, McCoy 
McCarty, John Hizer and Peter Weathers. 

The entries of this year were nearly all along the northern line of the 
county, but ten being near the center and two south' of it. The entries the 
following year were mostly in the same section, the early settlers endeavoring 
to get closer to the larger water-courses, as the latter alTorded drainage. 
The more level sections, now the Ijest land in the county, were then worth- 
less, as no system, other than natural drainage, was then known. 

THOSE WHO CAME THE NEXT YEAR. 

Newcomers in 1821 were as follow: 

Fugit townshijj — James Moss, Samuel Martin, George Marlow, Daniel 
Robertson, James Oliver, Seth Lowe, Nathan Smith, George Underwood, 



72 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

George Kendall, George Donner, Gideon Jenks, William Braden, Robert E. 
Donnell. Edgar Poe, Jacob Blackledge, Nathan Underwood, Thomas Cross, 
Sam Githens, Robert Hall, Charles Swearingin, John ^^'ilcoxin, John Hop- 
kins, Samuel Bunnell. Ralph Williams, Sampson Alley, William Smith, 
Nathan Lewis, Isaac Darnell, Daniel Caldwell, J. J. Stites, Henry Roberts, 
Henry McDonald, Samuel Donner. Robert Wilson, Edward Davis, Cyrus 
Hamilton, Zenas Darnell, Lewis Hendricks, John Chanslow, Thomas L 
Glass, Daniel Bell, William W. Alarlow, Peter IMiller. Jacob ]\Iiller and 
Benjamin Snelling. 

Adams township — William Harbard, Edward Tanner, William Peter- 
son, Robert McCarty, Enoch McCarty, Martin Adkins, Jacob Johnson, Rich- 
ard Guthrie, Henry Gullion, Sarah Smith, Lewis Owens, Peter Smith, 
Austin Clark and William Brown. 

Clay township — Doddridge Alley, Josiah Dayton, ]\L H. Williams, 
George Craig, William L Lowrey. Elijah Craig, Daniel Pike and Eli Pike. 

Clinton township — Jesse Womack. John Montgomery, Joseph W^eihart, 
Daniel Crume, Thomas Craig, Joseph Jones, Jaci)b Underwood, Israel Har- 
ris, John Logan, Nathan Sidwell, James Carter, John Thomson, Robert 
Montgomery, Henry Glass, Moses Vanlew, iMatthew Campbell, George 
Donner, Robert Wilson, Nathan Thorp, Joseph Chambers, Joseph Clark, 
\\'illiam Hamilton. Robert Drake, Michael Swopc and \\'illiam Ryan. 

Washington township — John Davis, John Moore, John \\'alker, Benja- 
min Walker, .\l\ah H. Gra\es, Joseph Rutherford, Hugh Montgomery, 
Henry Montgomery, Andrew Horsely, Elijah Tremain, Samuel Logan, 
Erastus Lathrop, James Richardson, David W'illiamson, John House, J. P. 
Richardstjn, Otha White, Eli Eggleston, Philip Dayton, John Nelson, David 
Dalrymple, Charles D. Misner, \\'illiam Hendrickson, Samuel Hamilton, Rob- 
ert Hamilton, Nathaniel Patton, James E. Hamilton, John Logan, William 
Elder, William Floyd, Robert Retherford, Joseph Rethcrford, James Sefton, 
Barlow Aldrich and Zachariah Tow nsend. 

Sand Creek townshijj — Daniel Herron, Nat Robbins and William Rob- 
bins. 

Marion townshij) — Dudley Taylor and John Robbins. 

Save for a ^ery few exceptions these entries were made for actual 
settlement purposes, and within a vear most of the owners had taken pos- 
session of their property. .-\t a special election in 1821 there were one hun- 
dred and forty votes cast, and as the law required a residence in the state 
of a year Ijefore a man could vote, it is proljable that this did not number 
more than half the male citizens of the county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 73 

CREATION OF DECATUR COUNTY. 

Decatur county originally formed a part of Delaware county, an im- 
mense tract of land ranging east to the Ohio line and north to, and including, 
the present county of Delaware. But in 1821 the state Legislature provided 
for Ijreaking up this territor)- into smaller units, and appointed commissioners 
to locate county seats for Decatur, Shelby and Rush counties. 

In the days when Decatur county was a part of Delaware, there was 
no law to govern the community; for Delaware county was a civic organi- 
zation \\'ithout entity — a great stretch of territory extending from the ague- 
cursed Driftwood bottoms until lost in the swamps of the Mississinnewa and 
Wabash rivers. There were no courts of justice ; no vested police powers, 
each man being a law unto himself. There is a tradition, however, that the 
elder Fugit had been a justice of the peace in Franklin county and that he 
brought his commission and docket with him, performing marriages and 
dispensing justice to all coming of their own accord to seek it. Those 
wishing to enter the matrimonial state were compelled to go to Brookville 
to secure the marriage license. 

In the legislative act creating Decatur county, its boundaries were fixed 
as follows: "Beginning at the southwest corner of section 18, in township 
8, north of range 9, east of the principal meridian; thence north fifteen miles 
to the southwest corner of section 6, in township 10, north of range 8, east; 
thence east three miles to the southeast corner of section 33, in township 
II, north of range 8, east; thence north se\-en miles to the northwest 
corner of section 34, in township 12. north of range 8, east; thence east 
eighteen miles to the west boundary of Franklin county; thence south with 
said boundary to the north line of Ripley county ; thence with the old boun- 
dary line to the north line of Jennings county, thence west with the Jen- 
nings county line to the place of beginning." 

Commissioners appointed to select sites for the county seats of the three 
counties named were Edward Ballinger, Henry Ristine, Green P. Webster, 
and Abraham Dumont. This commission decided to meet on May 7, 1822, 
to select a county seat for this county, but, for .some unexplained reason, only 
Ballenger reached Greensburg, which had been selected as the meeting place. 
Another meeting was fixed for June 12, on which date Greensburg was se- 
lected as the county seat; parts of tracts of land offered by Thomas Hen- 
dricks and John Walker l)eing accepted. The tract accepted contained one 
hundred acres. 



74 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



Four d(jnations of land were offered for the county seat, although the 
records show only two. The first was the Hendricks donation of sixty 
acres, bounded by Lincoln street, Main street, and Central avenue, in Greens- 
burg. The \\'alker donation lay just south of this and contained one hun- 
dred acres, extending from' Broadway to Lincoln street. In addition, Joseph 
English offered a site two miles southwest of the present county seat and 
Richard Hall offered land three miles northeast of the city. 

There w'as considerable bad blood existent for a time on account of the 
selection of the county seat. Cliarges were freely made that Hendricks and 
Walker had been guilty of log-rolling at Shelbyville and Rushville. Prob- 
abl}' the most satisfactory location, from the \iewpoint of the present day 
would have been the English site, but no one in that day had the slightest 
notion that eastern Sand Creek, and southern IMarion and Salt Creek town- 
ships ever would be settled. 

The site having then been fixed, the board of commissioners proceeded 
to lay off' the city of Greensburg, and fixed Monday, September i, 1822, 
for the first sale of lots. 

FIRST COUNTY ELECTION. 

LTpon approval by the governor of the special act of the Legislature 
creating the county, Henry LL Talbott was appointed temporary clerk and 
William Ross, sheriff, until an election could be held. The sheriff' was 
charged with the duty of dividing the county into three commissioner dis- 
tricts, calling an election and seeing that the same was properly conducted. 
As Ross decided that he would be a candidate for the sheriff''s office, it 
was deemed improper that this office should be filled by an election at a 
time when he was, by necessity, in charge of the polls. Accordingly, selec- 
tion of the sheriff was deferred until the regular election in the following 
August, when Ross was badly worsted by Doddridge Alley, who was just 
then entering upon his office-holding career. 

Complete returns of this first county election, held ]\Iay 14, 1822, fol- 
lows : 

Clerk of circuit court — John B. Potter, 38: Henry H. Talbott, 49; 
James H. Brown, 34; John B. Fugit, 31. 

Recorder— John B. Potter, 34; Henry H. Talbott, 46; James H. Brown, 
14; John B. Fugit, 22. 

Associate judge — Martin Atkins. 47; Joshua Cobb, 31; John Lin- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 75 

ville, 45; John Fugit, 48; James C. Dayton, 19; Daniel Crume, 7; Jolm 
Driver, 1 1 ; Enoch James, ^2. 

County commissioner, eastern district — Seth I.owe, 96; WilHam Hender- 
son, 45; George Marlow, 21. Central district — William Parks, 45; Will- 
iam Courtney, 14; John Parks, i. Western district — William Harbord, 69; 
Green McCartv, 37; Doddridge Alley, 19; Paul Brown, 39; Jonathan Mc- 
Carty, i. 

At the first meeting of the county commissioners the following offi- 
cials were appointed : Overseers of the poor — Fugit township, William Cus- 
ter and Joseph Henderson ; Washington township, Robert Ross and William 
Floyd; Adams township, Jonathan McCarty and David Jewitt. Fence view- 
ers — William Leopold, Robert Imlay and George Marlow, Fugit township; 
Abraham Miller, Jonathan Davis and Andrew Horsley, Washington town- 
ship, and David Johnson, David Forester and Joseph Bennett for Adams 
township. 

The board then appointed John Hopkins as county treasurer for one 
year, and Enoch McCarty was appointed lister of taxables. At the next 
meeting the names of Thomas Hendricks and David Montague were certified 
to the governor for his selection of a county surveyor. The appointment was 
given to Hendricks. The next appointment to be made was that of county 
agent, which was given to John B. Potter. His first work was to lay off the 
town of Greensburg, after which he turned his attention to the erection of a 
jail. 

BEGINNING OF l,.-\W AND ORDER. 

The following grand jury was empanelled and charged on Monday, 
October 7, 1822: John Hopkins, foreman; Alley Pryor, Joseph Henderson, 
Nathaniel Robbins, Fielding Lamasters, Lewis Pleakenstalver, Isaac Dar- 
nell, Robert Harbord, John M. Robinson, Griffe Griffiths, John House, Will- 
iam M. Smith, Tobis Donner, Joseph Rankin, John Forsyth and Andrew 
Horsley. 

This jury was in session only one day, its memljers receiving seventy- 
five cents each for their services; and returned eight indictments, all of which 
were for assault and battery. Those indicted were Patrick Hudson, William 
Thorp, Abraham Miller, Madison Redding, Isaac Parnell. Lodwick Cook, 
David Stout and McCoy McCarty. 

Says the record further: "This day appeared in open court, Madison 
Redding, who entered a plea of guilty;" and their honors, after due dclib- 



76 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

eration and taking into consideration the magnitude of the offense, "made 
his fine in the sum of six and one-fourth cents." 

When Talbott appeared at tlie first session of court to file his bond as 
clerk, objection was raised on the grounds that he was not of the legal age, 
and that he was not a resident of Decatur county. Says the record, "Joseph 
A. Hopkins moved to reject the bond, which the court, after mature delibera- 
tion, overruled." It seems appropriate in this connection to say a word 
concerning Talbott. It has fallen to few men to serve the public so long or 
in so creditable a manner as was given to Henry H. Talbott. He so 
thoroughly won the esteem of his fellow citizens that it was impossible for 
anyone to defeat him when it came election time. He served as clerk con- 
tinuously until the new constitution was adopted in 1852. He was a patriot 
in the truest sense of the word, and although he was sixty-one years old wlien 
the call was jssued for volunteers in 1861, he proffered his services. They 
were declined, on account of his years ; so he accompanied the troops as a 
sutler. During the battle of Phillipi he seized a gun and followed his com- 
rades into the fray. He died July 21, 1872. 

At the first annual election, August 5, 1822, electors voted for a governor, 
lieutenant governor, a representative for the seventeenth Congress, to fill a 
vacancy, a congressman for the third district, a sheriff and a coroner. The 
following vote was cast : 

For Governor — Fugit. 
U'illiam Hendricks 68 

Julius Howe 3 

For Lieutenant Governor — 

Ratliffe Boone 36 

Erasmus Powell 34 

William Polk L 

David Maxwell 10 

For Congress (vancancy) — 

Jonathan Jennings 49 

Davis Floyd 5 

For Congress (third district) — 

John Test 28 

Fzra Ferris 7 

Samuel C. Vance 31 



Washington. 


Adams. 


Total 


52 


48 


168 
3 


^7 


3i 


96 


27 


— 


51 


13 


14 


27 


I 


-- 


II 


1,3 


42 


104 


28 


5 


38 


39 


18 


85 


II 


29 


47 


12 


-- 


43 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. "J-J 

For Sheriff — Inigit. Washington. Adams. Total. 

Doddridge Alley 7 18 24 49 

William Ross 28 5 4 37 

James Saunders 5 24 i 30 

William Loyd 21 i 22 

For Coroner — 

William Custer 18 63 9 90 

Robert Shields 32 32 

Jonah C. Dayton 12 2 37 51 

There was at this time but one party in the state, the National Republican, 
and \'oters cast their ballots according to their individual preferences. Two 
years later this party split, part going with Andrew Jackson and part with 
Henry Clay. 

COURT HOUSE HISTORY. 

The first board of county commissioners met on the 14th day of May, 
1822, at the house of Thomas Hendricks, a double log building, one story in 
heig"ht, on what is now known as Taylor avenue, Greensburg, near where 
East street crosses the avenue. Hendricks' house was used as a court house 
until 1825. In that year it was proposed to build a court house, and the 
following transcript of page 121 of the first book of the record of the com- 
missioners' court shows the specifications that were drawn up for it : 
"The State of Indiana 
"Decatur County 

"At a special meeting of the board of Justices of Decatur County on 
Saturday the 15th day of January, 1825, for the purpose of drafting a plan 
for a Court House. 

"The Hon. George W. Hopkins, Zachariah Garton, Robert Church and 
Dillard Drake, Justices. 

"This day the board proceeded to draft a plan for a Court house for 
the said County of Decatur \\\w\\ the following plan, Towit. The fnunda- 
tion to be built three feet high and to be one foot above the ground at the 
highest part of the ground, to be laid in a workmanlike manner with good 
stone and lime mortar, three feet thick at the bottom and twenty-two inches 
thick at the top to be battered on each side equally — forty foot square. The 
walls of the first story twenty-two inches thick forty feet square of g^ood 
brick fifteen feet in the clear, laid in a workmanlike manner, the front a 
flemish bond and good sand brick. One double pannel door in front lined 



^8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

with inch phink on the back, with good and suffecient lock, and a bolt at the 
bottom on each door, the door sill cut out of stone to extend at each end 
six inches in the wall twenty four inches wide of a suitable thickness, the 
door to be eight feet high in the clear & five feet wide in the clear, and a 
circular glass top, the front of the house to be to the east, two windows on 
each side of the door, of 24 lites each eight by ten. The North and South 
sides of the house, to be a door in the center of each wall eight feet high 
and five feet wide in the clear a double batten door, with good locks & bolts 
at the bottom of each door. One window on each side of the doors of 24 
lites. 8 by los — A stone sill at the bottom of each door of the same descrip- 
tion as the sill of the front door. On the West side to be a window in the 
Centre six feet from the floor to the bottom of the window of 30 lites 8. 
l.)y 10. with a circular glass top. One window on each side of 24 lites 8. by 
los. of the same heighth as the other windows. 

"The second story of good brick 13 feet high in the clear. The walls 
eighteen inches thick the front of good sand brick and laid a flemish bond. 
One 36 lite window in front 8. by los with a circular glass top. And one 
24 lite window on each side of it. And 3 windows on each of the other 
sides of the house of 24 lites each, eight by los. four fire places in the sec- 
ond storj^ one in each corner of the house. A plain Cornice. The roof 
nine feet pitch, to be covered with good joint shingles fi\-e inches to the 
weather, shingles eighteen inches long. Cupelo twelve feet in diameter — 
eight scjuare, sixteen feet high, and a circular top, a circular window in each 
scjuare with Venetian shutters and necessary arrangements to recei\'e the 
Spere. 

"Four posts 15 inches diameter eight square, to be set on pillars of 
Stone in the first story, the pillars to be sunk three feet in the ground, three 
feet and a half square at the bottom to be equally battered to the top to a 
square of 22 inches to be 12 feet apart in the Center of the house: two gird- 
ers to extend across the house. 12 feet apart from the center of each and rest 
on the posts named, the girders to be 15 inches witle and 12 inches deep and 
the joists to lie 12 inches deep by 3 inches thick, to be framed in the girders 
two feet apart from the Centre of each joist. The frame of the Second 
Story to be similar to the frame of the First Story. 

"The stairs to start from the South east Corner of the house, and ascend 
to the passage. The window and door frames to be made in a workmanlike 
manner." 

On March 7, following, the order was issued to receive bids for the 
construction of the building. The order is here given in full : 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 79 

"Ordered that the Court house be buih on the Pubhc Square in the 
town of Greensburgh and that the Centre of the Square be the Centre of the 
house, to be completed on or before the first day of May, 1827. And tlie 
tenns of payments as follows, four hundred dollars to be paid on or before 
the 25th of December next, and the balance to be paid in three equal annual 
enstalments thereafter. Bond and approved Security will he recpiired of the 
purchaser in a penalty of double the sum that the building is sold for. The 
person or persons bidding the same off and failing to Comply with the Con- 
ditions above Stated, will forfiet the sum of fifty dollars to be reco\-ered by 
suit in the name of the County Agent to be applied to the use of the County 
in Ijuilding said house. The person bidding off the same shall gi\x bond 
and security as above stated within fifteen days from this date." 

On Monday, November 6, 1826, the board of justices, which was now 
made up of George W. Hopkins, president; Wesley White, William E. Craw- 
ford, Griffe Griffiths, \\'illiam Fowler, Samuel Bryan, James Donnell and 
Zachariah Garton, gave notice of the "sale" of some more work on the new 
court house. This time it was for some minor work, and, from all that could 
be detemiined, the building was ready for occupation by the specified time 
in May, 1827. 

This building was occupied until 1S54, when it was condemned l)y the 
board and the work of its demolition commenced that summer. However, 
(jn June 8, 1853, the commissioners — Smith Reiley, B. H. Harney and H. S. 
Burke — appointed B. W. Wilson, I. G. Monfort and B. H. Harney as a com- 
mittee to draft plans and specifications for the construction of a new- court 
house, "the whole cost of said house, when completed and furnished, not to 
exceed thirty thousand dollars." This committee reported on September 7, 
its report was accepted and it was dismissed. The commissioners then 
emploved Edwin May to superintend the construction and appointed B. W. 
Wilson, I. G. Montfort and B. H. Harney to act as a building committee 
and as the representatives of the commissioners. May was instructed to 
consult with them on all contracts, payments and changes in the original 
plan. 

On March 6, 1854, the contract for the stone work was let to W. W. 
Lowe and Jacob M. Hiltertrand. But it was not until June 19, 1855, that 
the contract for the brick work was placed. It went to R. B. Thomson and 
Henry H. Talbott for four dollars and twenty-nine cents per thousand bricks 
actuallv used, the waste and soft liricks to he deducted from the kiln count. 
The contractors were to furnish all labor, tools, "including hods, ladders 
and all necessary apparatus for the raising of the bricks on the tower and 



^O DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Other parts of tlie Ijiiilding, at their own cost and charges," but the county 
was to furnish "Ijrick, hme and sand, water in the weUs in the jJuliHc square, 
together with aU the scaltolding and nails." .\ hid was made by X. T. 
Horton, of Cincinnati, by the pound for the frame for the galvanized iron 
roof and the iron doors, window shutters and stairs. He asked thirty-seven 
and a half dollars per hundred square feet for laying the iron roof. The esti- 
mated cost of the new house on the plan as first accepted was forty thou- 
sand dollars, but the plans were changed and departed from until, when 
completed, it, with the impro\-emcnts of the grounds and the iron fence 
around it, cost the count}- close to one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. 
As early as 1885 the remodeling of the court house was discussed in 
the commissioners" court, and on June 12, 1888, the board of commissioners, 
after consideration of the i)roject, decided that the cuunt}' treasury was too 
depleted for any sucli step to be taken at that time ; however, they directed 
that such be done in the spring of 1889, and on December 10, 1888, they 
ordered the auditor to secure plans and specifications. At a special session 
called on January 30, 1889, the proposals submitted by McDonald Brothers, 
of Louisville, were accepted and the contract of drafting plans and specifi- 
cations awarded to them. On March 18, 1889, bids were received for 
"remodeling the court house" and for "heating the court house." The con- 
tract for the first was awarded to J. C. McGarvey & Brother, of Cincinnati. 
Ohio, for twentv-se\'en thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine dollars, with 
two thousand one hundretl dollars reduction for certain changes that might be 
made. The highest bid was for thirty-seven thousand seven hundred and fifty 
dollars. Security was ordered to be presented on the following 25th of March. 
But it was on March 26, and not March 25, as stated by the tal^let on the 
west wall of the corridor in the court house, that the contract was approved 
and the cost, after several changes, set at twenty-four thousand, nine hun- 
dred and ninety-nine dollars. The heating contract was awarded to I. D. 
Smead & Com]>an)', of Toledo, Ohio, for twenty-se\-en hundred and fifty 
dollars. The contract for furnishing the court room, library, the judge's 
private office, and the offices of the clerk, sheriff, recorder, superintendent 
of schools, treasurer and auditor was given to the Grand Rapids bTirniture 
Compan\-, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, on February 7, 1890. The Iniilding 
was inspected and accepted by the commissioners and architect on March 
14, 1890, "excepting the painting, and a part of the wainscot in the obscure 
portions of the corridors, the clearing out of the cellar and refitting the 
same." The commissioners at the time the contract for remodeling was 



"l^ 




DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 8l 

let were, Everett Hamilton, Henry Steining and Ezra Guthrie, and when 
the building was accepted, Henry Steining, Ezra Guthrie and Augustus 
Miller. 

In 1903 the building was in need uf repairs and on March 7 the com- 
missioners — Jethro C. Meeks, Uriah Pri\ett and Jesse Styers — awarded H. 
L. Shute the contract of making certain repairs, for fiftv-two hundred dol- 
lars. At this same session of the commissioners, plans for a hitchrack were 
submitted by the engineer, J. W. Craig, and accepted. Bids were ordered 
to be received for the sale of the old fence about the court house square park 
at this same meeting. 

THE TREE ON THE COURT HOUSE TOWER. 

In the summer of 1870 a citizen of Greensburg, whose name posterity 
has not preserved, was examining the court house tower with a spyglass, 
when he noticed, springing from the third crevice above the water sheet on 
the east side of the tower, one hundred and ten feet aljove the ground, a 
small twig. From that day down to the present time the fame of the tree 
on the tower has been heralded throughout the world. Apostrophes, prose 
epics, poems galore and even songs have been written about it. Strangers 
to the city always ask to be shown the curiosity the first thing, many not 
being con\'inced that there is such a tree until they actually see it. 

The first picture of the tree appeared in a local paper in the issue of 
January 10, 1879, when the court house and tree were shown in connection 
with an advertisement of St. John's Lone Tree Medicine Company. Since 
that time the tree has been exhiljited pictorially all over the world, and 
postal cards by the tens of thousands have convinced a doubting world that 
such a tree really exists. By 1884, according to one of the local papers, 
the bole of the tree was four inches in diameter and the tree itself was nine 
feet in height. Some time during the latter part of the seventies other trees 
sprang up on the tower, and at one time no less than seven were casting 
their shade over the tower. This grove was allowed to flourish until the court 
house was remodeled in 1888, when it was deemed necessary to remove 
some of them. The largest tree of the forest was getting of such dimen- 
sions that it was threatening to tear up the roof, and since it was a ques- 
tion of either saving the tree or the roof, the tree had to be sacrificed. Three 
other small trees were removed at this time. Since then all the others have 
died except the one on the northeast corner. At the present time (1015) 
(6) 



82 DECATUR COUNTY, INMANA. 

this one tree is about eighteen feet high and has a bole of about five inches 
in diameter. Strange to say, it never seems to be affected by the summer 
droughts, but remains green even when the trees in the court house yard are 
showing the effects of dry weather. 

Among the many poems written about this famous tree, the one by 
D. Eckley Hunter, tlien of Washington. Indiana, and an instructor in the 
teacliers' county institute at the time, is the best which has come to atten- 
tion. Professor Hunter read it at the close of the session, August 22, 1884. 
Mr. Hunter has a fairy to explain the origin of the tree and then draws a 
moral. The complete poem has fourteen stanzas, but only eight of them are 
here given : 

THE GROVE ON THE COURT HOUSE TOWER. 

The wonders of nature -are many, 1 ween, 

They come to my mind in a shower; 
But where may so wondrous a wonder be seen 

As the grove on the top of the tower? 

It troubled my dreams, it puzzled my brain, 

Till Ina and Pearl with a flower, 
Came in and the wonderful wonder made plain 

Of the grove on the top of the tower. 

They said they were rambling — Pearl told me herself — 

And stopped to admire that flower 
When in it a fairy they heard tell an elf 

Of the grove on the top of the tower. 

(What the fairy said) 
It is many and many a year ago 

Since the men who wielded the power 
Determined to plant and determined to grow 

A grove at the foot of the tower. 

They planted, they watered and they waited long 

For the shade of the leafy bower: 
At length the reward of their labors came 

In the grove at the foot of the tower. 

Then angels looked down from their home above. 

And smiled on these men of power; 
And said, "We'll plant, yes, plant them a grove 

On the topmost stones of the tower." 

It is thus they smile on deeds below 

That are done for a future hour; 
And that none forget, they have caused to grow 

A grove on the top of the tower. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 83 

May God bless the angels, and God bless the men 

Who plant for a future hour. 
And God bless the shade of the maples, and then 

The grove on the top of the tower. 

THE COUNTY JAIL. 

Until the organization of Decatur county, residents in this part of the 
"New Purchase" had been Hving without law, so consequently there were 
no legal punishments for transgressions. But with the organization of the 
county and the formation of a local government, a jail was rendered neces- 
sary. The board of commissioners, meeting on February ii, 1823, ordered 
the construction of a log jail and at a subsecjuent session, fixed its specifica- 
tions as follows : 

"To be twenty by twenty-four feet square ; the walls to be of stone and 
two and one-half feet thick, laid with good lime mortar, and every hole to 
extend through the wall. The first story to be seven feet high ; one window 
in the lower story to be fourteen inches square, to be bounded with solid 
rock three feet in length and not less than fourteen inches thick, the bars 
to be one and one-half inches square, well riveted to the frame and to be four 
squares of three inches." 

The room last described was the dungeon, intended for the incarcera- 
tion of prisoners of the worse type. Entrance to it was effected through 
a trap-door in the floor of the upper story. Construction of the upper 
story was very similar to that of the lower, save that those confined there 
got fresh air from two windows, instead of one. This room was intended 
for keeping prisoners jailed for minor offenses. 

A narrow stairway on the outside of the building led to the door of 
the upper room, the only entrance to the jail. This building stood on the 
west side of the court house yard until 1832. It was very poorly con- 
structed, and incapable of detaining anyone who really wanted to get out. 

According to tradition, Hiram Hendricks, who, with Robert Church, 
did the stone work on the building, was the first person to be incarcerated 
therein. As the story is told, Hendricks was jailed for debt upon com- 
plaint of Owen O'Reiley. The next morning, when O'Reiley went to jail 
for the purpose of interviewing his debtor he found him seated outside, 
looking regretfully at a huge hole, which he had cut through the wall in 
order to get to the fresh air. 

On May 4, 1830, the board ordered that "the Agent of tlie County, 
be instructed to sell to the lowest bidder the repairing of the jail of said 



84 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

County in the following manner, towit. the sides of the Upper Story thereof 
to be lined with oak plank one and one-half inches thick to be set up and down, 
well secured at the bottom and top and lined across the same with three- 
quarter poplar plank, tongued and grooxed and nailed with good six-penny 
nails not to exceed three inches apart on the whole face of the lining and 
that the lining be turned around the door and windows to the grates and 
likewise the fixing of the trap door and some convenient way to be made 
to descend to the lower room of said jail, the whole to be completed in a 
good workmanlike manner by the first day of October next." 

But in 1832 it was decided that a new jail was needed and the follow- 
ing order is taken from page 204 of the commissioners' court records : 

"Ordered by the board that the sherii¥ of the county do proceed after 
(after giving three weeks' notice in the Political Observer) to sell on the 
2d Saturday in June next, at the door of the court house in Greensburgh, 
the building of a jail for said county of the following description, to wit: 

"To be of hewn timbers not less than twelve inches square, the whole 
of the timbers to be eighteen feet long, a double wall, the corners dove- 
tail notches, the inside walls to extend and notch on the outside walls, a 
space between tlie walls of six inches to be filled with wide rocks set on 
edge, the under floor to be the same as the wall with stone between, the 
logs crossing each other, the foundation or joist course of the floor and 
the bottom rounds of the outside walls to be of white oak, the timber of 
the balance of the walls of good, sound wood such as beach, sugar, etc., 
twt) windows in the lower story one on the west and the other on the east 
side of the house, opposite each other of the following description, six 
inches in height and four feet wide to be filled with grates of iron one 
inch square, three inches apart, to stand up and down and to pass through 
a bar of iron half an inch thick and three inches wide to cross the grate in 
the center, the bar to extend in the timbers two inches, a plate of rolled 
iron half an inch thick and to extend in the walls a proper distance, the 
rolled iron to cover and Ije well spiked on the jams around the windows, 
the logs of the walls to be notched close and the inside walls to be laid in 
lime mortar. The second floor to be of one tier of logs hewn twelve 
inches in thickness, the edges hewn square. The second story to be in like 
manner of the first, with a tier of joists one foot thick, laid close, resting 
on the inside wall, and butting against the outside wall to be hewn to a 
thickness of twelve inches, the edges squared and one tier crossing them 
in the same manner to extend out for the room to stand on — and window in 
the upper story similar as in the lower story — one door of common size 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 85 

to be cut in the end well on the north side, in the upper story a door frame 
to be made as wide as the thickness of the walls and well, fastened in both 
walls, the frame to be of white oak four inches thick and to be lined on the 
inside on the walls, and the frame well spiked to the walls with sufficient 
iron spikes, not less than eight inches long. The shutter to be two and a 
half feet wide and six feet high, to be made of two-inch oak plank, made 
double, well spiked together with strong iron spikes, a strong lock with 
double bolts to be w^ell imbedded in the door with a sufficient key — both 
sides of the door to be entirely lined with strong sheet iron nailed on with 
one nail to every three inches, a sheet of hammered iron, half an inch thick, 
twelve inches long and eight inches wide to be set in the frame with strong 
spikes to receive the bolt and to be bent so as to cover the inside of the 
frame. A suljstantial stairway to be erected on the outside of the jail to 
reach the door with a good platform, the timber of white oak ; the build- 
ing to be well covered with shingles, the gables weatherboarded, the eaves 
boxed and plain cornice, the comers of the house to be neatly turned down, 
a hatchway to be made in the center of the second floor two feet and a half 
square with a sufficient shutter lock and key. The doors to be hung with 
strong wrought iron hinges. The whole of the work to be completed in a 
strong workmanlike manner. Stories to be seven and one-half feet high 
in the clear inside. The building to stand on a stone foundation of one 
foot underground and six inches above the surface, of the earth three feet 
thick, to be of good stone, laid in a workmanlike manner. The grates in 
the windows to be set in a frame in the center of walls to be made strong 
and rabited in the logs two inches, the inside of the frame to be lined with 
iron half an inch thick, well spiked on. And the logs where they are cut 
to make the windows to be lined with rolled iron half an inch thick, well 
spiked on. 

"The wh(jle to be completed by the fourth Monday in October next. 
The pavments to be made when the work is completed by orders drawn on 
the treasury of the county. One bid reserved for the use of the county. 
We undertake to give bond and security to the acceptance of the sheriff 
for the faithful performance of the work. 

"And it is further ordered that the sheriff, at the time and place afore- 
said, sell the old jail on a credit until the first of January next, for the best 
price he can obtain for the same, one bid reserved for the use of the county 
— bond and security required. 

"And it is further ordered that George O. JMcCoy be appointed to 



86 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

inspect the work of the new jail as it progresses, who will report the same 
to this board." 

The report of the day's session is signed by Seth Lo\ve, George \V. 
Hopkins and Edward Tanner, commissioners. 

On June 15, 1859, the board of commissioners passed a motion to 
remove the county jail from the corner of the court house square and 
ordered the sheriff and auditor of the county to purchase a suitable site, 
and to remove all material from the old to the new site. A site on the 
north side of West Main street, a half block from the public square, was 
selected and the old jail was removed in September, 1859. Edwin May 
was engaged, at the price of two hundred and fifty dollars, as the architect 
and superintendent of construction. Bids were received for the construc- 
tion of the building on September 30, 1859, and the contract awarded to 
Henry H. Talbott and Richard B. Thompson. The contract price of the 
building and the date of its acceptance by the board could not be ascertained. 

This building was in continuous use as the county jail until 1880. 
On March 10, of that year, the commissioners made it a matter of record 
in the minutes of their court that they had "visited the jails of Shelbyville 
and Columbus, with the view of better determining plans for erecting a 
jail in this county." On April 13, 1S80, the commissioners, S. H. Logan, 
Wren Grayson and Henry W. Badeker, accepted the plans and specifica- 
tion for a new jail submitted by Edward Carlisle, an architect. At a spe- 
cial session on May 20, 1880, bids for its construction w'ere examined and 
the contract awarded to Rosebrough & Company, of Greensburg, for eleven 
thousand three hundred and fifty dollars and the old jail was sold to Rich- 
ard J. Braden, the highest bidder, for three hundred and fifty dollars cash. 
However, on the next morning, May 21, Rosebrough & Company refused 
to accept the contract and the work was let to the next best and lowest 
bidder, the Greensburg Limestone Company, of Greensburg, for twelve 
thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars. The new building was to be 
built on the site of the old one and was to be completed by October i, fol- 
lowing. This building is still in use as the county jail. 



CHAPTER IV. 

COUNTY OFFICERS. 



COMMISSIONERS. 



Four distinct boards of county commissioners and two boards of jus- 
tices have had charge of the aiTairs of Decatur county since its organization. 
The first board of commissioners held office from 1822 to 1824. It was then 
succeeded by a board of justices, composed of two justices of the peace from 
each township. This board held its last meeting on July 4, 1831- A board 
of three county commissioners then had charge of affairs until 1835, m 
which year a board of eighteen justices was created. The latter board held 
swav until Tune 7. 1847, in spite of the fact that the Legislature, in 1842, 
had 'dissolved such boards in Indiana. The Decatur county board was dis- 
solved by a special act of Legislature. January 14. i847- A '^oard of three 
commissioners then took office and when tlie new constitution was adopted, 
in 1852 this arrangement was continued. The three commissioners held 
full sway until 1899. in which year the legislative act creating county councils 
restricted their powers to a limited extent. 

The first board of county commissioners met on :\Iay 14. 1822, at the 
home of Thomas Hendricks, in Greensburg, and were sworn in by H. H. 
Talbott, clerk of the countv. through appointment by Governor Jennings. 
This board was composed of Williams Harlwrd. \\^illiam Parks and Seth 
Lowe The first action of this board was to divide the county into three 
township, Fugit, Washington and Adams. The first day of June was then 
fixed for holding township elections. Superintendents of the school sections 
were then named as follow: Thomas Thorp, James McLain. Thomas Hen- 
dricks. Nathaniel Robins and Paul Brown. Enoch McCarty was appointed 
tax lister and John Hopkins, treasurer. 

When the three original townships were lai.l off, Fugit township had 
the same boundaries as at present: save that a strip one and one-halt miles 
wide and four miles long has since been stricken off and attached to Clinton. 
Adams township contained all its present territory, and. in addition, a strip 



88 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

two miles wide and four miles long, that has since been added to Clay, and 
all of Clinton except the Fugit strip, above mentioned. The remainder of 
the count}- lay in Washington township. 

Even in that earlv day, the high cost oi living was sufficiently asserti\'e 
to demand attention. The board accordingly fixed the following prices that 
might be charged by tavern keepers: Rum and wine, fifty cents a half pint; 
whisky, twenty-five cents a pint; French brandy, fifty cents a half pint; 
meals, twenty-five cents, and a night's lodging, twent}--five cents. 

THE BOARD OF JUSTICES. 

The first board of justices met on September 6, 1824. There were 
eight members of this board, there then being four townships in the count}'. 
The board was composed of the following justices of the peace: Robert 
Church, George \V. Hopkins, James Caldwell. Zachariah Carton, Grift'e 
Griffiths, Dillard Drake, Edward Turner anfl James Donnell. Other mem- 
bers of this board, before it passed out of existence in 1831, were ]\Iilton N. 
Williams, John McCarty, Samuel Bryan, Dan Bell, Robert Cliurcli, Wesley 
White, J. S. Forsythe, Davis Jewitt, Thomas Hamilton. G. W. Hopkins, 
W. E. Crawford, \\'illiam Fowler, James Saunders, Alex M. Elliott, William 
Switzer, J. K Rankin, Benjamin Jones, Ebenezer Douglas, T. C. Pemberton 
and Thomas Horton. 

This board was followed by a second group of county commissioners 
composed of Seth Lowe, a member of the first board, George W. Hopkins 
and Edward Tanner. Thomas E. Pemberton later filled a vacancy on this 
board. The most important matter to receive the attention of these early 
county ofiicials was the location of highways, and many pages are given 
in the records of their early meetings to such business. This board held its 
last meeting on January 5, 1835, ^"'^ ^^'^'^s followed by a board of eighteen 
justices, there then being nine townships in the countw 

The second board of justices met on March 2, 1835, it being composed 
of the following: Zachariah Garton, Ezra Lathrop, James Howard, R. M. 
Jamison, Thomas Powers, John Hazelrigg, Tbeophilus Lee. Samuel Will- 
iams, James Johnston, David Jewitt, Nathaniel Robins, W. E. Crawford, 
J. G. Kindall, John Scriptor, John Plymate, Enoch James, Dan Barker and 
James Lewis. The only new members upon this board in the next twelve 
years were Henry Critzer, Robert Kennedy, Dan Barker and Ebenezer 
Douglas. 

The countv again returning to the board of three comnnssioners in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



89 



1847, the following commissioners were elected: Henry S. Burk, Tom 
Powers and Seth Lowe, the latter of whom had twice previously been a mem- 
ber of this body. New members elected in 1850, were Smith Reilly and 
Barton H. Harney. This board passed out of existence in 1853, following 
the adoption of the new constitution. Commissioners were then elected as 
follows: Caleb Stark, Andrew McCoy and William Alagress. Since that 
time the board of commissioners has managed the business affairs of Decatur 
county. The present county commissioners are Charles W. Worland, 
William H. Logan and John W. Tremain. 

SHERIFF. 

The office of sheriff has Ijeen an elective one from the beginning of the 
state and was so provided for by the constitution of 1816. The first sheriff, 
William Ross, was appointed by the governor when the county was formed, 
to take charge of the first election. He served only from March until 
August, 1822. Doddridge Alley was the first elected sheriff. He was fol- 
lowed by John Parks, who was elected in 1826 and again in 1828. When 
Parks had collected the ta.xes for the latter year, he bought a large drove of 
horses and started with them for Lynchburg, \'irginia. He was never heard 
of afterward. Aljraham Hendricks was apjjointed to ser\'e out his un- 
expired term. 

The other incumbents of this office have been : John Thomson, 1829-33 ; 
James Morgan, 1833-37; Wyatt R. Henderson, 1837-41; Abraham Hen- 
dricks, 1841-45; Michael Swope, 1845-49; John Imlay, 1849-52 (died in 
office); John D. Wilson, 1852-53; Joseph V. Bemusdaffer, 1853-57; Ed- 
ward A. Jocelyn, 1857-61; Philip Mowrer, 1861-65; Charles Sherman, 
1865-67; Charles Woodward, 1867-69; Henry Reddington (died before 
taking office) ; Charles Wooward, 1868-70 (by appointment), Giles E. White, 
1870-74; James Fiscus, 1874-76; John A. Meek, 1876-78; Andrew J. Smith, 
1878-80; John W. Stout. 1880-84; Merrit C. Welsh, 1884-88; George S. 
Dickey, i8'88-92; Taylor F. Meek. 1892-96: William T. Stott, 1896-1900; 
JefT C. Davis, 1900-04; Jacob Biddinger, 1904-08; S. N. Patterson, 1908-12; 
John W. DeMoss, 1912. 

TREASURER. 

General Foley, the first holder of the office, had two opponents at the 
election, James Johnson, an independent Whig, and Juhn Thompson, the 



90 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

regular nominee. Although Foley won the first election in a walk, he was 
defeated, when he asked for re-election, by Captain James Saunders. 
Saunders ser\ed one term and declined a renomination. One of the songs 
of his campaign was: 

"Get out of the way, ye geese and ganders. 
Folks can't come it 'gainst Old Jim Saunders." 

From the time the county was organized until 1S41, the county treasurer 
was appointed by the county commissioners, or the board of justices, for one 
year. Since the office was made elective, it has been filled by the following: 
James B. Foley, 1841 : James Saunders, 1844; Abraham Hendricks, 1847- 
50-53-55 : Robert Cones, 1856-58; James Morgan, 1860-62; Thomas B. Perry, 
1864; \\'illiam L. Miller, 1866-68; Benjamin F. Henry, 1870; Conway O. 
Lanham, 1872; Charles Zoller, 1S74: Flenry C. Stockman, 1876-78; Angus 
M. McCoy, 1880-82; William D. Dailey, 1884-86; John W. Nation, 1888-90; 
John P. Thompson. 1892-94; Dyar C. Elder, 1896; George P. Shoemaker. 
1898-02; George W. Lanham, 1902-06; Oscar B. Trimble, 1906-10; L L. 
Doles, 1910-12; Albert Boling, 1912-16. 

RECORDER. CLERK AND AUDITOR. 

The recorder's office was filled by the county clerk for several years, 
the clerk also acting as county auditor. Henry H. Talbott performed the 
triple duties of clerk, auditor and recorder until 1841, in which year the 
office of auditor was created by the Legislature, after which he continued 
to act as clerk and recorder until 1859. 

Successors to him as county clerk have been elected in the following- 
order: James Gavin. 1863; Ira G. Grover, 1867; John M. Stevens, 1875; 
Evander F. Dyer, 1879; John G. Garrison, 1883; Jesse M. Thompson, 1887; 
Alfred Gaines, 1891 ; Marine D. Tackett, 1890; M. C. Jenkins, 1903; J. W. 
Rhodes, 191 1, and George W. Fraley, 19 15. 

Putnam Ewing followed Talbott as recorder in 1859 and since that 
time the office has been filled by the officers whose names follow : James 
R. Cox, 1863; William B. Harvey, 1867; Edward Kessing, 1875; James E. 
Mendenhall, 1879; Rufus P. Hamilton, 1885; Aaron Parker, 1895; Marsh 
Thomas, 1903; Newton Paramore, 191 1 (died in office), and James A. 
Meek, 1912. 

County auditors have been elected as follows: .Andrew Dyer, 1841 ; 
Joseph Remusdaffer, 1855; William H. Reed, 1859; John D. Spillman, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



91 



1863; Frank M. Weadon, 1871 ; John L. Dol)yns, 1875; James Kennedy. 
1882; John J. Pnttman. 1890: Coleman T. Pleak. 1894; Frank E. Ryan, 
1902: Linton W. Sands, 1910, and John C. Barbe, 1914. 

Andrew Dyer, the first county auditor, was re-elected three times and 
held the office for a period of fourteen years and three months. The records 
do not disclose the reason of this seeming irregularity. Dyer was defeated 
for a fifth term by Remusdaffer. Of the first eight men who held the office 
of county auditor, none was a native of Decatur county. Dyer came from 
Tennessee. Remusdafifer and Weadon from \'irginia, Spillman and Dobyns 
from Iventucky, Reed from I<"ranklin county, Kennedy from Union county 
and Puttman from Riplev county. 

STATE SENATORS. 

Decatur county has been represented in the state Senate since 1825, 
on which year it was served by James Gregorj^ who represented se\'en 
other counties. It had no senator of its own until 1836, by which time it 
had so increased in population that it was given separate representation in 
the upper house of the Legislature. This continued until 1869, when, in 
order to maintain an equitable representation in the Senate, the county was 
again thrown into a joint-senatorial district. Decatur county has had the 
following representation in the state Senate : 

1825-6 — James Gregory, joint senator, liamilton, Marion, Madison, 
Henry, Shelby, Decatur, Rush and Johnson counties. 

1826-7-S — James Gregory, joint senator, Decatur, Shelby, Johnson and 
Morgan counties. 

1829 — James Gregory, joint senator, Decatur, Shelby and Morgan 
counties. 

1830 — James Gregory, joint senator, Decatur, Shelby and Johnson 
counties. 

183 1-2-3 — Thomas Hendricks, joint senator, Shelby and Decatur 
counties. 

1834-5 — William Fowler, joint senator, Shelby and Decatur counties. 

1836 — William Fowler, senator, Decatur county. 

1837-45 — James Morgan, senator, Decatur county. 

1846-S — Joseph Robinson, senator, Decatur county. 

1849-50 — James Morgan, senator, Decatur county. 

185 1 — Robert H. Crawford, senator, Decatur county. 

1853-5 — ^^'- J- Robinson, senator, Decatur county. 



92 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1857 — John F. Stevens, senator, Decatur county. 

*t 1 858-59 — J. F. Stevens, senator, Decatur county. 

*ti86i — Richard Robins, senator, Decatur county. 

1863 — Joseph Pleak, senator, Decatur county. 

*ti865 — Dan R. Van Buskirk, senator, Decatur county. 

1867 — Will I'uniback, senator, Decatur county. 

*ti869 — William J. Robinson, joint senator. Rush and Decatur counties. 

1871 — William J. Robinson, joint senator. Rush and Decatur counties. 

*ti872-5 — George B. Sleeth, joint senator. Rush and Decatur counties. 

*ti877-9 — ^^'illianl A. Moore, joint senator. Rush and Decatur counties. 

*ti8'Si — Francis M. Howard, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1883 — Francis M. Howard, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

*ti885 — Francis M. Howard, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1887 — Francis M. Howard, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1889 — S. J. Carpenter, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby bounties. 

1891 — Cortez Ewing. joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1893-5 — Albert E. ^Vray, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1897 — Everett F. Stroup, joint senator, Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1 899-1901 — A\'. W. Lambert, joint senator. Bartholomew and Decatur 
counties. 

1903-5 — M. E. Xe\\house, joint senator, Bartholomew and Decatur 
counties. 

1907-9 — W'illiam E. Springer, joint senator, Bartholomew and Decatur 
counties. 

1911-13 — Emanuel Trautman, joint senator, Bartholomew and Decatur 
counties. 

191 5 — E. A. Norman, joint senator, Bartholomew and Decatur counties. 

*Special session. 
fRegular session. 

STATE REPRESENT.\TIVES. 

Being organized by the Session Laws of 1821, Decatur cuuntv first 
secured representation in the House of Representatives of the state Legisla- 
ture in its eighth session, 1823. It has since been served by representatives, 
by joint representatives and by both. The representation of the county in 
the lower house has been as follows : 

1823-5 — Thomas Hendricks, joint representative. Rush, Decatur, Shelby 
and Henrv counties. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 93 

1825-6 — Thomas R. Stanford, joint representative, Rush, Henry, 
Decatur and Shelby counties. 

1826- — Doddridge Ally, representative, Decatur county. 

1827-30 — Thomas Hendricks, representative, Decatur county. 

1831 — Doddridge Ally, representative, Decatur county. 

1832-3 — William Fowler, representative, Decatur county. 

1834-5 — Samuel Bryan, representati\'e, Decatur county. 

1836-7 — James Elder, representative, Decatur county. 

1838 — Abram Hendricks, representative, Decatur county. 

1839 — Martin Jamison, representative, Decatur county. 

1840 — James Blair, representative, Decatur county. 

1841 — James Saunders, representative, Decatur county. 

1842-3 — James Montague, representative, Decatur county. 

1844 — Ralph Robinson, representative, Decatur county. 

1845 — William J. Robinson, representative, Decatur county. 

1846 — P. Hamilton, representative, Decatur county. 

1847 — Philander Hamilton, representative, Decatur county. 

1848 — James Morgan, representative. Decatur county. 

1849 — William J. Robinson, representative, Decatur county. 

1850 — Robert H. Crawford, representative, Decatur county. 

185 1 — John Stevens, representative, Decatur county. 

1853 — Alex. L. Underwood, representative, Decatur county. 

1855 — Samuel A. Bonner, representative, Decatur county. 

1857 — Davis Batterton, representative, Decatur county. 

*ti858-59 — William J. Robinson, representative, Decatur county. 

*ti86i — Ira C. Grover. representative, Decatur county. 

1863 — Daniel A'an Buskirk, representative, Decatur county. 

*ti865 — William H. Bonner, representative, Decatur county. 

1867 — William A. Moore, representative. Decatur county. 

*ti869 — Oliver P. Gilham. representative: David M. Stewart, joint 
representative ; Decatur and Rush cour.ties. 

1871 — William T. Strickland, representative: Benjamin T. Hill, joint 
representative: Decatur and Rush counties. 

*i872-73 — George Goudie, representative: John D. Miller, joint repre- 
sentative; Decatur and Rush counties. 

*ti875 — John W. Shaw, representative: Barker Brown, joint represen- 
tative ; Ripley. Rush and Decatur counties. 

*ti877 — Zachariah T. Riley, representative: Arch ;\I. Kennedy, joint 
representative: Ripley, Rush and Decatur counties. 



94 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

*ti879 — John S. Donnell. representative; Chester E. Faulkner, joint 
representative : Ripley, Rush and Decatur counties. 

*ti<^8i — James B. Robinson, representative, Decatur county. 
i883-^Oscar L. Pulse, representative, Decatur county. 
*ti885 — Erastus L. Floyd, representative, Decatur county. 
1887 — William R. Pleak. representative, Decatur county. 
1889 — James B. Robinson, representative, Decatur county. 
1 89 1 — Jacob L. Doll, representative, Decatur county. 
1893-5 — IMarshal Newhouse, representative, Decatur county. 
1897 — William H. Goddard, representative, Decatur county. 
1899 — John W. Holcomlj, representative, Decatur county. 
1901 — Noah T. Rogers, representative, Decatur county. 
1903 — Henry B. Sherman, representative, Decatur county. 
1905-7 — \A'ebb Woodfill, representative, Decatur county. 
1909 — Jethro C. Meek, representative, Decatur county. 
1911 — S. B. Eward, representative, Decatur county. 
1913-15 — W. J. Kincaid. representative, Decatur county. 

*Special session. 
fRegular session. 



CHAPTER V. 

TOWNSHIPS AND TOWNS OF DF.CATUR COUNTY. 

The townships of Decatur county were organized by the county board 
in the following order: Washington, May 14, 1822; Fugit, May 14, 1822; 
Adams, May 14, 1822; Sand Creek, May 2, 1825; Clinton, July 6, 1829; 
Marion, May 3, 1831; Jackson, in March 1S34; Clay, March 3, 1836; Salt 
Creek, September 6, 1836. 

ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 

On May 14, 1822, the county commissioners established Adams town- 
ship with the following limits: Beginning at the county line on the township 
line dividing townships 10 and 11, range 8, thence east with the township line 
to the line dividing sections 32 and 33, range 9, township 1 1 ; thence north 
to the southwest corner of section 21 in the town and range aforesaid; 
thence east to the southwest corner of section 2^, range 9, township 1 1 ; 
thence north with the section line to the southwest corner (jf section 14, 
thence east to the southwest corner of section 17, range 10, township 11; 
thence north with the section line to the county line ; thence west with the 
county line to the northwest corner of said county; thence south with the 
county line to the place of beginning. 

This was one of the three original t'lwnships laid out in the county, and 
has been cut down three different times : First, by the formation of Clay 
township in 1825, sections 2y, 26, 25, 30, 34. 35, 36 and 31, township 11, 
range 8, being cut off to give Clay its present size ; second, when Clinton 
township was formed, Adams suft'ering the loss of fourteen whole sections 
and five half-sections, townshi]) ti, range 9, as follow: 2^, 24, 14, 13. 18, 
II, 12, 7, 2, I, 6, 35, 31 and the half sections, 34, 3, 10, 15 and 22; third, 
two sections, 19 and 20, township 11, range 9, were added to Washington 
township. This left the limits of Adams rather ill defined and after the 
last cut was made from this township, is found the following extract in 
the minutes of the commissioners" records: Adams township limits (Vol. i, 
page 135) : "On May 2, 1825, the limits of Adams township were rede- 
fined by the board of justices as follows : Beginning at the county line on the 



96 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

range line dividing ranges 9 and 10: thence south ii\-e miles to the southeast 
corner of section 24, range 9, township 1 1 ; thence west to the county h'ne ; 
thence with the county hue to the place of beginning." 

THE SQUATTER. 

Prior to 1818 a small portion of southeastern Indiana, only, had Ijeen 
purchased from the Indians and partiall}- settled. In that year a treaty was 
concluded with various tribes uf Indians, by which most of the land in the 
interior of the state, south of the Wabash river and not previously purchased, 
was deeded to the United States. Immediately, emigrants began to push their 
way into the "New Purchase," as it was called. The lands were not yet sur- 
veyed nor ready for sale; still, choice selections could Ije made preparatory 
to purchase when the land should be offered for sale — the "squatter," in the 
meantime, clearing a small piece of ground in some eligible situation, where 
he hoped soon to buy. This small tract, with the game, which was abundant, 
produced sufficient to satisfy his wants. 

THE FIRST SETTLER. 

The first white man to take up his abode in .Vdams townshij) is believed 
to have been John Gullion. He came from Switzerland county, and was an 
old Revolutionary soldier — said to have been perfectly irrepressible and 
uncontrollable in battle. He had been shot through the cheek and mouth in 
some of the battles of that war, and was greatly disfigured. It is belie\'ed he 
visited the country above Big Flatrock in the fall of 1818, ])uilding a "shanty" 
and, perhaps, clearing some ground in the bottom near where the Michigan 
road crosses that stream. In the spring of 1819 he mo\ed his family and 
took up his pennanent residence. In the same spring, Abraham Heaton set- 
tled about one mile further up that stream. He cleared land and raised a crop 
of corn in the bottom just below the mouth of Little Flatrock, in what in 
later years has been known as the Manley Kimble bottom. 

In November, 1819, Edward Tannor arrived and settled on the school 
section near where Nelson Jewett now lives, building a shanty and covering 
it with bark taken from an abandoned Indian shanty near by. In the spring 
of 1820, Heaton was joined by Peter Zeigler and Philip Isley, who raised a 
crop of corn in the same bottom, buying corn of Heaton of the previous 
year's raising, at one dollar in siher per bushel. 

The Miami tribe of Indians were still in the countrv. The new settlers 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 97 

hunted with them, and lixed im terms of mutual friendship. Tn the fah of 
1820, the land, having been surveyed, was offered for sale at Brookville. 
Abraham Heaton bought one hundred and sixty acres where he had located. 
Peter Zeigler bought one hundred and sixty acres, which was soon after- 
ward sold to Martin Adkins, and is now owned by Joseph D. Pleak. He also 
bought one hundred and sixty acres just west of the present site of St. 
Omer, on which he li\'ed until within a few years. Jonathan McCarty 
bought one hundred and sixty acres where the Michigan road crosses Big 
Flatrock; J. M. Robison, two hundred and forty acres immediately south of 
McCarty's, and Mr. Sanford, one hundred and sixty acres east of the same. 
Jonathan Paul entered a half section or more at the falls of Mill creek, near 
to the present St. Paul, and was one of the first, if not the very first, to 
erect a mill in the count}'. Col. W. W. Pearce entered one hundred and sixty 
acres one mile northwest of St. Omer, on the Michigan road, and William 
Peterson, one hundred and sixty acres just east of the present site of St. 
Omer. John Shelhorn entered lands between Big and IJttle Flatrock, and 
erected a mill on the latter stream alxnit the time, or soon after, that Paul 
built on Mill creek. Of course, these were small affairs compared with 
modern mills. They were devoted mostly to grinding corn, but were provided 
with bolts which were turned by hand and each customer had to turn his own 
grist. 

SHATTERED HOPES. 

Shelhorn also, in iSji, laid off a town on the blulf immediately aljove 
the confluence of Big and Little Flatrock, called Rockville, which was the 
first town laid off in the county. The county line not yet having been 
established nor the county seat located, it was hoped to make it a county seat. 
The town i)lat is recorded at Brook^•ille, and the only e\"idence of its existence 
in our records is in the records of deeds to certain lots — Main street and 
Broadway being given as part of the boundary. The site was a beautiful 
one for a town, but, failing to be made a county seat, all further effort to 
build up a town was abandoned. 

David Jewett entered a considerable tract of land just east of Shelhorn, 
on Little I^'latrock. Daniel Stoggsdill arrived either in the fall of 1820, 
or very early in 1821, and was the first minister of the gospel in this section 
of the country. His home was in the corner of Washington township, yet 
the church which he founded, and to which for a long time he ministered, 
was in Adams, with whose people he would be more properlv classed than 
(7) 



98 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

anywhere else. The same may be said of Richard Guthrie, who settled 
in 182 1, in the corner of Clay, just below the present town of Adams. Solo- 
mon Turpin entered one hundred and sixty acres of land on Clifty, where 
the Michigan road crosses that stream, and Jonas Long, it is believed, the 
same year entered eighty acres one mile farther west, just east of the present 
town of Adams. Rew Joel Clark entered lands in the east part of the town- 
ship in 182 1, where Phillip Martin subsequently lived. He was a Baptist 
minister and quite an old man at that time. His son, Austin Clark, was a 
Methodist e.xhorter and, in connection with Jonathan Tindale, who came at 
the same time, established the first Methodist society in the township. Archi- 
bald Clark, a brother of Austin, settled on Little Flatrock, near the center of 
the township. Joseph Lee came in the fall of this year and settled on the 
school section. Enoch ^IcCarty, Hershon Lee, Daniel Howard, and perhaps 
others^ were in the county, but had not at this date, entered lands with a jjros- 
pect of becoming- permanent residents. 

Enoch James, a young man who had accompanied a family to whicli 
he was related, was the first to procure a marriage license in the township, 
and, it is beHe\ed, in the county. He was married in the spring of 1S22. 

EARLY MAIL F.ACILITIES. 

Jonathan McCarty and Edward Tannor were the first justices of the 
peace, elected in 1823. The first postoffice was established in 1822, or 1823: 
^\'. W. Pierce was postmaster. The mails were carried on horseback from 
Lawrenceburgh to Lidianapolis, once in two weeks, and afterwards weekly. 
The streams were all unbridged, and in times of high water, which sometimes 
continued for weeks, the mail carrier had no means of crossing but to swim. 
A canoe was usually kept at the crossing, and sometimes he would go over 
in that with the mail bags, swimming the horse by the side of the canoe ; but 
if the canoe happened to be on the other side, or no one could be found to 
row it, he would plunge boldly in, protecting the mail bags as best he could. 
Samuel Frazier was for a long time the carrier, a good-natured, lively voung 
fellow, and, let the weather or streams be what they would, he seldom failed 
to get the mails through on time. He was long remembered by the old set- 
tlers on that route. 

PRIMITIVE CONDITIONS. 

This sketch would be imperfect if it did not give some idea of the 
state of the countr\' and of the difficulties these first settlers had to encounter, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



99 



yet no description can give to one who never saw the country in its native 
wildness, any just conception of what it was. Half the country seemed to 
be under water, hence settlers mostly selected lands near water courses, where, 
the lands being more broken, dryer situations could be found. In passing 
from Flatrock to Clift}', in the spring of the year, and sometimes a good 
part of the year, water from one to three feet deep would have to be waded 
for near half the distance, the scene being enlivened by the croaking of 
innumerable frogs, and occasionally by a deer which went bounding through, 
or over, the thickets of spice and other underbrush. 

Of roads there were none that deser\-ed the name. Wilsoii's "trace," 
from Napoleon through by the present site of Greensburg and on to Flat- 
rock, and perhaps farther west ; Freel's "trace," which, branching off from 
the former at the big fallen timber, ran through by the forks of Clifty and 
on to Conners\-ille ; and another from Brook\ille, through or near the present 
town of Clarksburg and on to the settlements on Clifty and Flatrock, were 
the roads followed by settlers. The trees along the route were merely 
"blazed," and a few brushes cut out. The logs that could be easily removed 
were taken from the track, and others were frequently crossed by piling 
chunks on each side which enabled the teams to draw the wagons over. 

There were no mills in the country, and meal was made by pounding 
corn in a mortar. This was made by burning a hole a foot or so deep in a 
solid sugartree, beech or other log, setting this up on end and erecting over 
this something exactly like a well sweep, only, in place of rope or chain to 
attach to a bucket, was a pole with the butt end down, and fitted nicely to 
the shape of the mortar. A small jiortion of corn was put in at a time and 
pounded till sufficiently fine, and the coarse parts removed by a sieve. This 
process, hard and tedious as it was, was easier for most than going to mill — 
the most convenient Ijeing four miles below Brookville. Colonel Pierce, who 
was the first to sow wheat in the township, and perhaps in the county, that 
being in the fall of 1821, was compelled to go to that distance to get it ground 
— taking two days to go and two to come back. 

EARLY WEARING APP.VREL. 

It was some vears before a store was established in the township, the 
nearest being Benson's, where Spring Hill now is, and at Arthur ^Major's, 
two or three miles below the present St. Paul. But very little store goods 
sufiiced in that day; all articles of wear were home-made: spinning and 
weaving were a part of the regular employment of the women of every 



lOO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

household, wool being carded into rolls for spinning bv hantl. and flax was 
frequently jiartly prepared for spinning h\- the same hands; some, before 
flax could be raised, substituted nettles, which grew luxuriantl_\- on bottom 
land to the height of three or four feet ; when thev had lain sufficiently 
long to l)ecoine rotted, they were prepared the same as flax, and made a 
very good article of linen. Garments were made with but little regard to 
fashion. The men sometimes wore what was called a hunting-shirt, fringed 
round the edges with red or blue fringes, and a coonskin cap, with the 
striped tail hanging clown the back — these being the onl}- eft'orts at style. 

The women wore dresses of home-made linsey, or linen striped with 
indigo or copperas color, to suit the taste, exactly such as can be seen at 
the present day worn by emigrants from the mountainous regions of Ten- 
nessee and North Carolina. Deerskins were, after a home tanning, con- 
verted into moccasins. Some of the more well-to-do aspired to shoes ( boots 
were not thought of), but one pair usually lasted a good while, and so care- 
ful were the girls of their shoes, that it was the custom, when they went to 
meeting, to carry their shoes and stockings in their hands, putting them on 
only when they arrived within a short distance of the meeting-house. Hats 
were frequently made of buckeye splits, plaited and sewn together, and were 
quite a stylish article when new, the only draw-back being that after two or 
three wettings they turned a mouldy, dirty-looking brown color that was 
anything but handsome. 

Wolves, though not very nmnerous, were still troublesome to those 
who attempted to keep sheep. Rattlesnakes were abundant, and, though a 
source of great dread, yet accidents from this source were not frequent. On 
one occasion about seventy were killed in one day near Paul's mill, where 
they had crawled out from their den in the rocks. This was considened 
rather better than an ordinary day for snakes. 

Horses were turned out, after work, to range in the forest, as it was 
impossible to procure food otherwise, the precaution being taken to fasten 
a bell to the neck in order that they might l)e easily found in the morning. 
But. as the season advanced, the malaria from the swamps, coujiled with 
the continued hardship and exposure, began to tell on the settlers, and nearly 
all were afflicted with chills and fever. Some continued to shake until Christ- 
mas, others recovering in a few days or weeks ; sometimes they were scarcely 
well enough to attend the sick, yet \'ery few cases were fatal, whether from 
the mildness of the malady or the scarcity of doctors, it would be impossible 
to tell. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. lOI 



WILD GAME. 



One year was noted for a wonderful l^eech mast. This brought in the 
pigeons by the niilhons, squirrels also, and the wild turkeys in vast numbers. 
It was no uncommon thing to see the whole heavens covered for hours at a 
time, like a cloud, with pigeons going to the roost in the evening or return- 
ing in the morning. Squirrels were so thick as to, in some instances, destroy 
whole fields of corn in the fall ; the trees left standing gave them shelter, 
so that they ravaged all parts of the field alike. Squirrel hunts were some- 
times made to try to exterminate them, and it was not uncommon for one 
man to kill one hundred and fifty in a day. Turkeys, too, were so abundant 
that frequently only the breast was saved to dry, the balance of the carcass, 
though fat and fine, being thrown away. Hogs nndtiplied rapidlv and, 
feed being abundant in the woods, they soon sought their living there alto- 
gether, and became as wild as the deer. Almost everyone had wild hogs 
in the woods and those who had not, bought a real or pretended claim from 
someone else; these claims never ran out or became worthless while the 
hogs lasted, there being no first mortgages to come in, as in later times, to 
swallow up all minor interests. In the fall or beginning of winter it was 
the custom to go to the woods, strike a camp, and hunt and kill wild hogs 
till enough were secured for the year's supply. The hogs, being almost 
wholly unmarked, few could tell their own from others, nor did they seem 
at all particular, the fact that one had a claim being thought sufficient to 
justify him in taking the first he came to. 

DISTILLERIES. 

The temperance reformation bail not yet commenced and all classes 
used whiskey as a regular beverage. To supply this want, whiskey being 
thought indispensable, still-houses were very early erected, and there have 
been as many as six in a township, though not all in operation at one time. 
They have long since disappeared, yet their influence probably long sur- 
vived theuL 

PIONEER SCHOOLS. 

Amidst all disadvantages, the interests of education, morality and re- 
ligion were not wholly neglected. Rude school houses were put up by the 
voluntarv aid of contiguous neighbors. A log was usually cut out of the 
wall on one side and over this greased paper was pasted, this serving for a 



I02 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

window. Under this was the writing-desk — a board laid on pins, driven in 
the wall ; and the seats were split puncheons, without backs. The teachers, 
sometimes, verv w'ell matched the school house, while some would compare 
A'ery well with those of the present day. People with such rude surround- 
ings sometimes gained a very good practical knowledge of arithmetic, going 
clear through and doing eveiy sum in a single quarter, a feat that under 
modern teaching is seldom accomplished under three or four, so little do 
the surroundings of a scholar ha^'c to do with his advancement. 

The present officers of Adams township are : Trustee, L. A. Jewett ; 
assessor, Ed Shower ; advisory board, William Larrigan, J. S. Townsend 
and Manford Slifer; road supervisors, Ed Hoffman, T. M. Favor, George 
Smith and Thomas Teitsort. 

ST. OMER. 

The little village of St. Omer is located in section 2. Adams township, 
and appeared on the horizon for the first time in 1834, when it was laid out 
by John Griffin and A. Major. It is on the old Michigan road and was for- 
merly an important trading center of Adams township. Scattered along 
either side of the famous old thoroughfare, which is the main street of the 
little village, may be seen quaint okl cottages, once the home of happy and 
contented people. The first building in the town dates from 1830. The 
Michigan road was once an Indian trail which wound its way through this 
countrv, and, from the opening of the "New Purchase" to settlement, the 
trail became the main road from the southeastern part of the state to the 
new capital at Indianapolis, \^'ith the opening of the ^Michigan road by 
government and state aid, in the early part of the thirties, ta\erns sprang 
up at intervals throughout its entire length, and these taverns, in many in- 
stances, became the centers of hopeful villages. In St. Omer may still be 
seen a few buildings \vhich were once used as taverns. The Wilder prop- 
erty was once such a tavern. 

VISIONS OF R.\ILR0ADS. 

In the early forties, St. Omer began to see visions of a railroad, but the 
vision was all the people ever saw. The present Big Four was first planned 
to run through the village, but subsequent sur\-eys showed that it would miss 
the town by about two miles. Another projected road which was to pass 
through St. Omer was a line from Greensburg, part of which was actually 
graded. Howexer, this line never materialized, and since that time the town 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



103 



has given up hopes of ever having a railmad. This projected road explains 
the huge cuts and fills which may still be seen along the Michigan road be- 
tween Greensburg and Shelbyville. The work had even proceeded so far 
that part of the abutments for the bridge across Flatrock were in place. 
Thousands of dollars were expended, to say nothing of the time and labor 
and lilasted hopes. 

An interesting incident connected with this visionary railroad was a 
clan feud between the Irish laborers of Shelbyville and those stationed at 
St. Omer. So bitter became tliis strife that they took their old flint-lock 
muskets with them to their work day after day and stacked their arms along 
the right of way, to be used in case trouble might arise. Several skirmishes 
actually occurred and some blood was shed, but there were no fatalities. 

Few people know that the timber was prepared for the construction of 
a depot in St. Omer, but such was the case. The depot was to stand on a 
spot just south of the later residence of Wesley Wilder, but when it was 
decided to change the route of the railroad, the timbers were hauled to St. 
Paul and became a part of the residence of Joseph Eck. So much for the 
railroad history of St. Omer. 

EDUCATION. 

The subscription school furnished all of the education for the young- 
sters of St. Omer laefore the adoption of the new Constitution in 1851. 
\^^len the system of free schools came into operation, in that year, St. 
Omer was divided between two school districts, one school house being in 
the \'illage and the other in the woods near where John Leach later lived. 
This did not prove satisfactory and in 1856 the citizens of the \illage 
secured a graded school and placed it in the hands of Franklin Pearce and 
Samantha Mann, the mother of Dr. E. Jewett. A few weeks after school 
began, Mr. Pearce was hit on the head with a stick of wood in the hands 
of one of his pupils, and killed. Whether it was accidental or intentional, 
is uncertain. The school was one of the best in this section of the state at 
the time. Latin, German, algeljra, music and other higher branches were 
included in the curriculum. The present school building was erected in 1879. 

CHURCHES. 

There have been three churches in St. Omer, the ISIethodist Episcopal, 
Presbvterian and L'nited Brethren. The Presbvterian church was destroved 



I04 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Ijy fire se\eral years ago and ne\'er rebuilt, tradition saying that the cliurch 
was burned as the result of some courageous preacher pointing out in too 
plain a manner the future destiny of a certain young man whose agricultural 
efforts were devoted to the sowing of the wrong kind of oats. The history 
of the other churches is given elsewhere in this \-olume. 

St. Omer has ne\er boasted of a large population and today can scarcely 
claim o\er half a hundred. There were ne\er anj- factories of any import- 
ance in the village, but from the earliest history of its career there were 
artisans capable of supplying most of the local wants. Plows, wagons, sad- 
dles and harness, hats, beds and many other articles have been made here in 
a small way. Coopers, butchers, blacksmiths, wood-workers, carpenters, and 
even tailors, have pursued their trade here in the past. At one time there 
were four general stores, two drug stores, a hotel or two, and the ubiquituous 
saloon in St. Omer, and all of them appeared to thrive. John F. Harwood 
opened the first hotel and Harvey X'aupelt established the first store. Today 
there is not a single store in the village, the pro.ximity of St. Paul, two miles 
away, having made it impossible for a local merchant to continue in business. 

A COUNTY-SEAT PROSPECT. 

The history of this once prosperous little hamlet cannot be dismissed 
without mentioning an interesting dream of its former inhabitants. Before 
the Civil War, St. Omer entertained aspirations of being a county seat. A 
project, fathered by soine politicians, proposed to make a new county out 
of parts of Decatur, Shelby and Rush counties, with St. Omer as the county 
. seat. However, so much opposition was encountered that the proposal ne\er 
did anything more than raise the linpes of the guileless people of St. Omer. 
The promoters of the new county ex-en went so far as to select the site for 
the new court house, the site being located across the road and west of 
Smith's garage. The failure of the new-county scheme and the shifting of 
the railroad, two miles to the west, was the death-knell of St. Omer. Its 
oldest citizens can still tell of the halcyon days when they fondly imagined 
great things for the town. They planned for its future with every confi- 
dence in the promises of the railroad people, and likewase gave e\-ery 
encouragement to the county-seat proposal — but, alas, it was all in vain. 

ADAMS. 

The village of Adams is situated on the Big Four railroad and also the 
interurban line. It is only five miles from Greensburg and in the extreme 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO5 

southern part of the township hearing the same name. The village was laid 
out by Aaron H. Womack, January i, 1855, two years after the completion 
of the railroad through this township. It is located in the center of a rich 
agricultural district and, although there has been a great falling off in the 
population of some of the smaller towns since the general influ.x to the cities 
began, Adams has continued to grow. "Sir. Womack was the first merchant 
in the village, although William Gouldsl)ury is credited as being the first 
settler. Mr. Gouldslniry erected the first residence in the town and also 
established the first industrial enterprise in the form of a Ijlacksmith shop 
and wagon works. Around this nucleus soon gathered a prosperous settle- 
ment of industrious, intelligent and progressive people. 

Adams was incorporated in September, 1877, for school purposes, but 
the school was taught only one term under corporate management. Confu- 
sion and jealousies arising among the officers and citizens, it was determined, 
by a unanimous vote, to abolish the corporation and return to the manage- 
ment of the township trustee. 

The business interests of Adams in 191 5 are as follows: Auctioneer, A. 
F. Eubank ; barber, George Baumgartner ; blacksmith, J. S. Hichney and I 
N. Con, John Inman, Charles Adkins; boarding house, Mrs. ^Mae Long- 
street ; contractor, James Inman ; elevator, Albert Boling ; general merchan- 
dise, Arthur Toothman, J. J. Mull, Walter Marshall; implements, L. R. 
Davis; livery, William Jackson; meat market, A. R. Coy; physician, M. A. 
Tremain; paper hanger, Ed Shauer; restaurant and confectionery, A. R. 
Coy ; veterinary, Morton Tanner. 

Adams has a well organized band of fifteen members, with Justin 
Guthrie as leader. The}- were organized in the winter of 1913 and have 
two thousand dollars invested in instruments. This band has recently pur- 
chased new uniforms and renders concerts during the summer months for 
the entertainment of the townspeople. 

Adams is accommodated lay the Big Four railroad, with A. R. Coy as 
agent, and also the electric line, with Arthur Toothman as agent. Grace 
Jackson is the present postmistress. The town has a population of four hun- 
dred people. 

DOWNEYVILLE. 

Downeyville is a small hamlet in .\dams township. This village was 
never platted and, although the name covers considerable space on the county 
map, there are only four or five houses in the cluster that marks the town 
limits. The business interests, which consist of a general store, are con- 
ducted by J. E. Downey & Sons. 



I06 DECATUR C0U>;TY, INDIANA. 



ROCKVILLE, A PROSPEROUS COUNTY SEAT. 

Few of the present generation know that the first town laid out within 
the present Hmits of Decatur county was located in Adams township. 
Shortly after land in the "Xew Purchase" was offered for sale at Brook- 
\ille, Al)raham Heaton bought one hunilred and sixty acres in section 6 of 
Adams township. In the early part of the following year John Shelhorn 
entered a tract in the same section and these two men conceived the idea of 
laying out a town above the confluence of Big and Little Flatrock. The 
county of Decatur had not }et Iieen organized and no one, of course, knew 
how much territory the new county might include. Heaton and Shelhorn 
hoped to induce the authorities to select the site of their proposed town for 
the county seat and when they laid out their town provided for a public 
square. On the Franklin county records ma}- still be seen the town of Rock- 
\'ille, which these two enterprising Yankees laid out in the early spring of 
1 82 1. The plat was recorded at Brookville, February 19, 1821 (Deed record 
E, page 76), and shows one hundred and eight lots. The streets were one 
chain in width and seventy-five links in length. The plat shows the following 
streets : Main, Broadway, Walnut, \\'ater, Mulberry and Market. \\"hile 
the site was a beautiful one, the proprietors never realized anything from 
their patriotic efforts to make it a town. During the following year the 
locating commissioners placed the county seat of the new county at Greens- 
burg and thus blasted any hopes that Heaton and Shelhorn might have en- 
tertained for their town. The present town of Downeyville is in the neigh- 
borhood of this long-forgotten, prospective county seat of Decatur county. 

ST. PAUL. 

The town of St. Paul came into existence at the time the Big Four 
railroad was built through Decatur county, in 1853. The town is on the line 
l^etween Decatur and Shelby counties, although the greater part of the town 
is in Decatur county. Jonathan Paul was the first settler to locate on the 
present site of St. Paul, entering all of section 33, township 11, range 8, 
e.xcept eighty acres ; the patent for this large tract being dated October 20, 
1820. The Pauls came from JetTerson county, Indiana, where one of the 
members of the family had laid out the town of Madison. A sister of Jona- 
than Paul became the wife of William Hendricks, congressman. United 
States senator and governor of Indiana. 




OLI> HOTSH MIM., XKAK CKKKXSIUIK i 




OLDEST Itni.l.lXG IN ST. VWI.. I'.riLT I'.Y JOIIX I'. I'.UI. AUOIT ls.-,4 AND 

STILL STANDING. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



107 



The original Paul home in Adams township, Decatur county, was a log 
cabin near the road, at the foot of the present Paul Hill cemetery, at St. 
Paul. There was a semblance of a village many years before the town was 
la'id out. the hamlet being known as Paultown. The older residents still 
speak of the place as Paultown, but few of the present generation are aware 
of the first name. 

The first Paul cabin Ijurned a few )-ears after it was erected and another 
log structure was Iniilt on the same spot, which ser\-ed as a home for the 
family until the erection of a sul)stantial brick building. The contract for 
the erection of the brick house was let to Daniel French, who made the 
brick near where the house was built. The evidence of this worthy con- 
tractor's work still stands in St. Paul and bids fair to stand for many years 
yet to come. Shortly after getting his first cabin erected, Paul established a 
rude mill on Mill creek, a short distance above where the later Paul mill 
stood. This first mill — and it was probably the first mill in the county — 
was not much larger than a smoke-house, but it served the purpose for which 
it was built. He ground only corn and this was done in an old-fashioned 
hand "hopper." 

A few years after Jonathan Paul put his first mill into operation, his 
son, John Paul, built another mill a short distance below the old mill and 
operated it by water-power. Sometime later John Paul saw that there was 
an excellent water-power site at the confluence of Mill creek and Flatrock 
and proceeded to build a woolen-mill on the west side of Mill creek near 
where it empties into Flatrock. He built a dam across Mill creek and the 
race which he constructed may still be seen. John Paul also had a saw-mill 
near the same place, deriving his power for its operation from Flatrock. 
The two mills were close together and it was his original intention to utilize 
the same race for both mills, but such a plan was found impracticable. These 
two mills gave employment to several men and were the means of attractmg 
a number of families to the little hamlet of Paultown, or "Bull Town," as it 
was frequently called. In the spring of 1847 the two mills were swept away 
by a flood and Paul also saw his dam across Flatrock disappear at the same 
time. 

RAILROAD BOOMS THE TOWN. 

From 1847 to 1854 was a period of depression in the once thriving vil- 
lage, but with the building of the railroad through the place in the latter 
year, things began to look more auspicious. Paul rebuilt his mill, and, with 
the assistance of his son-in-law, Erastus M. Flo\-tl, laid out the town into 



I08 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

lots ; giving it at the same time, the name of St. Paul. From that time 
forward the town had prospered and toda_\- is one of the hest trading centers 
in the count}-. By 185CJ the town had increased in population until fnat year 
saw the erection of thirty buildings. According to a local account, there 
were the following enterprises in St. Paul in 1859: Alerchants — Caldwell 
& Dorse\', Drummond tS: Buell, Ridlin & Company. John DeArmond and 
Benjamin Jenkins : steam and water mills — George Wooden : cabinet shop — 
Hann & Raymond ; two hotels ; woolen factory — John Paul, and a number 
of other industries. 

A word should be said regarding the old Paul mill, which no longer 
greets the eve of the fisherman as he wanders along Mill creek in search of 
chubs and slickjacks. Amateur photographers no longer compete in efforts 
to get the liest pictures of the Ijuilding, with its quaint overshot wheel. The 
old mill was razed in 1909 and nothing now remains of an industry which 
was once a boom to the settlers who flocked from far and near to take their 
turns in getting their grist ground. Never again will the curious gather 
to watch the water, freed from the race by the lifting of the old water gate, 
rush down over the wheel and fill the buckets. The hum of the old French 
burrs is silenced forever; no more will the youth of the village, stripped to 
the skin, stand under the falls of the race overflow ; no more will boys borrow 
the iild miller's spade, with which to dig worms when fishing in the old mill 
race ; no more will they parch corn on the top of the old box-stove, fired 
with colis, and listen to the miller's stories of pioneer days. 

SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. 

The first school house in St. Paul stood on the site of the store now 
owned by the Ilenning Brothers, and the second one was located where 
Walter Hungerford's residence now stands. School was also held for a 
time in the second story of Oddfellow hall, now the carriage and buggy fac- 
tory of Jacob Johannes. During the early seventies a school was main- 
tained in l)oth the Methodist and Catholic churches. After leaving Odd- 
fellow hall, the public school was stationed in the building now owned by 
Henry Xeidigh, which was also used for religious purposes at the same 
time. In 1870 the school district built a school house about one hundred 
feet back of where the present school building now stands. This building 
was used until it was destroyed by fire in 1901, and, until the completion of 
the present building in the following year, the Floyd building was used for 
school purposes. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO9 

The first church Imilding dates from 1857 when the different deudmi- 
nations of the town erected wliat they called a union church, luich denom- 
ination interested in the erection of this edifice was to be allowed to use it 
at regular intervals, but it seems that, owing to the predominance of the 
Lutherans, it was commonly known as the Lutheran church. However, 
other denominations used it for services for a few years. Just wlien the 
Lutherans gained complete control of the building is not known ; but it is 
certain that it was unused se\-eral years previous to the time the Christian 
church got possession of it in 1X74. 'Ihe Christians seemed to have rented 
it until 1892 when they purchased it and made many extensive improvements 
in it. The Methodists built about 1858 and the Catholics in the same year. 
The first IMethodist church Inirned in 1892 and in the same year the present 
church was erected. The Catholics are still using the church they built in 
1858. 

INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE. 

The stone industry in St. Paul was started in the 'fifties by John Scan- 
Ian, who established a stone cjuarry south of town, which gave employment 
to a large number of men. Later, William Lowe established a cpiarry at the 
junction of Mill creek and Flatrock, on the site of the old woolen-mill. 
Later H. C. Adams opened a quarry opposite the Lowe quarry on Flatrock. 
Li 191 3 P. J. McAuliffe, who had leased the Lowe quarry, some years 
previoush', closed the quarry as a result of the extensive damages suffered 
by the ]\Iarch flood of that year. In 1907 Greely Brothers built a large 
stone crusher on Flatrock east of town. This is one of the largest concerns 
of its kind in Lidiana and produces from fifteen to twenty car loads of 
crushed stone daily. In addition to crushed stone for road material, a large 
amount of what is locally known as "dimension"' stone is quarried. This 
stone ranks second in the state to Bedford stone and is shipped for building 
purposes all over the United States. It was used in the construction of the 
custom house at Cincinn.ati and in the state house at Indianapolis. The 
onlv other industry of any importance now in St. Paul is the bugg}' factory 
of Jacob Johannes. This was established by the present proprietor in 1878 
and has been in continuous operation since that year. Formerly carriages 
were manufactured as well as buggies, but at the present time only buggies 
are made. The factory has an annual capacity of one hundred buggies and 
on an average of se\-enty-five are now made each year. Only first-class 
vehicles are turned out and the product finds a ready sale, despite tlie heavy 
inroads which the automobile has made in the vehicle industry. In addition 



no DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

to the manufacture of Ijuggies, Mr. Johannes does a large amount of repair 
work. 

The first merchant in St. Paul was a man by the name of Hungate, 
who sold a little of everything, as was the custom in those days. The busi- 
ness enterprises of the town change from year to year, and scarcely a year 
passes that there is not some change in firms. New enterprises are being 
added from vear to year, and it is impossible to predict what a new year 
will bring forth. 

.-V survey of the business and professional interests of St. Paul in the 
summer of 1915 discloses the following: Automobiles, St. Paul Hardware 
Company ; bakery, St. Paul Baking Company ; barbers, Jacob Wise, William 
Favors, Carl Brooks; blacksmiths. Merritt Copeland, ^lanlief & McAulitTe; 
buggy factory, Jacob Johannes; building and loan association, George W. 
Boling, secretary; bank, St. Paul Banking Co., Orlando Hungerford, owner; 
cement products, Joseph Eck ; carpenters, George W. Swartz, Albert Hay- 
mond, Miller Brothers; dentist, Leslie Rivers; drugs. Dr. 1). J. Ballard, 
H. H. Gladish : ele\-ator, William Xading; feed and milling products, \V. 
T. Boiling; flowers, Mrs. H. \\'. Ballard; furniture, Charles H. Wiley; gen- 
eral stores, R. D. Templeton, L. A. Jewett & Son, A. B. Mulroy; groceries, 
Benning Brothers, John B. McKee, James Embry ; harness, Garrett & Con- 
rad; hardware. Boiling & Thompson, I. W. ]\lartin; hotel. Diltz & Adams; 
ice dealer, F. M. Favors; ice cream parlor, Mrs. PI. H. Gladish; insurance. 
Mrs. John Harwood, George W. Boiling; interurban agent, Joseph Miller; 
implements, \\'. W. Townhend; jeweler, C. F. Kappes; livery, Ottis 
Thompson; lumber and building supplies, John Simpson & Son; meat mar- 
ket, Carl G. Wolfe; millinery, Mrs. B. F. Mason; moving pictures, Howard 
& Pleak; newspaper, St. Paul Telegram, O. C. Pearce, editor; notions, B. 
F. Mason ; painter and paper hanger, Amos Dodds, Orla Wadkins, Pearce 
& McAuliffe ; plumloer. Garrett & Conrad ; physicians, G. J. ^lartz, F. M. 
Howard, Earl Jewett, D. J. Ballard, W'illiam R. Turner; pool rooms, Charles 
Neal, Wallace McCain, Bush Brothers; rural mail carriers, Clarence Ket- 
chum, Orla Guess, Denzel Doggett ; restaurant, Joseph Miller ; stock buyer, 
Carl G. Wolfe; saloons, George Hess, Jasper Lin\ille (both on the Shelby 
county side); Standard Oil Company agent, Charles Ross; tinner. George 
Scheiderman; undertaking, Charles H. Wiley; veterinarian, W'. R. Chrisler. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. m 



DISASTROUS FIRES IN ST. PAUL. 



There was probably more excitement in St. Paul during the summer of 
1912 than any time since the Civil War. Beginning on December 22. 191 1, 
there were a series of se\-en fires, in number, which wrought up the inhabitants 
of the little town to a high pitch of excitement, and if the guilty parties, sus- 
pected of being the cause, of the fires, had l)een caught after the seventh fire, 
they might have expected severe treatment at the hands of the indignant 
citizens. The first fire took the elevator : the second, John West's residence ; 
tlie third, the Big Four depot: the fourth, Feljruary 5, 191 J, the drug and 
general store of Daniel Hazelrigg, as well as the postoffice, which was in 
his building. Hazelrigg's loss was about three thousand dollars, most of 
which was covered by insurance. The most destructive fire was the fifth one. 
On March 12, 191J, the stores of A. F. Hier & Son and John R. Turner were 
burned to the ground and by this time the citizens began to investigate mat- 
ters. Many indications pointed to incendiaries and detectives were engaged 
to ferret out the cause of the many fires which had come so close together. 
But there was still more excitement yet to come. On May 3, 1912, the store 
and residence of William Kelso burned with all of their contents. The bark- 
ing of a dog in the middle of the night wakened the Kelso family and enabled 
them to save their hves. By this time the inhabitants of St. Paul were on 
the border of a panic and there was a mass meeting to decide upon somje 
definite plan of action to find out the cause of all these many fires. How- 
e\'er, the fears of the people gradually subsided and nothing was done. Just 
aI;out the time that they had come to the conclusion that the fire-bug had 
decided to burn no more buildings in the town, the new residence of I^r. J. 
\\'. Bell burned to the ground on the night of July 10, 1912, and the se\'enth 
fire had occurred. According to the newspaper accounts, the same dog which 
had warned the Kelso fannlv two months previously again appeared on the 
scene and, by his barking, awakened the Bell family. This was the first fire 
in which lives were nearly lost, Mrs. Bell being severely burned before she 
escaped from the house. .As might be expected, the people of St. Paul were 
aghast at this final calamity, and dcternnned to leave no stone unturned in 
an effort to solve the cause of the seven fires which had taken place within a 
period of seven months. But it was to no avail ; the mystery ne\'er has been 
solved, although some people had strong suspicion as to the guilty parties. 
Fortunately, this fire of July to has been the last one inflicted on the sufi^ering 
town. 



IT2 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



BIG JOHN OF ST. FAUL. 



In the Slimmer of 1911, there arrived a big dog in St. Paul via the box 
car route. A brakeman, on opening a car, was astonished to see a dog of 
unusual size leap out and run down the railroad track. This particular dog 
was destined to become the hero of the fire-stricken town in the summer of 
19 1 2. He was a friendly sort of a canine and was soon a favorite of every 
one in the town, and the whole town shared in providing him with dainty 
bones and all those delicacies dear to the palate of a dog. When the assessor 
came around in the spring of .1912 and began to inquire concerning the 
ownership of the dog, he was told that the dog l)elonged to the town. Such 
an ownership was a puzzler for the assessor and he was in a quandry how 
to collect the two dollars fr.mi the town. But he was soon to find out to 
what degree the dog had endeared himself to the citizens of the town. Tlie 
business men took up a collection for "Big John," and thus satisfied the 
craving of the law and thereby ga\e the dog another year of legal existence. 

This is only half of the interesting story of this dog. The grateful 
citizens wanted to show their appreciation of his valuable barking and finally 
decided to present his dogship with a gold collar. The collar bore the engrav- 
ing, "Big John. Hero. May 3, 1912, St. Paul, Ind." This inscription will 
enlighten the workl where he mingles that this canine is a real hero, and that 
in St. Paul, Indiana, a dog has a]jpreciati\e friends. 



CLAY TOWNSHIP. 

Clay townshi]) was organizeil in March, 1836, and was laid off liv the 
board of commissioners of Decatur county at their March term fur that year. 
It is bounded as follows, to-wit : Beginning at the county line on the section 
line dividing sections 22 and 2"]'. town 8, range 11 ; thence east four miles to 
the northeast corner of section 30, town 1 1 , range 9 ; thence south eight miles 
to the township line di\iding townships 9 and 10: thence west to the county 
line; thence with the county line to the place of beginning. 

This township bears the distinction of being the only one in the county 
which contains an entire congressional township. It is composed of the 
whole of township 10, range 8, and six sections of town 10, range 9, six sec- 
tions of town II, range 8, and two sections of town 11, range 9. After this 
township was organized, and evidently on the same day, the board made 
the following entry on the record: "Ordered that sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II3 

in range 8', township 9, be attacined to the township of Clay." This gives 
the township its present limits. 

The history of the settlement of Clay township may be divided into fuur 
parts, namely: The Buck-run settlement: the Clifty settlement; the Middle 
Fork settlement and the Duck Creek settlement. 

BUCK-RUN. 

The first to settle here was Milton Williamson, who. in 1S22, with his 
family, located in the northeast part of the township. William Hartford and 
Bartemus Johnston, soon afterward (the same year), moved in and settled 
on this section. These three assisted each other in raising houses, clearing 
lands, and soon succeeded in establishing pleasant and comfortable houses — 
for that time. 

In 1823 Caleb Stark settled on the (piarter south of. and adjoining, the 
other three, the farm known as the fjuck-Run spring, on the Vandalia road. 
He held the office 'of county commissioner at the time of contracting for and 
during the erection of the present court house. He lived to see the fruits of 
his labors in the de\-elopment of many of the other interests of the county. 
The same year, Daniel Stoggsdell (or, "Elder" Stoggsdell) settled on Buck- 
Run, just above Mr. Stark, in which region, and afterwards throughout that 
and adjoining counties, he preached the Gospel in "God's first temples," the 
groves. He was many }'ears ago gathered to his fathers, but "his works 
do follow him." 

In 1823 David Johnson settled on the "(juarter" north of Mr. Stark, 
where he lived until the year 1834, when he moved to Missouri. In the same 
year, George W. and Jeremiah V. King, emigrants from Maryland, settled 
in the same section. In 1833 George W. removed to a farm adjoining the 
small village of Needmore Tsince changed to Milford — the name being 
deri\'ed from the fact of a mill being erected at the ford, near that place), 
where he died some years thereafter. 

CLIFTY SETTLEMENT. 

In 1823, Doddridge Alley, an industrious and energetic farmer, removed 
from the Saltcreek settlement, in Franklin county, and located on Clifty. 
about one mile north of the place where Milford now stands. He was elected 
the first sheriff of the county, ser\ing four years, and afterwards served two 
years in the state Legislature. Many amusing anecdotes are told of him 
(8) 



114 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

(some of which have some foundation of trutli), and one of whicli is here 
related : 

On being elected to the Legislature, he started on his journey to the 
capital, on horseback, and arrived there in due season : but, on being cjues- 
ti(_)ned by the clerk, it was found that he had forgotten his credentials. So 
he returned on his long, weary ride to obtain them. After a long night's 
ride he again made his appearance at the capital, and, on examination, his 
papers proved to be correct, when he was told that he was entitled to his 
seat. He replied: "No! no! I thank you; I have been riding hard all night, 
and I would rather stand." The clerk, accordingly, gave him the privilege. 
He lived on the farm he first settled on until the year 1861, when he died and 
was buried in a stone wall enclosure, with a beautiful monument upon it, 
which he had erected during his life. 

John Brinson was the founder of the town of Mil ford. In 1824 he 
removed to that place, and established a drinking saloon ; he lived there about 
five years, and then left for parts unknown. In the same year William 
Crawford moved to this place, made a plat of the town and lived there until 
1837, when he moved to Missouri. Elijah Martin settled three-fourths of 
a mile north of the town, in the same year, and in a short time moved away. 

In 1S23, W'illiam Richie settled near ]\Iilford, where he lived until the 
year 1834, when he died. Mr. Richie was an old Revolutionary soldier, and 
was the first man buried in the graveyard in IMilford. By his side sleep two 
of his comrades, William Crawford, and George W. King, Sr., wdio died in 
the ninet}-third year of his age. 

MIDDLE FORK SETTLEMENT. 

In 1824, John Fugit, afterwards associate judge of Decatur county, settled 
in the central part of the township, on Middle Fork creek. He held the office 
of judge for a number of years, and died in the year 1846. James O'Laugh- 
lin settled, in the same year, in the same part of the county. He lived there 
a considerable length of time, from whence he moved to Milford. Richard 
Johnson settled at the same time and place, and died a resident of the same 
place. Walter and Jackson Braden settled in the year 1824, about two and 
one-half miles southeast of ]\Iilford. where they iinpro\-etl a considerable 
portion of the land. Jackson died at this place, in the year 1850. Walter 
Braden, a few years ago, removed to Greensburg, where he resided until his 
death. Thomas H. Miers settled one mile east of Milford, on the land 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. H" 

adjoining Walter Braden on the north, in the year 1824, and died at the same 
place in 1847. Samuel B. Todd, in the same year, settled about one and a 
half miles south of Mil ford on the land which has long been known as the 
Hittle farm. He lived there until 1837, when he removed to Illinois. Abel 
Todd, a brother of the above, settled two and one-half miles southeast, on 
the land -where James Byers later lived. He li\-ed there a short time, and 
removed to Iowa, where he died. David Douglass, a minister of the New- 
Light persuasion, settled in the year 1824, on the land later owned by Nelson 
Mowrey. He preached in the settlements adjoining him, lived to a good old 
age. and died on his farm. Patrick Ewing came from Kentucky in the year 
1826, settling on the land adjoining Mr. Douglass. He built a rude log hut, 
and in the yard there grew a small sprout about the size of a riding whip. 
He spared it, and it grew to a great tree of four feet in diameter. Under 
its boughs he reared a family of fifteen children. 

DUCK CREEK SETTLEMENT. 

McClure Elliott, in the year 1824, settled on Duck creek, three miles 
west of IMilford. William J. Lowrie, in the same year, settled two miles 
southwest of ]\Iilford, where he lived until 1852, when he died, and was 
buried by a large concourse of Sons of Temperance. 

SCHOOL HOUSES. 

The first school house was built on Dodridge Alley's land, in 1825. It 
was built of logs, with a fire-place occupying one end. Logs were sawed out 
at each side, greased paper being put in their place. This composed the 
model house of that time. Middle Fork school house was built in 1826. 
Buck Run and Duck Creek school houses were built in 1827. These school 
houses were used for preaching and for various other purposes. Harvey 
Harbinger was the first teacher in the Buck Run settlement and afterwards 
taught in the other districts. In 1836 the township was divided into districts. 
At this time the houses in the town.s'hips were built of logs. In 1837 a frame 
school house was ereced in Milford. This was the first structure here for 
school purposes which was built of fraiue. In a few years afterward frames 
were erected, which have now become useless, and brick school houses have 
been erected over the township. 



Il6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



CHURCHES. 



Tlie Baptist, Methodist, New Light and Presbyterian denominations 
held meetings in the varions school houses, from 1825 until iS'32, when the 
Hardshell Baptists erected a church. In 1842 the ^lethodists erected a church 
in jMilford. The Christians, in the year 1843, huilt a church in Milford. 
Salem church, near Milford. was huilt in 1S33. by the Associate Baptists. 
The historv of the churches is found in another chapter. 

MANUF.VCTORIES. 

The first mill was established by Jesse Fugit, a son of Judge Fugit, in 
1825. and was run by horse-power. The first water-mill was built by Eli 
Critser, in 1826. near .\dams, where the relics of the old Doddridge Alley' 
mill now stands. In 1838, James Rose erected a woolen factory one-half 
mile west of Milford, which was run by horse-power. Edward W'arthin 
established a distiller\- ricar the same place in 1836, the only one e\er erected' 
in the township : it continued for about five years. A tan yard was estab- 
lished in 1830 by a man named Wilkinson, on the land of Doddridge Alley.' 

The present officers of Clay township are as follows : Trustee, Francis' 
M. Pumphrey; assessor. William Wils(jn ; ad\'is()ry board, J. W. Corya, 
Frank Tompson ; road supervisors, John Kanouse, James Cory, Ewing 
Arnold and Morgan J. Ewing. 

Clay is now the wealthiest township in the count}-, with the exception 
of Wasliington. The Columbus. Hope & Cireensburg railroad runs east and' 
west through this township and gives the inhabitants of this locality a ready 
outlet for their produce to the leading markets. It also has one railroad 
station on the A'ernon, Greensburg & Rushville railroad, which cuts ofi a' 
small corner of the southeast part of the township. 

MILFORD. 

INIilford is the oldest town in this township. It was platted and laid 
out by James Edwards, August 25, 1835, and was originally known by the 
name of Needmore ; Ijut just why this little \illage was encumbered with 
such a name is left to the imagination of the reader. Later additions to the' 
original plat were made by ^^'i^iam Crawford, George \\'. King, Silas Craig,' 
James L. Fugit and James Marshall. 

The first merchant to open a store in ^Nlilford and offer his wares for' 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II7 

sale was John I'.rinson. Mr. Brinson also bears the distinction of l)eing the' 
first merchant in Clay township and was well patronized by the early settlers 
who had taken up claims in this part of the county. The first millers to 
locate in this part of the county were the Critsers, who owned several mills 
along Clifty creek and for a time had a monopoly on the milling industry in 
this section. Their monopoly was contested for a time by William Burton, 
who owned and ran a horse-mill near Mil ford, to which he attached con- 
siderable importance. Mr. Burton put up a strong opposition for a time, but 
soon aljdicated to the Critsers and left them in full sway. The first tannery 
was built and operated by James Wilkinson and McClure Elliott and fur- 
nished all the leather goods for the early consumption of the county. John 
Henderson was the first blacksmith to settle here and ply his trade, and 
was familiarly known to the early settlers of the time, far and near, as' 
"Jackie." Wr. Henderson ironed the first wagon in this county for Fielding 
Peak. The first steam engine in this township was owned and operated by 
Edwin Warthin, in 1836 or 1837. It was used to drive the machinery of a 
mill on Clifty creek, a short distance below Milford. This mill also bears 
the distinction of being the first steam grist-mill, with a bolting apparatus, in' 
the countv. This was a great advertising asset to the owners, for it attracted' 
settlers from all parts of this section to see the mill in actual operation. 
Before this advancement, the mills had been run by water power supplied 
by Clifty creek. 

It is impossible to trace the wirious Inisiness changes in Milford froiu 
the beginning of the town down to the present time. The business interests 
of iqi5 include three stores, owned by E. E. Lewis, J. F. Goff and Harrj^ 
Peterson. The Lewis store is a well-stocked general mercantile establish- 
ment and is one of the best general stores in the county. The stores of Gofif 
and Peterscjn carry only a small stock of groceries and depend for their 
patronage on the restaurants which they run in connection. Mr. Lewis also 
operates a restaurant and soda fountain in connection with his store. The 
village has one blacksmith, Lincoln Vandiver. There is no factory of any 
kind in the town, although .\lbert Sanders operates a flour-iuill on Clifty 
creek, a half mile from town. His mill is run by water power when there 
is plenty of water and by a gasoline engine at such times as the water power 
is insufficient. The professional interests of the village are represented by 
Dr. George S. Crawford, who has lieen practicing in the place for a period 
• of forty years. The history of the lodges of Milford (the Masons and Odd 
Fellows) and the churches (Methodist and Christian) will be found in their 
respective chapters elsewhere in this \olume. The town is incorporated for 



Il8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

civil purposes onl\ . The present town cleri< is Doctor Crawfurd. The town 
once had a population of four hundred, hut now has only abnut one hundred. 

nURNEY. 

The village of Burney. in Clay townhsip. on the Columbus, Hope & 
Greensburg railroad, was laid out on 'Slay 2, 1882. by James C. Pulse. It 
has enjoyed a steady growth from the beginning and is now a thriving town, 
w'ith flourishing business enterprises and many attractive and comfortable 
homes. A fine, modern school building and two churches, Methodist and 
Baptist, take care of the educational and religious life of the community. 
The business and professional interests in 19x5 are as follows: Bank, Burney 
State Bank; barber, Thomas J. Henderson; blacksmith, J. E. Wasson, G. M. 
Miner & Son; carpenter and contractor, Edward Clapp; coal dealer, Sidner 
& Price; dentist, Frank Davis; elevator, Sidner & Price; express, American 
Express Company ; garage. Smiley & Dean ; general store, A. E. Howe, J. C. 
Hayes, H. C. Lawrence ; hardware, McCullough Hardware Co. ; hotel, Mrs. 
M. J. Luther, Mrs. Clay Alexander : livery. Clay Alexander ; lumber, Padgett 
& Son ; meat market, W. S. Miner ; music teachers, Alice Arnold, Mrs. Elsie 
Gartin; notary public, L. T. Howell, Fannie Johnson, W'. \\. Barnes; photo- 
grapher, F. W. Kean ; physician, C. G. Harrod, Edward Porter; painter, 
Thomson & Luther; postoffice, W. S. Miner; paper hanger, Miers & Gal- 
braith ; restaurant, F. W. Kean, W. S. ]\'Iiner; real estate and insurance, L. 
T. Powell; saw-mill. Otto Detrich; shoe cobbler, Frank Hiner; station agent, 
J. S. Miner; stock buyer, Pumphrey & Son, Davis & Davis, W. W. Lane. 

Burney is justly proud of its band, which was organized in the spring 
of 191 5. Although at this time it has been practicing !)ut a few months, it 
has already given concerts wdiich were well recei\ed. It is under the direc- 
tion of George Dunn, of Adams. The members of the band are as follows: 
Cornets, Herbert Lawson, Lora Hayes, Walter Bailey, Ralph Howe, Roscoe 
Arnold, Walter Galitine, Robert Champ and Russell Emlay ; baritone, John 
Christian ; alto, Jasper Spaugh and James Galbraith ; tenors, Harry Jackson 
and H. C. Miner; clarinets, Ernest Miner and L. D. Lambert; trombones, 
Fred Luther, T. J. liendrickson, Edwin (iibson and Roy Emlay; melophone, 
Clarence Thomson; tuba, Burney Jackson; bass, Clififord Thurston; snare 
drum, Flenry Emlay; bass drum, Charles Gartin. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. HQ 

WYNCOOP. 

Wyncoop is the next town in size in this township. It was platted on 
February 2T,, 1881, b}- James \\'yncoop and bears the founder's name, 
althougii the name of the postoftice has been changed to Horace. This town 
is situated on the North A'ernon, Greensburg & Rushville raihoad, in the 
extreme sontiieastern j^art of the township. 

The business interests of the town in 19 15 are contined to a general 
store, owned by E. A. Gibson, and a blacgsmith shop, operated by Clyde 
Purvis. The station agent, Orlando Robbins, also buys grain. The post- 
master is Mr. Gibson. The tnwn has less than a dozen houses and a popula- 
tion of about thirt}^. 

Ewington completes the list of towns in Clay township. This was 
formerly a postoffice for the convenience of the country people, but the rural 
free delivery has taken away its usefulness and at present onlv the name 
remains. 



FUGIT TOWNSHIP. 

Fugit township was one of the three original townships laid off by the 
board of commissioners on May 14, 1822. The other two townships were 
Adams and Washington, the latter of which embraced considerably more than 
the southern half of the county. b\igit township, as originally set oft', con- 
tained all the territory now within its limits with the exception of sections 
32, 5, 8 and 17, and half sections 33, 4, 9 and 16. These four full and four 
half sections are now in the eastern part of Clinton township. They being a 
part of Clinton when it was organized July 6, 1829. 

The original limits of the township as defined by the commissioners on 
May 14, 1822, are as follow: Beginning at the county line on the line divid- 
ing townships 10 and 11 ; thence west with township line to the southwest 
corner of section t,^. range 10, townshi]i 11 ; thence n(irtli with the line di\'id- 
ing sections 34 and 35 to the southwest corner of section 26 in the township 
and range aforesaid: thence west with the section line to the southwest cor- 
ner of section 28, in range 10, township 11 ; thence north with the said sec- 
tion line to the southwest corner of section 16, range 10, township 11 ; thence 
west with the section line to the southwest corner of section 17, range 10, 
township 1 1 : thence north with the said line to the county line ; thence east 
with the county line to the northeast corner of said county ; thence south 



I20 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

with the county hue to the place of beginning (Commissioners Record, Vol. 
I, page I ). 

The next change in the territorial limits of Fugit township was made 
on March 7, 1825, at which time the board of justices issued the following- 
ambiguous order; "That part id' Washington township which lies east and 
north of a road viewed from Henderson's to the count}- line near Alexander 
McCall's, including said road, to be attached to and made a part of Fugit 
township" (Board of Justice Records, \'ol. I, page 128). Just where this 
strip was located is impossible to determine from the records, since it is not 
defined by section, town or range. However this slip on the part of the 
board of justices was rectified on May 2, 1825, when the commissioners 
re-defined the townshi]) limits in the following definite manner : Begin- 
ning at the county line, on the range line dividing ranges 9 and 10: thence 
south on said line to the southwest corner of section 19, township 11, range 
10; thence east tw-o miles; thence south one mile; thence east two miles; 
thence south one mile to the township line dixiding tow-nships 10 and 11, 
thence east with said line to the county line; thence with the lines of the 
county to the place of beginning (Board of Justice Records, Vol. I, page 
128). Subsequently, on May 3, 1830, the board of justices ordered that the 
west half of section 21, township 11, range 10, which lies in Clinton town- 
ship be and the same is new-ly attached to the township of Fugit in the said 
county of Decatur (^^ol. H, page 87). This gives Fugit tow-nship its present 
limits. 

SETTLEMENT. 

Se\-eral families had settled within what is now Fugit township before 
the county of Decatur was r^rganized in 1822. The count\- was carved out 
of the "New Purchase," which had been bought from the Indians in the fall 
of 1818, although the lands were not offered for sale at the Brookville land 
office until the fall of 1820. During the winter and spring of 1818, seven 
families came o\-er from near Matamora, bVanklin count)', and "squatted" in 
what is now Fugit township. This w-as probably the first effort toward a 
permanent settlement in the new- territory. Just about the same time, there 
were three other settlements in the southeastern part of the "New Purchase" 
— one on Flatrock, in Rush count}-; a second on Haw- creek, in Bartholomew, 
county; the third on Big Flatrock, in Shelby county. Of course, these first 
seven families could enter no land here, as it had not yet been surveyed ; 
who they were, where they finally located, and whether they became perman- 
ent settlers in the countv later on has not been determined. Xearlv one bun- 



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DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 121 

dred years have elapsed since that day and no records are available to trace 
the nn-sterious se\"en families. 

It is taken by common consent that the Fiigit family were the first real 
settlers in what is now the township bearing their name. John Fugit, and 
his two children, John and Mary, came to the township in the latter part of 
February, 1S19. They selected a site for their caljin and. while engaged in 
putting it up, were joined by Griffy Griffith, his wife and son, Ishmael. The 
Griffiths located one mile west of Clarksburg, where they lived until the death 
of the father and mother. 

.Vfter l'\igit and his son had their rude cabin ready for occupancv. the 
whole family, consisting of the father, mother, four sons and two daughters, 
made this township their permanent home for a number of vears. The 
Fugits entered no land and citizens of the towaiship have never agreed as to 
the exact spot where the old Fugit cabin stood. Some have maintained that 
they settled northeast nf Clarksliurg, while others hold that they located one 
mile east of Clarksburg on land later entered by Benjamin Snelling. Still 
others belie\'e that the Fugits squatted on the old Luther Donnell place. 
Strange to say, neither James L. Fugit, one of the sons of the old pioneer, 
nor Mary, a daughter (who became the wife of David Garrison), could 
identify the exact spot wdiere their father had settled. They had removed 
to Clay township in 1825 and when they revisited their first home in the 
county, several years later, the surroundings were so changed that they were 
unable to agree as to where the family cabin had stood. It is probable that 
it was on the Donnell farm, which had been entered by Thomas Donnell, Sr., 
in 1822. They doubtless purchased the improvements tm the place from 
Fugit. 

At the first election in 1822, John Fugit was chosen associate judge. 
His daughter, Sarah, married Joseph Webb, and this was the first marriage 
in the county. The license was secured at Brookville in the fall of 1819 
and the marriage took place presumably in the log cabin in Fugit township. 
John Fugit died at Milford (Cliffy) in 1844. At the present time the Fugit 
line is not represented b}' any male Ijearing the name in the county. 

Shortly after the I'ugits and Griffiths had located here, in the spring of 
i8ig, the}- were joined by five other families: John and Elisha Jerrett 
(Gerrard). Jesse and Cornelius Cain and \Mlliani ]\IcCoy. John Jerrett 
dietl in the siiring of 1820, and was, as far as is known, the first one to die in 
the county. A daughter of Jerrett, Xellie by name, was born in the fall of 
1 8 19 and was the first white child to be born in the county. The Cains 
settled near Spring Hill, but a few years later moved into Rush county, where 



122 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Jesse lived until his death. George Cain emigrated to the west antl within 
a few }'ears the family name disappears from the records of both Decatur 
and Rush counties. McCoy first located near Griffith and then moved over 
into what is now Adams township nortli of Downeyville. The McCoy family 
have been prominently identified with the history of the county from its 
beginning down to the present time. Ishmael Griffith married a daughter 
of William Walters, near Kingston, and at his death left two sons, John and 
James. John was accidentally killed near Downeyville and James served in 
the Civil War as a member of Company F. Seventh Indiana Volunteer 
Infantrw This disposes of all the important incidents connected with the 
immigrants of 1819. 

During the spring and summer of 1820 the land in this county was 
surveyed by Col. Thomas Hendricks and in October of that year it was placed 
on sale at Brook\ille. However, before the land was formally opened for 
settlement the settlers began to pour in at a rapid rate. In the summer and 
fall of 1820. the following families located in what is now Fugit township: 
Seth Lowe, William Custer, George and Samuel Donnell. James Saunders, 
Nathan Lewis, James and Moses Wiley, Robert Hall, Rev. James Hall, David 
Stout. Joseph Rankin, John Bryson, Adam Rankin, \\'illiam, Joseph and 
James Henderson and Joseph A. Hopkins. 

LAND ENTRIES. 

The first land entry was made on October 9, 1820, by James Wiley, 
who entered one hundred and sixty acres in section i, township 10, range 11. 
John Shelhorn and John M. Robinson entered tracts shortly afterwards. 
From the 9th of October. 1820, to December 31, there were forty-eight 
entries in what is now Fugit township, while there were only forty-five entries 
made in all the rest of the county. 

These forty-eight pioneers were as follows : James Wiley, John Shel- 
horn, John M. Robinson, George Kline, John Bryson, James Saunders, 
Joseph K. Rankin. Thomas Martin, Griffy Griffith, David Martin, Cornelius 
Cain, Joseph Henderson, Fdward Jackman, William Henderson, William 
Lindsey, George Marlow, Adam Rankin, Joseph A. Hopkins, Thomas Throp, 
.Samuel A: Githens, Robert Imlay, Daniel Swem, John Hicklin, Aquilla 
Cross, W'illiam Custer, John Shutz, Martin and Alexander Logan, James 
Logan. William Pruden, John Daw.son, Elias Garrard, Charles Collett, John 
Linville, James Hobbs, Jr., Robert E. and Henry Hall, Thomas Hall, Moses 
Wiley, George Donnell, John Smart, Robert and John Lockridge, Richard 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 23 

Tyner, George Cowan, James Henderson and Nathan Lewis. The striking- 
fact of these entries is that practically ever_\one entering the land was a 
bona fide settler on the land he entered. Only two or three never liecame 
residents of the townships. 

During 1821 there were tifty-nine additional entries in the township — 
thus making a total of one hundred and seven entries before the countv was 
organized in the spring of 1822. As a matter of fact, there were a number 
of entries in the township between January i, and May 14, 1822, the date on 
which the township was formally organized. It seems there were only 
thirteen entries during the whole of 1822. 

The fifty-nine entries of 182 1 were as follow: James Oliver, David 
Robertson, Samuel Alarlow, Henry Glen, Jacob Blacklege, John Wilcoxon, 
Jesse Woinack, Robert Wilson, Adam R. Meek, George Marlow, William 
Braden, Jacob Underwood. Columbus McCoy, Hugh McCracken, Nathaniel 
Smith, Henry McDaniel, John Lockridge, Jacob F. ^Miller, Isaac Donnell, 
John Hopkins, Zenas Powell, David Caldwell, Lewis Hendricks, Charles 
Swerengin, George Kendall, John Chanslor, Samuel Donnell. Thomas I. 
Glass, Jonathan J. Stites, William M. Smith, John Thompson, Thomas Cross, 
William M. Smith, Seth Lowe, Thomas Hamilton, Cyrus Hamilton, James 
Moss, Peter Miller, George Kendall, William Lippard, Jesse Cain, Jesse 
Robinson, George Conner. William Penny, Henry Roberts, William Snelling, 
Edgar Poe, Sampson Alley, Edward Davis, William Marlow, Benjamin 
Snelling, George Craig, James Sefton, Daniel Bell, Daniel Ryce, Frank 
Kitchin, Nathan L'nderwood, Ralph ^^'il!iams, James Caldwell, Samuel 
Donner and David Robertson. It will be noticed that some of these men 
entered more than one tract in that year ; some had entered land in the 
previous year also. 

The entries of 1822 were as follow; David Vancleave, James McCracken, 
R. B. Donnell, Andrew Calloway, John D. Henry, John P. Mitchell, John 
Smart, Joseph Snelling, William Kennedy, Sarah Linville, Mary Munns 
and William Munns. The year 1822 practically closed the sale of govern- 
ment land in Fugit township. Not all of the land was yet taken, but that 
which was left was a narrow strip on the eastern side of the township, known 
as the "Poor Woods," and was not entered until after the thirties. Most of 
it was taken up bv German immigrants, who have succeeded in making it 
as producti\'e as most of tlie rest of the tov/nshi]!. The first German settlers 
in the township were George Schellings, Antwa Charles and John Arnold. 
They were stone masons and found plenty of work in their profession. Else- 
where in this volume is a special chapter on the Gerinan element in Decatur 



124 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

county, togetlier witli a list of the Germans who became naturahzed citizens 
of the county. 

It might be well at this point to make mention of the colored settlement 
in Fugit township. Early in the forties a few colored families located a few 
miles east of Clarksburg and by 1852 they numbered about seventy-five souls. 
Some of them owned small farms, but the most of theiu depended for a liveli- 
hood on working on the farms of the white citizens. They took an active 
part in hel]:)ing fugitives slaves to make their way across the county and over 
into Union county. Their participation in the "underground railroad"' 
enterprise is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. When the fugitive slave 
law of 1852 was passed many of them left the county, some going to other 
parts of the state and many of them finally reaching Canada. There is now 
only one left in the township. Margaret Wilson, of Kingston. 

ORGANIZ.VTION OF THE TOWNSHIPS. 

As has been stated, Decatur countv began its independent career on ]\Iay 
14, 1822, on which day the commissi(.)ners held their first meeting. On this 
day the whole county was divided into three townships, \\'ashington, Adams 
and Fugit. The county commissioners a])pointed officers for each town- 
ship, those for Fugit being as follows: Isaac Darnall, inspector of elections; 
Henry Hobbs, constable; Thomas Throp, superintendent of the reserve sec- 
tion (school section) in township 11, range 10; \\illiam Custer and Joseph 
Henderson. o\-erseers of the poor; William Leopard, Ruljert Emily and 
George INIarlow, fence viewers. On this same day (May 14, 1822) the com- 
missioners ordered elections to be held at the house of Thomas Throp, the 
first election to be on June i, following, for a justice of the peace. 

EARLY INDUSTRIES. 

The first store in the tciwuship, and perhaps in the county, was started 
at Spring Hill loy James Conwell, of Laurel (Franklin county), in 1823. 
Conwell was a thrifty trader and established the store here as a branch of his 
large store in Laurel. Fie placed Martin Benson in charge of the store at 
Spring Flill. The first post(ithce was at this place and John Bryson became 
the first postmaster. Bryson was later an associate judge. Nathan Lew-is 
had a corn-cracker, ojierated by horse-power, early in the twenties. Later 
Lewis converted his mill into a liark grindery and pulverized slippery elm, 
dogwood and sassafras barks for the Eastern markets. Edward Jackman 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 12^ 

was the first to install a carding machine and found plenty of business to keep 
him busy. William Henderson was interested in a number of enterprises; 
he operated a grist-mill, a carding factory and a distillery and found a ready 
sale for the products of all three establishments. He was located a short di.s- 
tance east of Spring Hill. .\ grist-mill was operated at an early date aljout 
a mile south of Kingston by a man named Smith. Lewis Lacker opened up 
a tan yard on the farm later owned by Everett Hamilton and furnished the 
community with leather for se\eral years. Joseph Henderson opened the 
first ta\-ern in the townshi]5 a short distance east of Spring Hill. 

EARLY SCHOOLS. 

The early settlers of Fugit township were very much interested in edu- 
cation and shortly after they located here they began to make provisions for 
educating their children. In igoi Camilla Donnell, a descendant of one of 
the most prominent families of the township, prepared a paper on the "Early 
Schools of Fugit Township," and the historian is indebted to her excellent 
article for the main facts concerning the schools of the township. Just 
where the first school house was located is not definitely known, although it 
is certain that schools were kept in log cabins for some years before a school 
building was erected. There appear to have been three or four schools in 
operation in 1823-24 in as many different neighborhoods. They were situated 
in the midst of thick woods and jjlazed trails led the way to the school house 
door. The first school in the Kingston neighborhood was held in an empty 
log cabin on the line between the farms then owned by Seth Lowe and Acjuilla 
Cross. Whether Samuel Donnell, a man well known in early religious, edu- 
cational and ref(3rm movements, or Samuel Henr}', an intelligent farmer and 
excellent scholar, was the first teacher has not been established. Both taught 
at one time or another in the township. Elijah Mitchell, who taught at 
various places over Decatur county, was another of the early wielders of the 
rod. Still other teachers were the Misses Howe, two Eastern women, who 
conducted a school at the home of the first Presbyterian minister, Mr. Lowry. 
All the schools were subscription schools uji to 1832 and the teacher was 
usually compelled to take his pay out in farm produce. In about i8'32 the 
township was organized into scIkkiI sections and received a small anmunt of 
money from the sale of school lands. A few school houses were built in the 
township about this time and three months sessions were held. Most of the 
buildings were also used for subscription schools for a few months in addi- 
tion to the three months of public school. In 1833 the first brick school 



126 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

house in tlie town^-hip, and probaljl}- in the c(junty, was erected on the farm of 
Cyrus Hamilton, in the field southwest of his house. Rev. James McCoy, 
Elijah Mitchell. Davis Henry and many other excellent old pioneers taught 
in this building. 

A second district school building was built a little later on the old 
Throp farm, near the homestead of .^.ndrew Robison. It was known as the 
Robison school house until its subsequent removal to Carmel. A third school 
house of the early days stood on the farm of Martin Benson, later owned by 
Warder Hamilton. The salaries of these faithful teachers were very meager. 
The mother of Camilla Donnell (then Mrs. Minerva Bartholomew), who 
taught at the brick school house and also at the Benson school, received only 
eight dollars a month. But it must be remembered that able-bodied men 
were glad to work for twenty-five cents a day in the early history of the 
county. 

About 1845 ^ school was established by Re\'. King, a Presbyterian 
minister, in the town which still bears his name (Kingston). A private 
school was also taught by Rev. Cable, another Presbyterian minister, near 
Kingston. These two excellent schools so weakened the Brick, Benson and 
R(il)ison schools that they were finally abandoned. The houses were sold or 
mo\-ed away and the district school was permanently established in the village 
of Kingston about 1852 or 1853. Rev. Benjamin Nyce, an educator of 
great originality and ability, became its head, and it entered on a career of 
unparalelled usefulness and prosperity. 

In 1853 William Dobyns, for Clarksburg, Thomas Hamilton, for 
Kingston, and James Bonner, for Spring Hill, were appointed a board of 
township trustees, one retiring each year. Their duties were to arrange the 
township into school districts, provide suitable buildings and engage teachers. 
Other members of the school board at different times were Henry Kerrick, 
S. A. Donnell, J. H. Cartmell and George Ivennedy. This board of three 
members continued at the head of the township schools until 1859, when 
Luther. Donnell was elected trustee under the new law. He had complete 
charge of the schools of the township and since that time the affairs of the 
schools have Ijeen concentrated in the hands of one man. While the board 
of three had charge of affairs, the Kingston school was established in the 
Presbyterian church, which had been bought for that purpose. 

The new Constitution of 1852 ]irovided for a system of free public 
schools and funds were set aside for one building for each school district. 
The public-spirited citizens of the three larger districts — Clarksburg, Kings- 
ton and Spring Hill — raised enough money by private subscription to erect 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 127 

two-Story buildings in their respective towns, the law providing on!)- suffi- 
cient money for one-story buildings. 

The first Spring Hill school was housed in one of the traditional empty 
log cabins. It stood on the big hill, just east of the present road, on the farm 
of James Martin. It was begun not earlier than 1824, since its first teacher. 
Thomas INIeek, the assessor of a large part of the Spring Hill community, 
did not emigrate from Kentucky until 1823. Its second teacher was William 
Marlow. Another early school was held in the old Bryson homestead, but 
the Martin school seems to have been the forerunner of the Spring Hill 
district school. 

Probably as early as 1835 a district school house was built on the farm 
of Adam Rankin, not far from the present school site. It was afterward 
rebuilt and enlarged and remained in use until the erection of the two-story 
brick building early in the Civil War. It was burned down in 1894 and 
replaced by the present one-story building. Among the teachers of Spring 
Hill may be mentioned some men who later made a reputation in the world 
— such men as Stanley Coulter, now of Purdue University; Rev. Thomson, 
of Tarkeo, Missouri; R. M. ^Miller and Marshall Hacker were principals of 
the Spring Hill school at various times. 

The Carmel neighborhood was the home of John Bell, one of the earliest 
and best-known teachers in the township. Its early school history has been 
lost in oblivion, but it is probable that early schools were held in the cabin 
near the home of Andrew McCoy and in a deserted shop on the McCracken 
farm. The first district school in the Carmel neighborhood was built on 
the farm of Jacob Miller sometime in the thirties. It was probably in use 
until the fifties when it was succeeded by a second building. The third 
building is now in use, a neat and comfortable structure which meets all of 
the modern requirements. 

The Clarksburg community had some of the earliest settlers and 
undoubtedly some of the earliest private schools. Unfortunately, it seems 
impossible to get exact data concerning them. The best known of these 
schools was held in a cabin on the farm of Luther Donnell. Another early 
private school was held in the home of Nathan Lewis. It is probable that 
the first district school was located on South Main street, in a building 
which had been used as a residence. Mrs. Minerva Bartholomew taught in 
1837 in an empty shop in the eastern part of the town. The forerunner of 
the present village school was located opposite the residence of J. N. Moore. 
Among the early teachers of Clarksburg may be mentioned Elijah Mitchell. 
John Bell, Joseph Rankin, George McCoy' and Nimrod Kerrick. Of these 



128 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

early teachers Nimrod seems to have been the most successful and best 
beloved. A two-story brick building was erected in 1856 in Clarksburg on 
the present school site and remained in use until about 1880 when a four- 
room luiilding was erected. In igio a modern, eight-room lirick Ijuilding 
was erected. 

Sufficient has been said of the early schools of Fugit township to show 
that its public-spirited citizens were keenly alive to the value of good schools. 
The fact that so many men and women ha\e gone out from the schools of 
the township well equipped to take their place in the world is ample evi- 
dence that the schools have been doing their work well. Clarksburg now has 
a consolidated school and gives a four-year commissioned high-school course. 
The schools will rank well with any m the state and the citizens of the com- 
munity may take a just pride in the work they are doing. There are seven 
teachers in the town and five teachers in the rural schools of the township in 

1915- 

CHURCHES. 

The history of the many churches of the township may be found in 
the special church chapter. Fugit township has been a peculiarly religious 
community. ]\Iost of the early settlers were Presbyterian in faith, although 
the Methodists and Christians have been strong enough to establish churches. 
The Germans who settled in the county were nearly all Catholics and they 
support a strong congregation at St. Maurice. i\t one time or another there 
ha\e been three Presbyterian, two ^Methodist, one Christian and one Catholic 
church in Fugit township. 

The ofticers of Fugit township are as follow: Trustee, Albert T. Brock; 
assessor, David D. Morgan ; advisory board, Clinton B. Emmert, \\"alter 
Scott and Carl E. Brown; supervisors of roads, b\ank Winger, John Han- 
diges and Jacob IMauer. 

KINGSTON. 

Situated in the southeastern corner of Fugit township is the pretty 
little village of Kingston, which was laid out in 1851 by Seth Lowe and 
others. It was one of the first settled points in the county and there was a 
straggling village there many years befure it was formally platted and an 
attempt was made to make it a town of any importance. The town has 
grown up around the Presbvterian church, formerly known( as the Sand 
Creek congregation, but now called the Kingston church. The complete 
history of this interesting church is given in the church chapter elsewhere in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



129 



this \'oIume. A general store, run b\- \V. K. Stewart, and a blacksmith shop, 
operated by Harry Walker, are all the industries of the town at the present 
time. The town has a population of about fifty souls. 

ST. MAURICE. 

As its name indicates, the town of St. Maurice is of Catholic origin. It 
was laid out by D. Montague, August 12, 1859, primarily because of the 
Catholic church which was located here. It is in the south central part of 
Fugit township and is the center of the Catholic population of this part of 
the county. The present enterprises include the following : General store. 
Frank Kramer: tailor, IMartin !kIoser: saw-mill, Benjamin r^Ioorman; black- 
smith, Albert W'alke. There are less than fifty people in the town. 

• SPRING HILL. 

A postoffice was maintained at Spring I-Iil! in the Udrthwest corner of 
Fugit township, but it has long since been discontinued. The lirst settlers of 
Decatur county located near this point and the first store in the county was 
established here by James Conwell. When Clarksburg began to grow in 
importance, Spring Hill rapidly declined and today there is only one build- 
ing left on the site of the once thriving village — the Spring Hill Presby- 
terian church, the most beautiful country church in the county. In this case 
the best part c^f the village has sur\i\'ed the longest. 

CLARKSBURG. 

The town of Clarksburg was laid out. April 9. 1832. by Woodson Clark, 
who had, however, bestowed his name on the little village prior to that date. 
Clark erected the first house and James W'iley. who entered the first land in 
h'ugit township, put up the second log cabin. The town is one of the oldest 
in the county and had it lieen fortunate to attract a railroad it would 
undoubtedly have become a trading center of importance. It is surrounded 
by a rich fanuing community and the high character of its citizens fmm 
the beginning has made it a favored section of the county. Its churches 
and schools have always taken a prominent part in the life of the commu- 
nity and their influence has been such that the people of Clarksburg and 
Fugit township have taken the lead in many of the religious, educational and 
reform movements in the county. Much of the early history of the town is 

(9) 



130 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

covered in tlic discussion of l'\igit townsliip, while the churches, schools and 
lodges are treated in special cliapters. 

Clarkshurg has always been an excellent trading center, despite the 
fact that it is several miles from a railroad. Daily hacks make the trip to 
Greensburg, and now a large automobile truck makes a round trip daily 
with freight and passengers. The main industries of the town in 191 5 are 
as follows : Apiarist, Alexander W'alker ; bank, Clarksburg State Bank, A. T. 
Brock, cashier: barber, Clarence Cornelius, George Rogers; blacksmith, W. 
W. Gross, John lirodie. ('liarles Brown; carriage ])ainter. I'",lnicr Hutton ; 
carpenter, James Moore, ]\Iorgan & Hall ; drugs, A. C. Shumm ; flour-mill, 
C. B. Emmert ; garage, C. C. Jeffrey Smith, French & Martz ; general store, 
Fred Lampe, Homer Russell, D. R. Higgins; hardware, H. C. Doles; hotel, 
Mattie [Miller; harness, James T.. Burns; li\-ery. Jasper Jackson, George 
Da\'is; millinery, Mrs. Emma Shumm; paper hanger, C. L. Sample; paint- 
ers, A. C. Burns, John Bruner, John \^onRissen, Glen Gross, M. B. Hite; 
photographer, C. B. Harrell ; pool room, \\'aldo McGuire; physician, C. M. 
Beall, Prosser E. Clark, \V. !•'. Thomas, J. L. Siuith ; restaurants, Morgan 
Brothers, Monte Linville ; saw-mill, C. B. Emmert ; stone and brick mason, 
Peter Christy; truck driver, Oscar F. Kuhn (daily auto trips to Greens- 
liurg ) ; veterinary, A. E. Alexander ; well digger, J. W. Christian. 

The town receives a sealed pouc'h daily from the Greensburg postoffice. 
J. L. Smith is the postmaster. The town has never Ijeen incorporated. 



JACKSON TOWNSHIP, 

Jackson township was established \)y the board of commissioners, 
March 3, 1834. It is bounded as follows: Beginning at the southwest 
corner of the county, thence north to the township line, dixiding townships 
9 and 10, thence east four and a half miles to the center of section 2, on the 
north side thereof ; thence south to the Jennings county line ; thence west 
to the place of beginning. These limits have never been changed. 

Jackson township was among the last to be settled, as its soil was 
black and wet and the early settlers sought land with natural drainage, that 
could be cultivated early in the spring. Since farmers have learned the use 
of tile ditches, Jackson township has come into its own and its 1)urr oak flats 
are now considered the equal of any farming land in the county. Follow- 
ing the subdivisions of the original government survey, most of the farms 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I3I 

in this township are square or oblong, and the roads run on section Hues, 
which make it very convenient in getting about. 

Among the early settlers of the township were Henry Hawk and 
Enoch Foster, who came from Ohio; Daniel Sullivan and Charles Guinea. 
who came from Jefiferson county, and Samuel Eli, from Union county. 
These men are supposed to have settled in Jackson township in 1828. Others 
who came soon after were: Samuel Thomson, William Evans, Adam Hall, 
Adam Petree, Abram Barrett, James Wheeldon, William H. Eddleman, 
John Chamljers, C'hesley Woodard, Daniel Eddleman, William and James 
Chambers, liliza Moncrieg and Jack Herring. 

A\'illiam Evans built the first saw-mill in Jackson township anil the 
first church in the township was built by the Baptists upon land donated 
for that ])urpose l)v Charles Woodard. Early school teachers of the town- 
ship were 1'. X. I'ishop and John McCleary. The first school building was 
built in 1834 on the farm entered by William Evans. Unlike the present 
comfortable school houses of the township, this early building was verj' 
])rimiti\'e. It had a puncheon iloor, clapboard roof and door, split sai)ling 
for seats and the large fireplace had only a dirt backwall. The only writing 
desks were rough 1)oards on two sides of the building, supported by pins 
driven into the walls. Light was provided through" windows made of oiled 
newspapers. 

Writing of this early school, J. A. Dillman, one of its first pupils says: 
"McCleary was too tender hearted to whip, but one day some of us boys did 
something that it was necessary to punish us for in order to maintain his 
authority. Eight of us were sent to the woods and each of us lirought in 
a good-sized beech 'gad'. Then he paired us off and made us whip one 
another, lap-jacket fashion, only that one of us whipped at a time. I was a 
weakly boy of ten, and my opponent was a big boy of fourteen, with a pair 
of buckskin breeches and a fawn-skin vest with woolsey blouse. I whipped 
first and laid it on light, hoping that my friend would do the same — indeed 
it was no use to strike hard, for you might as well have tried to hurt a 
rhinoceros; but when it came his turn he brought down his "gad" like whip- 
ping a balky ox, while I yelled and screamed with pain. But then ends of 
justice were satisfied and so were McCleary and the big boy." 

The southern part of the township was crossed by a railroad in the 
eighties and thus the farmers got a much easier access to the markets. Along 
the railroad sprang up the flourishing towns of Sardinia and Alert. Other 
towns in the township are Waynesburg and Newburg (Forest Hill). 

The present officers of Jackson township are as follow: Trustee, Sam 



132 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Kelly ; assessor, William Barton ; advisory board, Albert Moncrieff, Jacob 
Thurston, John H. Cooper; road supervisors, Ed. T. I'" rale}-. \\'alter Shaw, 
Dan Carnes and William Golay; justice of the peace, Joseph A. Burns. 

FOREST HILL. 

The town of Forest Hill was laid out on ^larch 17, 1852, by Newberry 
Wheeldon as Newburg. It is an inland village, in the extreme northern part 
of Jackson township, and is two miles from the Michigan division of the 
Big Four railroad. The fact that it does not have railroad connection has 
made it impossible to enjoy much of a growth. It is a pleasant little village, 
with good, well-shaded streets, and a quiet air of prosperity. A Presby- 
terian church and a modern two-room school building take care of the 
religious and educational life of the community. It was once incorporated 
for both ci\il and school purposes, but the \illage did not prove large enough 
to support itself as an independent community. The present interests are 
confined to the following: Blacksmith, J. K. Devening; general store, E. T. 
Fraley; grocery, A. W. Crigler; physician, M. C. Vest (county coroner); 
restaurant, Emmett Watson. The present population is about one hundred 
and twenty-fi\-e. 

WAYNESBURG. 

W'aynesburg was laid out in the central western part of Jackson town- 
ship by George Lough on Novemljer 4, 1844. It is three miles from a rail- 
road and for this reason has never become a town of any imi)ortance; The 
fifteen houses of the town shelter a happy community who find employment 
in the various enterprises of the town or on farms in the vicinity. The stores 
are those of Thomas Burch, George Himelich and Henr_\- Purvis. A saw- 
mill is operated by William Barton and Frank Van Scyoc. John Cornelius 
is the village blacksmith. 

ALERT. 

James Bannister is the patron saint of Alert, a town which he laid 
out on August 30, 1886. It is located in the southeastern part of Jackson 
township, on the Chicago, Terre Haute & Eastern railroad, and is a thriving 
business little place which lives up to its name. Several years ago there was 
a two-story sash saw-mill here which did a big business for many years 
before it was finally closed down in 1876. The logs were cut with a cross- 
cut saw instead of a circular saw, a fact which explains why it was a two- 





S(']:.\i:s ox MAJ;i(i.\ ki.liott st(I( k i-auji. jackso.x Tdwxsiiir. 




I.KSXEII KLLIOTT, JACKSON TOWNSHIP COKX I'UIZIO WIXNKU. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I33 

stor}' building. A bank bas been recently establisbed in the town and a can- 
ning factory was ixiilt in the summer of 191 5, which was ready to handle 
the crop of that year. 

The business and professional interests of Alert in 191 5 included the 
following: Bank, Alert State Bank; barber, Albert Jordan; blacksmiths, A. 
B. Blazer, Earl Wright ; canning factory, Frank Doty, Jr. ; dentist, C. L. 
Hill; elevator, Blish Milling Co., of Seymour, Edward Talkington, man- 
ager; garage, John Saters; general store, S. B. Leach, W. E. Wolfer; har- 
ness, J. H. Burns; house mover, Jacob Wolfinger; postmaster, Thomas J. 
Morton : veterinary. Raymond Bannister ; woodworker, Ora Clayton. 

In 1914 the railroad company built stock sheds at Alert and a large 
amount of stock is now shipped from the town. Large quantities of hay 
and grain are bought annually by the Blish Milling Company,' of Seymour, 
through its local agent, Edward Talkington, and his assistant, Earl 
Arnold. The Alert Telephone Company has sixty-two patrons on its own 
line, which is operated through an exchange in charge of J. C. Nicholson. 
It has free service with all exchanges in Decatur and Bartholomew counties 
and pay connection with the Bell and Independent long distance lines. 
Samuel Kelly, who lives at the edge of town, has one- of the best small fruit 
farms in Decatur county and ships a large amount of fruit to the city 
markets. 

SARDINIA. 

Sardinia, the largest town in Jackson township, was laid out on May 
17, 1865, '\^' J- S. Harper and fifteen others. For a number of years J. S. 
Harper operated one of the largest stores in the state here, but too much 
credit forced him out of business. The historian was told that when he 
closed his store he had ninety thousand dollars worth of accounts due him. 
Certainly no man could keep a business going on such a basis. Harper Ijuilt 
what is still probably the largest house in the county — a magnificent nine- 
teen-room, brick mansion, which cost upwards of twenty thousand dollars. 
He lived in regal style and his many colored servants and lavish entertain- 
ments are well remembered by the older citizens. As long as he was in the 
town Harper was its main attraction and with the closing out of his busi- 
ness the town settled down to a quiet existence which still continues undis- 
turbed by the whirl of the outside world. The postoffice was formerly called 
Big Creek. 

The present interests of the town, few in number, include the following : 
Barbers, Roscoe McKelvey, Earl McGovern ; blacksmiths, Samuel Ammer- 



134 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

man, Albert Cornelius ; flour mill, George Claypool ; general store. IMcXelan 
& Anderson; grocery, Harry Taggart; hardware, John Gross & Son; hotel, 
John Bowen ; ice cream parlor, Wilson & Vanblaricum : livery, John Bowen ; 
saw-mill, John Gross & Son; station agent, W. H. Petree; stock buyer. John 
Dennison, John Smith. 



MARION TOWNSHIP. 

Marion township, originally a part of Washington township and later 
of Sand Creek township, was organized by authority of the county commis- 
sioners on May 2, 1831, when its boundaries were defined as follows: 
"Beginning at the Washington township line on the section line dividing 
sections 2~ and 28, township 10, range 9; thence north on the section line 
to the county line ; thence eastwardly with the line of the county and Salt 
Creek township to the ^Vashington township line ; thence west with the line 
of Washington township to the place of beginning." 

The population of Marion township is largely German. The northern 
half of the township is rolling and in some places the land is rough and 
broken. The eastern and southern portion is flat and was originally covered 
with oak, maple and gum. A good share of it is poor woods land. The 
first church in the township was that of the Immaculate Conception at ^lill- 
housen, which was erected in 1840, when Maximillian Schneider donated 
forty acres of land for this purpose. The first school house was also built 
by the Catholics and was placed close to the church. Maximillian Schnei- 
der, who was one of the leading spirits in the new community, kept the first 
store, which was located at Millhousen. Later he sold the store to Barney 
Hardbeck, who had built the first mill at IMillhousen. The first mill in 
Marion township was erected by a man named Bush and was located on the 
banks of Sand creek. 

SETTLEMENT. 

The first settlers of Marion township, as indicated by the original land 
entries, were : John Robbins, Sampson McConnell, Abisha ]\Iatherly, John 
McConnell, James Parnell, John Hazelrigg, Dilliard Hazelrigg, John Line- 
ville, Thomas McLaughlin, Jonathan Thompson, Isaac Ricketts, Dudley 
Anderson, W. White and Thomas Fortune. Other early-comers were John 
Myres, John and Hiram Fortune, Sarah Anderson, James Hooten. Dudley 
Taylor and John Morton. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



135 



Early German settlers were ;\Iaxiniillian Schneider, Christian Ruhl, 
Theodore Frey, Frank Rubard, G.eorge and Francis Verkamp, Henry Pulse, 
Gabriel Pulse, John and Adam Hessler and Theodore Willmer. In another 
chapter is given an account of the Germans and their part in the county's 
histor}'. 

The present officers of Marion township are as follows: Trustee, Dan 
Holcomb; assessor, Frank \'aske: advisory board, John B. Rolfes, Anthony 
Schroer and Simeon H. Kennedy; road supervisors, John Vanderpolil, 
Leonard Alexander and liernard Kohrnian ; William Forket, justice of the 
peace; William J. Robinson, constable. 

MILLHOUSEN. 

Millhousen is a Catholic village located on Squaw run, in Marion town- 
ship, ten miles southeast of Greensburg. Maximillian Schneider, who set- 
tled here in 1838, donated forty acres of land on June 29, 1840, to Bishop 
La Halandiere, of \''incennes, for the purpose of establishing a church and 
laying out a town. The name ]\Iillhousen was adopted for the proposed 
town in honor of Mr. Schneider's native town of the same name in Ger- 
many. The first settlers were composed of emigrants from various parts of 
Germany, among whom were thirteen families, most of whom were mechan- 
ics. All were poor and dependent upon their daily labor for subsistence. 
In 1840 a plain chapel, twenty by twenty-four feet, was erected, and ten 
years later a larger building, thirty-eight by sixty feet, was built on the same 
site. In 1857 a parochial school was added. The present church is one 
hundred and forty by fifty-five feet, and has a beautiful tower in which is a 
large clock. 

There have been several business enterprises in the town in the past, 
but changing conditions have seen the disappearance of most of them. The 
first store and postoffice was kept by Maximillian Schneider. Barney Harde- 
beck followed Schneider in the same store. Hardebeck also built the first 
mill in the town, a woolen-mill which was run under several different man- 
agements until the early eighties. Other owners of this same mill were 
B. Zapfe & Brinkman, followed by Zapfe alone. Hardebeck again took 
charge of the mill after Zapfe and, while he was operating it a second time 
it was burned. He at once rebuilt it and continued to run it until it was 
permanently closed down. 

The town was once larger than it is today and formerly boasted of a 
population of about four hundred; today there are approximately three 



136 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

hundred in the town. The business and professional interests in 1915 in 
Millhousen are as follows: Barbers. Joseph Pfeifer, John Green; Black- 
smiths, Edward Henninger, John and Louis Scheidler; brick and stone 
masons, John Green, Frank Klosterkemper ; carpenters, Theodore Schneider, 
Anthony Reisman; drugs, Dr. J. C. Glass; flouring-mill, Joseph Herbert & 
Sons; general store, B. \V. Zapfe, Philomena Moorman; hack line (Mill- 
housen & Greensburg ) , Andrew Butz ; harness, Joseph Herbert & Sons ; 
hotel, b'erdinand W'ittkemper ; ice cream parlor, Mrs. IMollie Herbert; livery, 
Edward Henninger; painter and paper hangers, Joseph Pfeifer, John Her- 
bert, Anthony Reisman ; photographer, Louis Scheidler ; postmaster, Dr. J. 
C. Glass; phA'sicians, J. C. Class, Nicholas Bauman; saw-mill, Joseph Her- 
bert & Sons; tinner, Louis Scheidler; saloons, \\'ill Link, Ferdinand ^Vitt- 
kemper; wagon makers, George Scheidler, Charles Henninger. 

Millhousen is not on a railroad and thus is seriously handicapped in 
various ways. The mail comes daily from Greensburg in a sealed pouch. 
B. W. Zapfe runs an automobile truck flaily between Millhousen and Greens- 
burg and hauls all of his goods from the county seat. Zapfe also runs two 
huckster wagons the year round. The Millhousen Telephone Company, a 
local concern, has one hundred and twenty-six subscribers. The exchange 
is now located in B. W. Zapfe's store. 

The town has three public buildings — a town hall, with a seating capac- 
ity of one thousand, a solid stone jail, with tw'o cells, and a fire engine house. 
The town has recently completed four large fire cisterns, which are so located 
as to provide ample protection for the whole tuwn. Four years ago there 
was a destructive fire in the town which burned the hotel, saloon and livery 
stable of John Spander, the store of J. W. Hardebeck and the dwelling house 
of Barney Koors. The town now has an excellent eight-man-power fire 
engine, which is capable of throwing water over any liuilding in town. 
Edward Henninger is the present fire chief. 

The town was platted on April 10, 1858, and has been incorporated for 
several years. The town officers for 1915 are as follow: Clerk, Will Dai- 
ley; councilmen, George Walters, first ward; Edward Henninger, second 
ward; Anthony Harping, third ward; marshal, John Stuehrenberg. 

OTHER VILLAGES. 

Gaynorsville is located in Marion township and, although never platted, 
is given a place on the county map. There are about ten families in this 
little village. This is merely a country trading point and its business inter- 




ST. MAKYS CATHOLIC ClUItCIl, JIILI.HOUSKX. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



^37 



ests, whicli consist of a general store and blacksmith shop, are taken care of 
by Enoch Parker & Son. 

Smyrna is also a small hamlet in Marion to\vnslii]i, but only a small 
cluster of houses marks the place at present. 

Laytun's mill is only a voting precinct in Marion township. 



CLINTON TOWNSHIP. 

On July 6, 1829, on the petition of Isaac Seright and others, the board 
of justices organized Clinton township, with the following limits : Begin- 
ning on the county line at the center of section 34, township 12, range 9; 
thence south to the \\'ashington township line; thence east five miles to the 
center of section 21, township 11, range 10, on the south line of said section; 
thence north to the county line ; thence west with the county line to the place 
of beginning (volume II, page 43). 

The original limits as prescribed by the board of justices who organ- 
ized this township, have remained the same with two minor exceptions. On 
September 7, 1829, the board of justices ordered that sections 19 and 20, 
township II, range 10, be stricken off from Clinton township and attached 
to Washington (volume II, page 47). On May 3, 1830, the board of jus- 
tices "ordered that the west half of section 21, township 11, range 10, which 
lies in Clinton township, be and the same is newly attached to the township 
of Fugit in the said county of Decatur." With these changes, the township 
stands today as its first boundaries were given. 

The same board which ordered the organization of (Clinton township, 
at the same meeting ordered the first election to be held in the township at 
the house of George McLaughlin on the last Saturday in July, 1829. This 
election was held for the purpose of electing two justices of the peace. Ben- 
jamin Jones was appointed election inspector. Alexander Hamilton and 
John Small were appointed as overseers of the jxior for that year (1829). 
James Hudson, Robert Wilson and Joseph Lindsay were appointed as first 
fence viewers (volume II, page 44). In 1830, Joseph Lindsay and James 
Wilson were appointed as overseers of the poor. 

SETTLEMENT. 

It is impossible ti.^ determine who was the first settler in this township, 
but it is improbable that there was anycjne with a fixed jiabitation there 



138 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

before 1821. There were no land entries from this township during the 
first vear after it was open for settlement, which leads to the supposition 
that there were people living there who wished to protect their claims to 
their places of residence. 

The first known settler was Jesse Womack, who entered a small tract 
of land early in 1821. Others who came immediately afterward were John 
Montgomer\-, Thomas Craig, Daniel Crume, Joseph Jones and Joseph Wei- 
hart. Among those who came later this year were Matthew Campbell, Rob- 
ert Wilson, James Carter, John Thomson, Israel Harris, Henry Glass and 
George Donner. 

Among the other early settlers who located here and contributed to the 
early progress and history- of the township are: Reuben Johnston, who 
came here from A'irginia with his family, and died in 1857; I^avid ]\Iunns, 
who was one of the early Kentucky pioneers ; also William Ruddell, from 
Kentucky; Thomas Power, Robert Crawford, John Lyons, ^\'illiam Sefton, 
William Bird, Baily Johnston, Josiah Kemble, Elijah E. Smith, Peleg 
Wheeler, George Butcher, A. E. Rankin, D. Cramer, Benjamin Jones, Philip 
Martin, Edward Ricketts, Dr. Abram Carter, Gabriel Harrold, William 
Jones, Robert Wilson, Joseph Lindsay and Andrew J. Dale, wdio came here 
from South Carolina, are all numbered among the early settlers of the town- 
ship and contributed toward its settlement and advancement. 

EARLY MILLS. 

The first grist-mill in this township was built by John and William 
Hamilton, two brothers from Virginia, who settled here. This mill was 
erected in the year 1822 and the power to run the machinery was furnished 
by Clifty creek. A short time after this mill was erected, another mill, 
which was only used for cracking corn for feed, was constructed by Thomas 
Lanham for William Buchanan, the proprietor. This mill was located on 
the South fork of Clifty creek, and was well patronized by the settlers in 
this locality, as meal was used more extensively for breadstuff than it is at 
the present time, .\bout the same time, the first saw-mill was erected by a 
Mr. Douglas on the south fork of Clifty creek. This mill was well pat- 
ronized and the owner was doing a thriving business, but his prosperity was 
to be short-lived, for he met with an accident in the mill which cost him his 
life. The first horse-power mill was introduced and placed in operation on 
the farm of Thomas Powell, near the poor farm. Mr. Powell owned and 



DECATL'R COUNTY, INDIANA. I39 

operated this mill for a number of years, and at that time it was quite an 
advancement from the old form of water-power mill. 

The county poor farm is located in Clinton township. 

The first church in the township was built by the Christians. This was 
erected near the residence of Nathan P. Swails and was known as the Cliftv 
church. 

The general surface of this land is unliroken and slightly undulating 
and there is no great extent of broken land in the township, although it has 
excellent drainage from the different brandies of Cliftv creek which tluw 
through the township. The land all drains to the southwest and the soil 
is uniform and of an equal quality. There is no other township in the 
county which can boast of so few acres of waste or untillable land as Clinton. 

The timber furnished one of the greatest industries in this township 
in the early days, sta\e-mills being the chief consumption of this natural 
resource. The forests consisted chiefly of walnut, poplar, sugar, elm, burr 
oak, hackberry and beech, but since the timber has become scarce the ener- 
gies of the settlers have been turned toward agricultural pursuits, and this 
is yielding equally as great results as did the timber products of old. The 
blue grass land in the southeastern portion of the township rivals even the 
famous blue grass districts of Kentucky, and has no equal in any part of 
the home state. 

Another great asset to the farmers of this section is the North Vernon, 
Greensburg & Rushville railroad, which runs through the townshi]). It 
enables them to place their products on the markets of the leading cities and 
furnishes railroad facilities for all the different lines of transportation. 

The trustee of Clinton township is Henry Mozingo, and Or\ille Garrett 
is assessor. 

SANDUSKY. 

Sandusky, the only town in Clinton township, was laid out along the 
Michigan division of the Big Four railroad on October 7. 1882, by Olliver 
C. Sefton. The building of the railroad through the county has made San- 
dusky a shipping point of importance, especially so since it is the nearest 
market for most of Fugit and a part of Adams townships. The business 
interests of 191 5 include the following: Blacksmith, Harrell & Cowan, W. 
O. Rozell ; carpenter, A. T. Stanford, Stillman Bros., Elmer Ruddell : ele- 
vator. Sandusky Farmers Elevator Company, Jesse Anderson, manager : 
general store, Horace McDowell ; hardware and implements, Horace Mc- 
Dowell : livery, Charles Ray ; painter and paper hanger, Fleetwood & Seright ; 



140 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

saw-mill. Steward & Tilley; station agent, A. C. Thorpe; warehouse, H. C. 
Doles, of Clarksburg. 

J. T. Stanford operates a stone crusher a short distance from the town 
and furnishes most of the crushed stone used on the roads in the township. 
In the spring of 19 15 about forty of the leading farmers of the community 
surrounding Sandusky formed a company to operate the elevator at the 
town and are making extensive repairs to the building which they acquired. 
Thev intend to put in a grinding outfit and handle food stuffs of all kinds. 
A gas company, composed of Knox, Hall & \\'illiams, has fnur wells, which 
furnish an abundant supply of gas for the town. They give a flat rate of 
one dollar a month for a stove and furnish one light. Additional lights 
cost fifteen cents a month. The county farm, of one hundred and sixty 
acres, is located a mile southwest of Sandusky. Superintendent D. A. Bur- 
roughs now has twenty-seven inmates on the farm. 

Williamstown is a joint Decatur and Rush county town, and is located 
on the county line in Clinton township. 



SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP. 

Salt Creek township bears the distinction of being the last township 
laid out in the county. It was established by the board of county commis- 
sioners of Decatur county, September 5, 1836, and, as recorded in the rec- 
ords of that date, its Ijoundaries were as follow, to wit: "Beginning on 
the Franklin county line on the line dividing townships 10 and 11 ; thence 
west to the northwest corner of section 2, township 10, range 10: thence 
south to the northwest corner of section 26, township 9, range 10; thence 
east two miles; thence south one mile; thence east to the Ripley county line; 
thence north to the place of beginning." This was taken verbatim from the 
record books of the county conmiissioners (volume III, page 104), but there 
seems to be some discrepancy in this record, as seen l.iy following the line 
of boundary, for it would not strike the Ripley county line. The error may 
come in supplying the name Ripley when in fact the Franklin county line 
was meant. 

The next record which we have defining the boundary of this township 
is given as follows, to wit: "Beginning on the Franklin county line on the 
line dividing townships 10 and 11; thence west to the northwest corner of 
section 2, township 10, range 10; thence south five miles; thence east two 
miles; thence south one mile; thence east one mile; thence south one mile 




JOHN" IIAUDIXU. 




DOUBLE LOAD OF I'lLKS. 7S FKI-yr L(IN(!. (TT IX DFC .STFU CiVSlX V\ T. E. 
DAY AND LOADED AT XEWI'OLVT. EOK LSK HY THE KIC KOIU KAl' KOAD 
AFTEI! THE (JKEAT FLOOD OF I'.lL".. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I4I 

to the Ripley county line; thence northeast with the Indian boundary line 
and north with the Franklin county line to the place of beginning." 

Although the soil of Salt Creek township is not so productive as that 
of other subdivisions of Decatur county, its thrifty farmers, most of them 
of German descent, have brought the land to a state of dependable produc- 
tion, have erected commodious barns and substantial dwellings, so that, in 
most respects. Salt Creek township takes a high rank among the nine town- 
ships of Decatur county. 

SETTLEMENT. 

Robert Ross and John Harding were two of the first six men to settle 
in Salt Creek township. Others who made homes in this township at an 
early date were : James Cook, William Barclay, Parkinson Barclay, Eli Pen- 
nington (who later laid out New Pennington), Lewis Castor, Wilson Ross. 
William Hart, Charles McHugh, John Calicott, Robert Atte, William 
Walker, Milton Walker, George Osborn and John Snediker. 

Salt Creek township abounded in game in the days of the early 
settlements, and the pioneers of this locality never had any trouble getting 
a supply of bear meat, but, of course, pork was a scarce article until bruin 
had been exterminated. \\'ild turkeys were seen in the \icinity of New Pen- 
nington as late as 1875. 

The general character of the soil of this township is clay. However, it 
responds readily to scientific farming, so that, with careful attention, it pro- 
duces a profitable crop every year. Salt Creek township timber is mostly 
oak and gum, of which a large amount has been sold for the manufacture 
of furniture. 

The township was crossed Iiy the Big Four railroad, from east to west, 
in 1853, this being one of the earliest railroads in the state. Newpnint and 
Smith's Crossing are located on the railroad. 

The following are the present oflficers of Salt Creek township: Trustee, 
Harley S. McKee : assessor, Elza O. Walker : advisory board, W^illiam Schil- 
ling, Isaac Parmer, Sr., and Henry Travis: road supervisors, Clarence Col- 
son, Rudolph Kramer and Taylor Ramer; justice of the peace, ^^'illiam Haas. 

NEWrOINT. 

The town of Newpoint is located in Salt Creek township nn the Big 
Four railroad. It was laid out on November 11, 1859, by Ebenezer Nutting 
and has enjoyed a steady growth from the beginning. A struggling \-illage 



142 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

had existed at this place ever since tlie raih-oad had been built in 1854, but 
it was live years later before it occurred to an enterprising proprietor that it 
would make a good site for a town. The stone industry has always been the 
chief business of Newpoint, and the stone cjuarry of J. J. Puttniann, a mile 
north of town has employed more men than any other enterprise in the com- 
munity. He has employed many men and has the only cjuarries of import- 
ance in the township. 

Among the men earlier connected with the commercial life of Newpoint 
were : George Brown, Joel Colson, W. E. Earkley. James Hart, Warner 
Clark, Leander Storks, John Lewis Hilliard. On September 2, 1866, Mr. 
Hilliard began his long and honest career as a clerk when he sold the first 
order in the store of W. E. Barkley, which stood on the site of the store now 
owned by George W. Metz. Joel Colson made to the town of Newpoint the 
addition which bears his name. From its founding, Newpoint has always 
been the chief trading" and shipping point in the township and remains so at 
the present time. 

The town is incorporated and divided into three wards. The town clerk 
is Robert Carr, and John VV. Snedeker officiates as marshal. A volunteer 
fire department is maintained, which has proven equal to every emergency 
thus far. Three fire cisterns, a hand-power fire engine, hooks, ladders and 
an ample su]3ply of hose are kept in the town house. A stone jail takes care of 
such ottenders of the law as need incarceration. The town is well lighted 
with gas, street lights being located at appropriate intervals all o^■er the town. 
The Newpoint Gas, Oil and Mineral Company has ten wells in the imme- 
diate vicinity and sells its gas for fifteen cents a thousand. There is plenty 
of gas for both light and fuel. John Giberson owns the local telephone line 
and maintains a switchboard at his home, half a mile northeast of town, 
which connects with about seventy-five patrons. The White River Cream- 
ery Company, of Cincinnati, has a shipping station at Newpoint, in charge 
of Sanford S. Starks. Starks was granted a state license as milk tester by 
the state examining Ijoard on June 7, 1915. From forty to sixt}- gallons of 
cream are shipped daily from Newpoint to Cincinnati. 

The business and professional interests of Newpoint in 191 5 include 
the following: Bank, Newpoint State Bank; barber, Henry ^^'olf and 
James Myers; Iilacksmith, George Cornelius and Ephraim Deen ; carpenter, 
Adam Hoover, James Blaire and Peter Grove ; general store, H. M. Loyd, 
G. W. Metz, John Hoff and George Myers; grist-mill, Germany & King; har- 
ness, Benjamin Kaneve ; hardware, J. J. Puttmann & Company ; jeweler, 
E. F. Starks; liverv, Fred Wolf; meat market, Fred Wolf; millinerv, Mrs. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I43 

Henry Ennebrock ; painter and paper hanger, Robert JMoulton ; physician, 
Harley S. McKee and Joseph Coomes ; restaurant, Ruth Gouge and Frank 
Hooten ; saloon, Peter Schuh ; saw-mill, J. J. Puttmann and T. E. Day ; 
stock buyer, Wolf & Barnard ; wholesale liquor dealer, Greensburg Mercan- 
tile Company, William McWilliams, manager. 

The present officers are as follow : Councilnien, George A. Redelman, 
Henry Ennebrock, A\ Thomas; clerk, Robert Carr: treasurer, Will Thomas, 

smith's crossing. 

Smith's Crossing is now only a flag station on the Big Four railroad. 
It is situated in Salt Creek township, about two miles west of NewjKiint. 
This little hamlet was laid out, January 2, 1859, by R. S. Ward. I'or many 
years a postoffice was maintained here under the name of Wintersville. but 
it was discontinued with the establishment of the rural free deliver}-. There 
are only three or four houses in the place at present, and the only Iinsincss 
interest is the store of Mrs. Edward Little. 

other villages. 

There are three small places in Salt Creek township which ai)pcar on 
the maps of Decatur as towns, but none of them can hardly be said to 
deserve the title now. The first of these is Mechanicsburg, which was laid out 
by Robert Garrison and others, October 10, 1846. The next is New Pen- 
nington, which was laid out by Eli Pennington in 185 1 and licars the 
founder's name. Last, but not necessarily least, comes Rossburg, which 
was laid out by D. Montague, founder of the, town of St. IMaurice, March 
16, 1836. 



SAND CREEK TOWNSHIP. 

Sand Creek township was organized by the board of justices on May 
2, 1825, with the following boundaries : "Beginning at the county line on 
the township line dividing townships 9 and 10, range 8; thence east seven 
miles; thence north two miles to the line of Washington township; thence 
due east with the said township line to the county line; thence south (with 
a westerly direction) with the county line to the southwest corner of the 
county; thence north with the county line to the place of beginning." On 



144 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

July 6, 1829, on the petitii)]! of Francis JNIyers, the Ijoard ordered "tlial sec- 
tions 30 and 31 in township 10, range 9, be attached to and made a part of 
Sand Creek township." 

Sand Creek township was formed from the southern part of Wash- 
ington, and, like W'ashingtnn, in its original boundaries was much larger than 
it is at present. As established originally, it embraced the townships of 
Sand Creek, Jackson, Marion and a portion of Salt Creek, but between the 
years 1825 and 1836 its boundaries were greatly reduced by the formation 
of the latter t(_)wnshii>s. The ])resent limits of this townsliip have injt been 
reached through a definite location of its own boundaries, but by the l)()un(l- 
aries of the townships which were established from its territory and Ijound 
it on three sides. The present limits are as follow : "Beginning at the 
Jennings county line, on the section line dividing sections 9 and 10, town- 
ship 8, range 9 ; thence north to the Washington township line : thence west 
from the northeast corner of section 28, township 10, range 9, two miles; 
thence south two miles to the northeast corner of section 6, township 9, 
range 9; thence west two miles and a half to the center of section 2 on the 
north side thereof; thence south to the Jennings county line; thence east on 
the Jennings county line to the place of beginning." 

As a whole. Sand Creek township is uneven and contains several kinds 
of soil, from rich black lands on the Sand Creek bottoms to the poor land 
common in Salt Creek and Marion townships. Part of the township is very 
hilly and broken. 

FIRST SETTLERS. 

Elijah Davis was the first settler in Sand Creek township, so far as 
can be ascertained. He took out a claim in 1820, the only man to do so that 
year. In 182 1 three others bought government land and made homes for 
themselves in this township. The}- were Daniel Herron, Xat Robbins and 
William Robbins. 

Four years later, when the township was organized, it had grown but 
little in po]julation, as but nine votes were cast in the first township election 
held in 1825 for the office of justice of the peace. Just one-third of the 
male population that had reached the age of twenty-one was then willing to 
ser\e the public, there being three candidates for the office. Nat Robbins 
was elected. 

James Holmes, John Bagley, Robert Courtney and Samuel Stevens are 
supposed to have settled in Sand Creek township during the same year, but 
if they did, they merely "squatted" until they could raise sufficient cash to 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I45 

purchase government land. Other early settlers were John Robbins, Simeon 
Sharp, Daniel Meredith, William Schultz, John Cann and Samuel De Armond. 

Samuel Stevens built a l;)rick house in 1834 and about the same time 
Simeon Sharp opened a tavern where Westport now stands. Elijah Davis 
and J(_>hn Robbins both started water-mills and some time after William 
Robbins built a horse-mill, so that the early settlers were not altogether 
dependent upon the waters of Sand creek and Millstone creek for their 
bread. The first church in the township was organized by Samuel Strick- 
land, of the denomination then styled "Campbellites." 

The present officers of Sand Creek township are as follow: Trustee, 
James Armstrong; assessor, Jesse Blauvelt; road supervisors, James L. Gay- 
nor, first district; Ransom O. Davis, second district; Charles Brannon, third 
district, and James McFall ; advisory board, George M. Keith, John A. Jack- 
son, \\'illiam A. Barclay; James R. Scott, justice of the peace. 

WESTPORT. 

Westport is located in Sand Creek township on the North \^ernon, 
Greensburg & Rushville and the Chicago, Terre Haute & Eastern Railroads. 
This little village was laid out on March J3, 1836, by Simeon Sharp and 
Hockersmith Merriman, and has enjoyed a steady growth from the begin- 
ning. A marked proof of the growth is shown by the fact that it was nec- 
essary to lay out an addition in 1838 for the accommodation of people who 
wished to locate here. This was made by John Cann, and other additions 
followed soon after. 

The first house was Ijuilt in the ti)\vn Ijy William Shultz, who also kept 
the first store. Mr. Shultz seems to have been a man of many trades and 
callings, for he is also accredited with Ijeing the first physician in West- 
port. Frank Talkington was the first blacksmith to ply his trade here. 
John Conwell served as the first postmaster. 

\Vestport is noted for its excellent stone quarries in close proximity 
to the town. The product of these quarries is a high-grade building stone, 
which will bear favorable comparison with that of any other section of the 
state. It is also used quite extensively for curb and gutter, and many car 
loads of crushed stone are shipped from the quarries annually. .\t present 
it is under the management of a Cincinnati corporation and bears the name 
of the Westport Stone Company. John Ballman, of Cincinnati, is the pres- 
ent superintendent and he is ablj- assisted by J. L. Jackson, of Westport. 
(10) 



146 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The output varies from three to five carloads per day and in times of rush 
orders for crushed stone as much as sixty to seventy carloads extra are put 
out per month. This has been one of the greatest factors in making West- 
port among the most progressive business towns of the county. 

BUSINESS DIRECTORY. 

The Imsiness and professional interests in Westport in 1915 are as fol- 
low : Barber, Rousie Boicourt, J. N. Keith : bank. First National Bank ; 
bakery, Westport bakery, Jacob Bacher, manager; basket maker, W. J. 
Richardson ; blacksmith, Carl Keith ; contractor, Moir and Davis, James 

E. Burk, Benjamin Benifield; drug store, Conwell and Harding; dentist, 

F. M. Davis ; furniture and undertaking, J. F. Hamilton Furniture Com- 
pany; general store, George B. Hendrickson, Frank Manuel, J. T. McCul- 
lough, W. T. Stott & Co. ; garage, Ned Burney ; grocery, Pete Barnes ; hard- 
ware, Westport Hardware Company, Cox and McGinnis, managers; Whalen 
& Ostymer; grain company, Tyner Grain Company, Glen Gartin, man- 
ager; hotel. Joe Tucker, Eva Lowe; harness, C. E. Pierce; insurance, Levi 
Burns, T. W. Robinson; jeweler, H. J. Riedenbach; li\ery barn, Albert Rob- 
bins; milliner store, Etta Boicourt; meat market, J. H. Retherford; optician, 
J. i\L Burk; paper hanger, Bert Ross, E. A. Shaw; physician, O. F. W^elch, 
Charles Wood, J. A. C. Reiley, J. P. Borroughs; plasterer, Samuel Grayson; 
plumber, Walter Waterman; restaurant and confectionery, H. D. Richard- 
son, William McCuUough; shoe cobbler, B. P. Rogers; tailor, Rogers; stock 
buyer, Mr. Tyner; undertaker, J. F. Hamilton; veterinary, Claude Keith; 
wagon maker and wood worker, Frank Pope; watchmaker, J. M. Burk; 
Westport Stone Compan\- ; Westport Amusement Company, Alex Cornutt, 
manager. 

There are few towns in this section of the country which present in 
their business associations a more reliable and intelligent class of men, or 
whose enterprise is more clearly rewarded ])y an established and growing 
trade, than Westport. Although its population may not be so large as other 
towns with which it competes, yet its aggregated commercial transactions 
will scarcely be found excelled by any town of its class in the state. It is 
accommodated by two railroads which give it an excellent outlet to the dif- 
ferent commercial centers. J. L. Houston acts as agent for the Big Four 
and Charles Hunt serves in a like capacity for the Chicago, Terre Haute 
& Southeastern (Southern Lidiana). W. S. Sanders is the postmaster and 
three rural routes serve the country people with mail from Westport. The 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I47 

Courier Independent, managed by J. M. Keith, furnishes the community 
with local items of interest and also aids in every way possible in boosting 
the interests of the town. 

The town was incorporated in 1859 for civic and school purposes. The 
following are the present town officials: R. D. Patrick, clerk; Ed Whalen, 
treasurer: J. H. Retherfcjrd, Joe Tucker and Carl Davis, councilmen; school 
board, John Morris, president; Benjamin Gunder, secretary; Edward Davis, 
treasurer. A volunteer fire department is maintained, with E. G. Davis as 
chief, and has rendered excellent service on every occasion which has arisen 
that demanded their service. A hand-power fire engine, hose truck, hooks, 
ladders and an ample supply of hose are kept in tlie town engine house. In 
K)io the town suffered a very disastrous fire which destroyed a hotel and 
livery barn, hardware store, opera house, millinery store and dwelling. The 
total loss was estimated at fifteen thousand dollars, but this fire-swept dis- 
trict was soon rebuilt with modern and much more substantial buildings. In 
1913 the corporation purchased a town hall of the Red Men. The second 
floor is used for meetings, but the first floor is used for the fire apparatus. 

\Vestport has a Standard Oil station, which is under the management of 
George Kelley. At present the town has a population of eight hundred. 

Recently a Commercial Club has been formed, to promote the civic and 
moral improvement of the town and also aid in any commercial enterprise 
which may desire to locate here. 

LETTS. 

The village of Letts, situated on the Michigan division of the Big Four 
railroad, was laid out on September 30, 1882, by Joab Stout and others. 
Letts is one of the late towns laid out in this county and has had a very pros- 
perous existence in its thirty-three years of life. It is situated in the center 
of a rich farming land and each year its exports in grain are enormous. 
Recently two new store buildings were erected, which add to the prosperous 
business atmosphere of the town. 

The business interests of Letts in 1915 are as follow: Barber, H. L. 
Williams; blacksmith, J E. Carder; bank, Letts State Bank; contractor, 
Moore & Crise; elevator, Moore & Crise; garage, J. E. Carder, also gasoline 
station and sub-agency for Buick cars; general merchandise, W. A. Taggart 
& Company, Letts Merchandise Company, John McCammon, manager ; hard- 
ware, Letts Hardware Company. K. L. Adams, manager; hotel, J. Henry 



148 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Gibson & Sons; lix'ery and feed 1)arn, J. Henry Gibson & Sons; harness shop, 
Samuel Ketcliam ; physician, J. A. Welch ; restaurant, Alice Gardner. 

The postmaster is George W. Davis. The railroad station is known 
l)y the name of Letts Corner and O. E. Hedrick is the agent. Letts is sup- 
plied with ice by the Meek Ice Company, from Greensburg, which makes 
trips once a week. The population of the t(Avn is estimated at three hunilred. 

HARRIS. 

No town in Decatur county has experienced a greater change in the past 
qviarter of a century than Harris City, which was once the center of the larg- 
est blue-limestone quarry of stratified rock in the state, if not in the United 
States. From this quarry have been shipped thousands of car loads of 
stone and when it was in the height of its prosperity it frequently turned out 
more than a hundred car loads of stone a week. Three hundred people 
were dependent on the operation of the quarry and the busy hum of indus- 
try which pervaded the place was an apparent indication that the place would 
one day become a town of some importance. 

But today it is all changed. The quarry has closed down ; the few 
remaining houses are nearly all deserted; the once neat homes of the thrifty 
German laborers are surrounded with sweet clover; the din of the 
hammer is stilled; the cheery ring of the blacksmith's anvil no longer greets 
the ear; the towering derricks, the smoking engines, the hurrying feet of the 
hundreds of employees — all have disappeared. Where once massive blocks 
of stone were piled waiting for the skilled hands of the workmen, may now 
be seen a waving field of fragrant sweet clover. 

This is the simple narrative of the energy and enthusiasm of one man — 
and this is the story : 

Morgan's men were riding through the counties of southern Lidiana 
in July, 1863, and some of them chanced to pass by what is now Harris 
City. One of these same men must have been looking for a future place 
to locate, or at least one of them returned to Decatur count\' immediately 
after the close of the Civil War and made a close examination of the spot 
which had attracted his attention on that hot sultry day in July, 1863. 

This man was B. B. Harris, the founder of the town which bore his 
name and the man who was responsible for the opening of tlie (juarry which 
was destined to become one of the largest of its kind in the whole country. 
By 1869 Harris had the quarry opened and was turning out considerable 
stone, although he was badly handicapped because he was so far from a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



149 



railroad. However, the possibilitie.s of the quarry were so apparent tliat he 
had Httle (Hfficulty in organizing a hundred thousand dollar company in 
1873. The compan}' made Harris president and manager and five years 
later the business had reached such dimensions that it was deemed impera- 
tive to build a spur of track to Greensburg, six miles away. The right of 
way, the Iniilding of the track and the purchase of a railroad engine entailed 
an expenditure of fifty thousand dollars, but the increased business brought 
about by the better shipping facilities was sufficient to pay for the heavy out- 
lay. The company had secured a contract for a large amount of stone to 
be used in the new state house at Indianapolis and this fact was largely 
responsible for the building of the railroad to Greensburg. In fact, they 
could not have taken the contract without so doing. At the same time they 
were furnishing stone for the United States custom house at Cincinnati. 
Three thousand carloads of stone went out from this quarry for the state 
house and six thousand for the Cincinnati custom house. At least ten thous- 
sand car loads of this stone was sold to Proctor & Gamble for their immense 
soap factory at Ivorydale, a suburb of Cincinnati. The company also fur- 
nished the stone for the abutments of the Chesapeake & Ohio bridge at Cin- 
cinnati and the stone for hundreds of other railroad bridges. The stone for 
the cells in the Mansfield, Ohio, reformatory were cut in this quarry and 
smoothed with chilled shot in the local yartls. There is no machinery which 
will smooth this stone on account of its excessive hardness, and all the stone 
had ti) be smoothed by hand. 

The company built thirty-seven houses for its employees and erected 
a large three-story boarding house which would accommodate two hundred 
men. The business prospered until the latter part of the nineties, Ijut the 
hard times of 1897, combined with the poor management of Harris, forced 
the company into bankruptcy. In the following year W. C. Patton took 
charge of the quarry and operated it until 1904, when S. B. Eward became 
the sole owner and manager. Eward had lieen connected with the cmupany 
since the beginning and was thoroughly familiar with every detail of the 
business, having for many years been the treasurer. Eward continued to 
operate the quarry until his death, December 31, 1914, although very little 
stone was fpiarried for a few years before his death. The use of cement 
had made such heavy inroads into the business that the sale had dropped 
sharply away. In addition, the e([uipment was getting old, the track was 
too light to stand the heavy freight cars which had come into use, and, in 
short, the quarr}- was closed for the simple reason that it had ceased to be a 
profitable enterprise with the present demand and prices. The tjuarry and 



150 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the one hundred and fift_\'-three acres of the old company are now the prop- 
erty of L. D. Eward. of Greensburg. In 1914 thirty-one of the houses of 
Harris were moved away. The store is owned by Mr. Eward, after having 
passed through several hands in the past quarter of a century. What the 
future of the quarry may be is entirely problematical ; the stone is still there 
in abundance, only eleven acres of stone having been removed. In order to 
put the (juarry in operation again it would be necessary to rebuild the rail- 
road track to the quarry switch, a distance of four and a half miles, and 
install a complete equipment for getting out the stone. Undoubtedly the 
quarry will be opened some day, but only the future can tell when the black- 
smith's anvil will again ring. Until then the fragrant sweet clover will 
reign undisturlicd antl the silence will be broken only l)y the wa}-farer who 
stops to inquire what village once occupied this picturesque spot. 

SARD1N.\ CROSSING. 

Sardina Crossing is a flag stop on the Big Four Railroad. A postoffice 
was maintained here for a number of years and bore the name of Harpers, 
but the rural free delivery has long since taken its place and at present noth- 
ing remains to mark the town. 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

On May 14, 1822, the county commissioners established Washington 
township with the following limits: Beginning at the county line on the 
line dividing townships 10 and 11; thence west with said line to the south- 
west corner of section 35, range 10, township 11; thence north with the line 
dividing sections 34 and 35 to the southwest corner of section 26; thence 
west with the section line to the southwest corner of section 28, range 10, 
township 1 1 ; thence north with said section line to the southwest corner of 
section 16, range 10, township 11; thence west with the section line to the 
southwest corner of section 14, range 9, township 11; thence south with the 
line dividing sections 22 and 2^ to the southwest corner of section 23, range 
9, township 11; thence west to the southwest corner of section 21, range 9, 
township 11; thence south with the line dividing sections 28 and 29 to the 
township line dividing townships 10 and 11 ; thence west with the said line to 
the county line; thence south with the county line to the southwest corner of 
said county; thence with the county line to the place of beginning. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



151 



Washington township as originally laid out embraced the entire south- 
ern half of the county and contained more square miles of territory than 
Adams and Fugit combined. It comprised the territory from which the 
townships of Washington, Sand Creek, Marion, Jackson, Clay and a part of 
Salt Creek were later formed. 

On May 2, 1825, the board of justices re-defined the limits of Wash- 
ington township as follow : Beginning at the county line on the township 
line di\'iding townships 10 and 11, range 11; thence west on the township 
line to the southwest corner of section 35; thence north one mile; thence west 
two miles ; thence north one mile ; thence due west seven miles to the north- 
west corner of section 29, range 9, township 11; thence south six miles to' 
the southwest corner of section 20, range 9, township 10; thence due east 
to the county line; thence with the county line to the place of beginning 
(volume I, page 136). 

But this was not to be the final boundary of this township, for, in 1836, 
Salt Creek township was organized and Washington underwent another 
change of boundary. The limits of the township as permanently defined are 
as follow: "Beginning at the northwest corner of section 29, township 11, 
range 8; thence south six miles on the section line dividing sections 29 and 
30, township II, range 8, to the northwest corner of section 29, township 
10, range 9 ; thence east nine miles to the Salt Creek township line ; thence 
north on the section line dividing sections 22 and 2t„ township 10, range 
10, to the northeast corner of section 34, township 9, range 10; thence west 
two miles ; thence north two miles ; thence south one mile ; thence west to 
the place of beginning." 

Washington was one of the three original townships laid out by the 
board of county commissioners of Decatur county, when it held its first 
meeting at the home of Thomas Hendricks, May 14, 1822. The two other 
townships were Fugit and Adams. The board fixed the first day of June as 
the date for holding a township election for selection of two justices of the 
peace and fixed the place for holding it at the residence of Thomas Hen- 
dricks. Richard J. Hall was appointed inspector. 

This township is located in almost the exact center of the county and 
contains fifty-four square miles of territory. According to the census reixsrt 
of 1910, the entire population of the township, exclusive of the city of 
Greensburg, was one thousand four hundred and eight. The entire town- 
ship is underlaid with a lied of limestone, which has proved of utmost value 
in the construction of highways. 

On account of the good roads, the productivity of the soil, and nearness 



152 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

to the county seat and shipping faciHties, land in Washington township has 
always commanded a high price in the real estate market. Most of the farms 
have good l)uildings and are well improved. As a result, farms frequently 
sell at one hundred and fifty dollars an acre and even higher figures. 

FIRST SETTLERS. 

The first settlers of the township were Thomas Hendricks, Elijah Davis 
and Benjamin Drake. Thomas Ireland, Samuel Logan and Samuel Hous- 
ton came about the same time. Houston was a surve_\'or and is supposed to 
have been the first justice of the peace in Washington township. He died 
a few years after the organization of the county. 

Hendricks himself was a surveyor and had sur\-e_\'ed the greater por- 
tion of Decatur county for the federal government in i8jo. when engineers 
had been sent out to run lines through the "New Purchase." His assistants 
were Houston, the two Stewarts, Logan and Sam Gageljy. He was by all 
odds the leading spirit in the new communit}', as he came of stock richly 
endowed l)y nature for leadership. He was a brother of William Hendricks, 
second governor of Indiana, and an uncle of Thomas A. Hendricks, later 
vice-president of the Laiited States. He built the first house, conducted the 
first tavern therein, and later opened the first h(jtel in the county on the site 
of the present De.Vrmond Hotel. He entered the first land in \\'ashington 
township in October, 1820. 

About the same time. Re\-. James Lathrop, a Vermonter, who had 
reached Dearljorn county, entered land in Washington township and then 
went back to Dearborn county to bring on his family to the new settlement. 
While making preparations for his removal, he fell ill and died. The respon- 
sibilities of the head of the family of ten children then fell upon his son, 
Ezra, father of Rev. James B. Lathrop. 

Ezra Lathrop, with a }-ounger brother and a hired man, then came to 
W'ashington county and made preparations for caring for the remainder 
of the family, when it should arri\-e. In the spring of 182 1 the widow and 
family came to Decatiu" county and settled on land that had been entered by 
her husl)and and improved, through erection of a log caliin, bv her sons. 

Xcxt among the early settlers came Henry H. Talbott, a young \'ir- 
ginian, who ])rom])tly made love to and married one of the five Hendricks 
daughters. The two Stewart brothers had previously formed matrimonial 
alliances with the Hendricks famil}-. Talbott possessed an excellent educa- 
tion and was unusually adept with a pen. He was clerk of the county for a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 53 

long period, and his early records are still considered marvels in penmanship. 

Talbott was an unusually talented representative of a type that made its 
presence felt in each new community in the days of county organization. 
The\' were the seekers after office, and early records of Indiana counties 
show that it was a very common custom for politicians failing to land jobs, 
in one county when it was organized, to quit the county and try their luck 
again in the ne.xt one organized. Talhott, however, had not yet attained 
his majority when he came to Washington township. Talbott and Robert 
Murphy, who came with him, boarded at the Hendricks house. Talbott 
brought some goods with him and started a store, which may have been 
the tirst one in the township, although this distinction is also claimed for a 
man named Riley. The next newcomer was David Gageby, who had resided 
at Vernon. He started a cabinet shop on the northwest corner of the public 
square. He was later joined by his brother James. David then turned his 
attention exclusively to carpenter work, leaving the management of the shop 
to his brother. Other early settlers were Martin and John Jamison, hat- 
ters. In 1821, William Lloyd settled on what is now called the ]\Iadison 
road, about two miles south of Greensburg. He brought with him from 
Jefferson county, where he had stopped a few months, a numljer of hogs 
and cattle. Rattlesnakes killed off a good many of the cattle and a good 
share of the hogs wandered away into the woods and were lost. 

Thomas Perry emigrated from Bath county, Kentucky, to Washington 
township in 1823 and settled four miles east of Greensburg. Samuel and 
John McConnell, two other Kentuckians, also came about the same time. 
Both were powerful and muscular and possessed great physical courage. 
It is related that, while li\'ing "on the dark and bloodv ground," Jnhn McCon- 
nell was once beset by two Indians. He whijjped them both and took away 
from one a very business-like war club, which he presented as a trophy of 
the encounter. 

Others who found homes for themselves in Washington township 
before the organization of the county were Rev. John Strange, John House, 
Samuel Anderson, Jeptha Conner, William Bell, Daniel McCormick, Joseph 
English, John Messinger and David Messinger. Most of these settled in 
the southeastern part of the township. .Still others who settled in the town- 
ship about this time were : .\braham Garrison, Thomas Chinn, Benjamin 
\A'alker, Benjamin Drake, Otha White, Paris Aldrich, George Hopkins, 
Robert Elder, John Hazelrigg, Matthew, William and James Elder, Thomas 
Doles, John and Elijah Davis and John Robbins. 

Before John McConnell settled here, the land he later occupied was 



154 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

held In' a squatter named Gartin. William Ross, first sheriff of the county, 
and William Parks, a member of the first lioard of county commissioners, 
were among the earliest to arrive. 

Washington township has two villages marked on the map. The first 
of these is McCoy, which was platted on August ii, 1871, by J. C. Adams, 
but this failed to materialize and at present nothing remains to give sem- 
blance to a town. Quarry Switch was the point where the switch from 
Harris connected with the Big Four. At this point the Big Four branches, 
the Columbus, Hope & Greensburg branch going west and the Michigan 
branch going south. 

The officers of Washington township are as follow : Trustee, Charles 
S. Williams; assessor, Henry C. Snell; advisory board, Dan S. Perry, 
Joseph B. Kitchen, Charles I. Ainsworth; board of super\'isors, P. L. Doles, 
Oliver A. McCoy and Nathan A'andivier; justices of the peace, William W. 
Dixon and Thomas W. Hamilton; constables, William Dorsey and Reuben 
Smalley. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE CITY OF GREENSBURG. 



SONG OF AN INLAND TOWN. 
Apropos of the Flood of 1913. 

If I could write a poem like Jim Riley ust to write, 
If I could ketch his rhymin' scheme in which the words unite 
With a movin' kind o' music that'll start your sluggish blood — 
I would sing a song of Greensburg where we didn't have no flood. 
The scen'ry 'long ole Gas Creek don't compare with Brandywine, 
And we're glad the bloomin' Wabash and Ohio, broad and fine, 
And the other ragin' rivers are miles and miles away — 
Ruther be an "inland town" — kind o' like it thataway. 

A little taste o' trou1;)le 'mong our neighbors, left and right. 

Helps us 'preciate our home town more'n oratory might. 

When the trains are kind o' backward and we're missin" half our mail. 

When the juice is off the cable and the rust is on the rail. 

Then we realize the blessin's and the comfort's that we've got — 

There may be places just as, good, but there's heaps o' them that's not. 

We hev counted all our noses and we've called our little roll. 

And there's nary one a missin', not a single bloomin' soul. 

Now the streams are in their channels and the trains are comin' back, 

And the juice has hit the trolley and the rust is off the track. 

— Smiley Foivler. 

The original plat of Greensburg was located on the southeast quarter 
of section 2, township 10 north, range 9 east. This tract was entered by 
Thomas Hendricks on October 27, 1820, and there is little doubt but), 
that this shrewd Yankee selected this particular tract because he thought 
it would be near the center of a county, which would be organized within the 
the next few years. At that time the territory now within Decatur county 
was a part of Delaware county, then unorganized. Franklin county had 



156 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

civil and criminal jurisdiction over this part of Delaware county, and all 
marriage licenses and town plats are found recorded in the court house at 
Brookville up until Decatur county was organized, in the spring of 1822. 

Greensburg was laid out on August 26, 1822, by John B. Potter, and, so 
tradition says, was named, at the request of Mrs. Thomas Hendricks, in 
honor of her old home town in Pennsylvania. An interesting story is told 
regarding the naming of the town. Mrs. Hendricks had four charming 
daughters, all unmarried, and the question of the selection of the name for 
the new town was left to a vote of the men of the town, most of whom were 
unmarried. Seventeen of these men were young unmarried fellows and 
the desire to stand in the good graces of the four handsome daughters was 
the decisive factor in the selection of the name of Greensburg. 

The act providing for the organization of the county made provision 
for a commission of five men to locate the county seat, and this commission 
reported on June 14, 1822. that they had selected Greensburg as the seat of 
justice. Thus the hopes of Hendricks were realized and the first settler had 
the satisfaction of knowing that he had been fortunate enough to enter the 
tract on which the future county seat was to be located. Unfortunately, 
records are not available which will disclose the early history of the town. 
It takes no stretch of the imagination to picture the log cabins which 
clustered around the public square. In fact, it was not until i860 that the 
last log house on the public square was razed. It stood on the west side 
of the square, north of the alley, and had been occupied for many years by 
W. T. Green as a chair factory. The lot is now occupied by the meat market 
of McCormick & Richey. 

It is interesting to note the prices paid for the first lots sold in the 
embryonic city. On July 28, 1822, the county board of justices appointed 
John D. Potter "to proceed immediately to laying ofT the town of Greens- 
burg, to-wit : Public square in the center and lots extending two squares north, 
two squares east and two squares west." He laicl off sixty-four lots, eighty 
by one hundred and sixty feet. He was ordered to have thirty-five acres 
grubbed, although the persons doing this work had to agree to wait one year 
for their pay. The sale of lots took place on the first Monday of Septem- 
ber, 1822, and on that date thirty-six lots were sold, most of them being 
around the public square, although a few were sold on Broadway, Franklin 
and North streets. The highest price paid for a single lot was the one now 
occupied by the DeArmond hotel, the drug store of Joseph Moss and 
Eubanks' grocery. Thomas Hendricks bought this lot for one hundred and 
twenty-one dollars. The cheapest lot brought twelve dollars and forty-six 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 57 

cents and is now occupied by Dr. J. H. Alexander on East North street. The 
lot on which Col. Thomas Green's home stands brought twenty-four dollars, 
thirty-seven and one-fourth cents. The lot occupied by Wirt Woodfill's 
store, the Kessler bakery, the Habig real estate office and the Knights of 
Pythias block was sold to Barlow Aldrich for eighty and a half dollars. 
However, he repented of this rash act in bidding so liberally and refused to 
give a note for the same. This lot was later sold at a private sale. The 
thirty-si.x lots sold on this first day Isrought one thousand, five hundred and 
seventy-two dollars and eighty-one and one-fourth cents. The records dis- 
close the fact that not one of the lots is in the hands of any of the heirs of 
the man who bought it at this sale. It was not until the May tenn, 1823, 
of the county board that Thomas Hendricks received the residue of the 
thirty dollars, forty and one-fourth cents which he charged the board for 
surveying the town and for whiskey which he furnished the agents on the 
days of the sale of the lots. 

EARLY GROWTH. 

The town had a steady growth from the beginning, and, on February 
4, 1837, fifteen years after it was laid out, it was incorporated by an act 
of the Legislature. James Blair, Caleb Luther, Isaac House, John Thom- 
son, James Freeman, James Lusk and William B. Ewing were appointed to 
serve as trustees until January, 1838. The legislative act further provided 
that tippling houses should not be licensed for less than three nor more 
than ten dollars a year. 

From a local paper of 1844, it has been ascertained that the most prom- 
inent business concerns of Greensburg at that time were as follow: D. 
Stewart & Sons, drugs and groceries ; A. G. Stout & Company, general store ; 
W. P. & J. F. Stevens, dry goods ; Henry Sef ton, plow maker ; Lathrop & 
Cooley, hat factory; J. & W. W. Freeman, general merchants; Bryan & 
Hueston, Fors}'th & Gilham, Hall & Callen, tailors; John IMackey, saddler; 
Belmont & Ricketts, cabinet makers ; Robinson & Houser, carriage l^uilders ; 
I. T. Gibson, grocery ; J. S. Scobey, J. & S. W. Robinson and S. Over- 
turf, attorneys. A gazeteer of 1845 credits Greensburg with a population 
of twelve hundred and says that the flourishing town had seven blacksmith 
shops, employing a total of seventeen men ; four wagon shops, employing 
ten men ; four shoe shops, with eight men ; two cabinet shops ; two tan yards 
and two carding machines. 



J 58 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



QUEER REGULATIONS. 



Some ludicrous ordinances have been gleaned from the old records 
of Greensburg. In 1857, an ordinance was passed limiting the speed of all 
vehicles to four miles an hour, and it appears to have been more rigorously 
enforced than the speed laws of today. The records disclose one citizen 
who drew a fine of one dollar for venturing to drive at a perilous speed of 
more than four miles an hour down the main street. This ordinance soon 
disappeared, however, and the citizens were free to travel on the streets at 
a more rapid pace. In 1861 an ordinance forbade owners of hogs to permit 
them to run at large unless they had rings in their snouts. Old residents 
tell how the pigs of the citizens around the public square rooted for grub 
worms in the court house yard. Convenient mud holes were provided on 
the streets around the public square for the pleasure of the hogs. In 1862, 
Marshal Eudaily took up some hogs belonging to G. B. Roszell for not wearing 
the required rings in their snouts and advertised the ringless porkers for sale. 
Before the day of the sale, however, the owner slipped the hogs out of town, 
and for a time the city meditated liringing suit. 

INCORPORATION. 

Greensburg was incorporated as a city in 1859, and the first city election 
resulted as follows: Mayor, R .B. Thomson; clerk, F. M. Weadon; treasurer, 
B. H. Harney; assessor, Amos Sparks; engineer, D. Batterton; marshal, 
George Pilling ; councilmen : first ward, D. Lovett and Thomas Sef ton ; second 
ward, D. Moss and I. T. Phares ; third- ward, J. A. Boyer and Henry Doles ; 
school trustee, B. W. Wilson. 

The corporation has grown steadily from year to year since that time 
and fully merits the title of city. As its railroad facilities have improved, 
factories of various kinds have been located in the city, and today thousands 
of dollars are paid out weekly to workmen in a score or more establishments. 
The se\-en thousand people who claim Greensburg as their home are justly 
proud of its industrial position, of its schools and churches, its well-managed 
public utilities, its enterprising merchants and the general high standard of 
citizenship which prevails. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I S^ij 

FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

The Greensburg- fire department was organized in 1874, with Arthur 
Hutchison serving as the first chief. This was a volunteer company, made 
up of three hundred men, who served without any remuneration for their 
services. A liand-power engine and one thousand feet of leather hose were 
purchased for six thousand flollars. Later, each volunteer fireman who was 
a property holder was exempt from taxes to the value of seven dollars and 
fifty cents, but non-property holders received nothing for their services. 

Some years later a horse was purchased to pull the hose reel, but the 
hook-and-ladder was still pulled by hand. After the citv waterworks was 
installed in 1889, the engine was disbanded and a new wagon and hose were 
purchased. 

The fire chiefs who have served since Mr. Hutchison are as follow : 
D. C. Elder, Ralph Buckley, W. I. Johnson, W. S. Harvey, James Randall, 
W. I. Johnson and the present incumbent, Joseph Kelly. Tom Morgan drove 
the first team and he was followed by Dick Morgan, William Weathers. 
Bill Dwire drove the hose reel wagon and was followed by Bud Alyea, Bud 
Short and Link Beeson. The present drivers are James Robbins, driver of 
the hook-and-ladder wagon, and Robert Alexander, driver of the hose 
wagon. These men stay in the fire-engine house and receive sixty dollars 
per month. Mr. Isaacs was the first engineer and was followed by Mat 
Jackson, Billy Tussey and William Kirkpatrick, who served until the water- 
wcjrks was put in. 

The present volunteer fire department consists of the chief, assistant 
chief and sixteen members of the squad. The chief receives one hundred 
and twnty-five dollars per year for his services, the assistant chief receives 
seventy-five dollars and the members of the squad receive si.xty dollars. A 
complete list of the fires is kept. From 1882 until 1902. there were two 
hundred and forty fires. The year 1893 had the greatest number in any 
single year. There were twenty-four in that year, seven of which came in 
August, two on the loth and two on the nth. 

POLICE DEPARTMENT. 

The police department in Greensburg began with one marshal, who, 
alone, kept the quiet and peace of the town for a number of years. Later, 
another man was added to the force and two men served in the capacity 
until 1904. George Dickey was the first chief, with four men under his 



l60 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

charge. He began his term as chief in 1906, and served for four years, 
although he was on the force for eight years. W. I. Johnson, the present 
chief, was appointed by the mayor in 1910. John Louden is the day pohce- 
man, wlio assists the chief. James Underwood and Harry Lacey serve as 
night men at the present time. The headquarters of the poHce force are 
located in the city hall. 

WATERWORKS. 

The Greensburg waterworks was organized in 1S89, and the plant was 
completed in 1890. The Greensburg waterworks is a private corporation, 
with the following officers : David A. Meyer, president ; Harry Emmert, vice- 
president and general manager: J. B. Kitchin, secretary and treasurer; Will 
H. Robbins and ^V. W. Woodfill, who complete the board of directors. 

The water is taken from thirty wells, which are the property of this 
company. The entire cost of the plant is placed at two hundred thousand 
dollars. Two large reservoirs, with a capacity of one million gallons, are 
provided in case of fire and also to insure a surplus supply. There are 
eighteen miles of mains, which cover the entire town and furnish water for 
private use and also for factories, railroads, etc. A direct-puminng system 
is used and two pressure pumps, with one and one-half million gallons 
capacity per day, respectively, have been installed. This company furnishes 
its patrons with water at a flat rate or by meter. 

STREET PAVING. 

The first street pa^•ing in Greensburg was done in 1909, when Alain 
street was paved with lirick throughout its entire length of one and one- 
eighth miles. An interesting fact concerning the paving of this street relates 
to that part traversed by the interurban traction line. The track had been 
laid several years previously, but there seems to have been nothing in the 
franchise which they got from the city of Greensburg to compel them to 
pave their own tracks. Neither was the traction company compelled to do 
any repairing along their right of way. In 1913, Broadway, Franklin and 
part of North streets were paved with tarvia. The other streets of the city 
are well graded and macadamized. 

CITY HALL. 

The Greensburg city hall is located on the west side of South Broadway, 
in the first block off the public square. It is a brick structure and was 



-/- 




DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. l6l 

erected in 1874 at a cost of eight thousand dollars. It is two stories in 
height, the first floor being devoted to the fire department and the second 
floor to various city offices. Tlie mayor, chief of pohce and city clerk have 
private rooms, while there are bedrooms for the drivers of the fire-trucks. 
The largest room is the council chamber, which also serves as a city court 
room. 

SEWERAGE SYSTEM. 

Greensburg began the installation of a sewerage sy.stem several years 
ago and has added to it as the corporation limits were extended and the 
population increased. Owing to the fact that the city is not on a water- 
way, it has been compelled to pro\'ide an artificial means for the disposal of 
its sewerage. This is done in what is known as a disposal plant, which was 
installed in 1906-7, at a cost of eighteen thousand dollars, and has proven 
very satisfactory. The disposal plant takes care of the sewerage by auto- 
matic syphons, and for this reasim the plant does not need the constant atten- 
tion of an attendant. The street commissioner, who has general charge of 
the plant, makes daily trips to it in order to see that it is working properly. 

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY IN I915. 

Abstractor;; — P. T. Lambert. J. H. Parker. 

Agricultural Implements — Bonner, Hart & Ryan; H. O. Craig & Com- 
pany. 

Art Studio— H. M. Aultman, J. W. Beck. 

Attorneys — T. E. Davidson, J. K. Ewing, Oscar G. Miller, Goddard & 
Craig, E. E. Hite, Tremain & Turner, Lewis A. Harding, William F. Rob- 
bins, Osborn & Hamilton, J. H. Parker, M. C. Jenkins, F. Gates Ketchum, 
Roy E. Glidewell. 

Auctioneers — Earl Storms, A. F. Eubank, Earl Gartin. 

Automobile Dealers — E. E. Arbuckle, Roy Privett, Mrs. C. C. Low, 
Harlan Overleese, Miss Anna Stewart, E. C. Phelps. 

Auto Garage — Goyert's Rapid Garage and Auto Agency, Frank Mc- 
Cracken, Roy Privett, A. P. Powell. 

Automobile Radiator Company — Take-Apart Radiators. 

Bakeries — Gem Bakery, Henry Kabey, Zoellner Bakery, F. Kessler. 

Banks — Citizens' National, Greensburg National, Third National, Union 
Trust Company. 

Barber Shops — George O. Baumgartner, W. E. Golay. W. F. Martin, 
W. S. Meadows, J. F. Strausburger, James Andrews. 
(II) 



1 62 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Bazaar Stores — The Fair. Morris I'^ive-and-Ten-Cent Store. 

Bicycles and Sundries — Albert Gilhani. L. N. Marlow. 

Bill Posters — Fred Seitz & Sons. 

Billiard Rooms — DeArmond Hotel, James Ford, Pierson Cigar Store. 

Blacksmiths — C. F. Brown, Brodie & Ricketts, S. E. Cline, Wade Coil, 
Hiram Collins, William Espy, Charles Ferris, Arthur Terrell. 

Boiler \\'orks — Joseph L. Luchte. 

Bottling Works — Michael O'Conner. 

Bowling Alley — Pierson Cigar Company. 

Brick Manufacturers — W. H. Isgrigg & Son. 

Buggies and Carriages — Haas & Son, Isaac Layton, George Mont- 
gomery. 

Building and Loan Associations — Greensburg- Building and Loan Asso- 
ciation, Workmen's Building and Loan Association. 

Buikling Material — Jones Lumber Company, Pulse & Porter, Strickland 
& Trester. 

Cab and Transfer Lines — Big Four Livery, Charles Beeson, Powell & 
Son. 

Carriage Painter — Edward Roberts. 

Cement and Drain Tile — Greensburg Commercial Club, Allen Brothers. 

Chiropractor — Dr. H. Dennis. 

Cigar Manufacturers — William Oliver, Harry Suttles, Erdman & Sons. 

Cigar Stores — John Ford, Pierson Cigar Company. 

Clothing — Carter & Company, Huber Clothing Company, Ironclad 
Clothing Company, J. M. Woodtill's Sons. 

Coal Dealers— D. M. Blackmure, Ewing & McKee, R. S. Meek & Sons, 
ClifYord Jones. 

Concrete Building Blocks — F. ^Y. ^Villey. 

Contractors — Allen Brothers, Barringer & Tuniilt}', Edward Dille,, 
James Duncan, W. H. Isgrigg & Son, Josejih Kelley, M. McCormack, Pulse 
& Porter, J. A. Roszell, Smith Brothers, Williams & Son. 

Dentists — Orlando Burns, F. C. Eddelman, A. E. Gilchrist, A. O. Hall, 
H. S. Hopkins, C. A. Kuhn. E. D. McLaughlin, R. J. Russell. 

Drugs — J. H. Batterton, Henry & Company, Magee's Pharmacy, Joseph 
S. Moss, St. John & Guthrie. 

Dry Goods — Dalmbert & Companv, The luitcrjirise, George W. Magee, 
Minear Dry Goods Company, W. W. Woodfill. 

Electric Company — Greensburg Electric and Gas Company. 

Express Companies — Adams, American. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I63 

Feed Dealers — D. M. Blackmore. Nading Elevator Company, J. M. 
Horniing & Son. 

Florists — Ira Clark & Company, W. C. Konzelman, R. Burtsch. 

Flour Mills — Garland Milling Company, Hornung Mills. _ 

Foundries — Greensburg Foundry and Machine Works. 

Funeral Directors — Kirby Bros., E. G. Schultz & Company. Eugene 
Rankin. 

Furniture Dealers — Woodward & Christian. E. A. Rankin, E. G. 
Schultz & Company, Styers & Son. 

Gas Companies — Citizens Gas and Supply Company, Greensburg Gas 
and Electric Company, Muddy Fork Gas Company, Sand Creek Gas and 
Oil Company. 

Groceries — Fred Wetzler, Bee Hive Cash Grocery Company, Crooks, 
D. A. Morris, Woods & Gray, A. L. Everhart, Golden Rule Store, Louis 
Huber, Linegar Brothers, James Littell, Samuel V. Littell, J. C. Marshall, 
New York Grocery, People's Grocery, Robert Huber, Sherman Doles, Lit- 
tell (S: Stewart, Sturges & Wilson, Max Penn, Norman Eubanks. 

Groceries (wholesale) — W. H. Robbins & Company. 

Hardware — Bonner, Hart & Ryan. Corbett & Rohe, Barnard, Garver & 
Shively. 

Hair Dresser — Mrs. James Eaton, Mrs. A. J. Kendall. 

Harness — J. Haas & Son, James H. Randall, Charles Woods. 

Hardwood Lumber — E. E. Doles, N. G. Swails, Frank Donnell. 

Horse Buyers — J. H. Christian. Hunter & Crews. Carl Swift. 

Hotels — Cottage, DeArmond, Espy House, Portland. 

Hides and Furs — Samuel Levenstein, Weaver & Company. 

Ice Cream and Confectionery — John Cosmas, Frank S. Kabey, Amer- 
ican Candy Kitchen, George Kessler. 

Ice Cream Manufacturer — Link & Kabey. 

Ice Manufacturers — Meek Ice Company. 

Insurance Agencies — Albert Morgan, Mrs. C. C. Lowe, A. Habig, 
A. L. Howard, Miller & Ryan, J. H. Parker, Charles Zoller, Patrons of 
Husbandly, ^lutual Fire and Lightning Insurance Company, Mendenhall & 
Grant. 

Jewelers — George W. Clemons. J. W. Owens, Philip H. Spohn, C. H. 
Thomson & Company, C. D. Tillson, C. B. James. 

Junk Dealers — Samuel Levenstein, W. H. Weaver & Company. 

Justices of the Peace — W. W. Dixon. C. E. Shields. 

Job Printing — Charles Childs, All City Papers. 



164 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Livery Barns — Applegate & Parker, Big Four Livery and Feed Barn, 
J. F. Clemens, George S. Littell, Moss House Livery. 

Loans and Rentals — William Flemming, A. Habig, L. E. Laird, P. T. 
Lambert, Oscar G. Miller, J. H. Parker, G. M. Thompson, Charles Zoller, 
Frank Ford. 

Loans and Chattels — Capital Loan Company. 

Lumber Yards — Jones Lumber Company, Pulse & Porter. 

Machine Shops — Joseph L. Luchte, Greensburg Foundry and Machine 
Works. 

Meat Markets — Louis R. Bobrink, H. Kammerling. McCormick & 
Richey, Robert Huber. 

Millinery — Dalmbert & Company, Lena Littell, Anna Wheeldon, ]\Iary 
L. Hatfield, Minear Dry Goods Company. 

Monuments — South Park Monument Works. 

Musical Instruments — George Lanham, Christopher Link, J. W. Owens. 

Newspapers — Standard, Democrat, Nczvs, Review, Daily Times, Graphic. 

Optometrist — C. C. McCoy, Phillip H. Spohn. 

Osteopath — G. C. Flick. 

Physicians — P. C. Bentle, Charles Bird, F. P. Bitters, D. E. Douglass, 
C. B. Grover, T. B. Gullefer, C. F. Kercheval, C. C. Morrison, E. T. Riley, 
I. M. Sanders, R. M. Thomas, Paul R. Tinsdale, D. W. Weaver, B. S. 
White, James S. Woods, S. V. Wright. 

Planing Mills — Greensburg Planing Mills. 

Poultry Fanciers — C. J. Loyd, J. F. Strasburger, A. Goyert, C. Brown. 

Poultry Remedies — A. Lowe. 

Poultry Supplies — C. J. Loyd & Company. 

Produce Merchants — Goyert & Company. 

Restaurants — Benjamin Meyer, Michael O'Conner, Seitz, Garrett 
Sparks, J. P. Phillips, J. Turaschi. 

Second-Hand Dealers — Oscar Sparks, J. E. Mobley, J. W. Jackson. 

Shoe Repairers — John Doerflinger, George Tekulve, Michael McCor- 
mick. 

Shoe Dealers— Donnell & Son, Edkins & Son, L Carl Mitchell, Roy C. 
Kanouse, Styers & Son. 

Sign Painters — ^James Duncan, Blaine Ham, Morton Davis. 

Steam Laundry — Greensburg Sanitary Laundry. 

Stone Quarries — Greensburg Limestone Company. 

Telegraph Company — Western Union. 

Telephone Companies — Central Union, Decatur County. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 165 

Transfer Companies — Greensburg Transfer Company. 

Tailors— Will C. Ehrhardt, J. D. Ford, W. C. Hann, D. R. Kerr, George 
J. Kratt, H. L. Wittenberg, Ware & Gassier. 

Upholstering — E. G. Schultz & Company, E. A. Rankin. 

Vacuum Cleaning — J- W. Parrish. 

A'eterinarians — C. B. Ainsworth, A. D. Galbraith, I. B. Levy, L. A. 
Wood. 

Wire Factory — Bromwell Brush and Wire Goods Company. 

THE DECATUR COUNTY INDEPENDENT TELEPHONE COMPANY. 

The first attempt in Decatur county to secure local telephone service 
was made in June, 1900, when two hundred leading citizens of Greensburg 
and farmers of the vicinity, at a mass meeting, organized the Decatur Tele- 
phone Company, and made provision for the sale of stock, erection of lines 
and the installation of a switchboard at Greensburg. Since its beginning, 
the concern has had its share of ups and downs, but now is in a very com- 
fortable financial condition, with more than two thousand subscribers. 

Stock was sold at twenty-five dollars a share and the company was 
capitalized at thirty thousand dollars. At the beginning, there were about 
one hundred subscribers. The first officers of the company were : S. L. 
Jackson, president: Morgan Miers, vice-president; Charles Zoller, Jr., sec- 
retary, and J. H. Christian, treasurer. These officers, with C. P. Miller, 
formed the board of directors. 

In 1902 the telephone companies at Westport and Letts Corners sold 
out to the organization, and by this deal three hundred additional subscribers 
were added to the Greensburg exchange. Some time later the Newpoint 
Telephone Company and the Alert Telephone Company arranged to lease 
the privilege of the Greensburg exchange and the one hundred patrons of 
these two companies are now served free. 

H. C. Stockman, then county treasurer, had the honor of introducing 
the first telephone used in Greensburg and Decatur county. In November, 
1877, he opened a private line between his office, in the court house, and 
his grain elevator, six squares away on Monfort street. It was a great 
curiosity and many Greensburg residents heard their first "hello" over this 
line. 

The Greensburg switchboard is of the highest type now in use and is 
designed for both speed and secrecy. It is kno\v as the North automanual 
system and is a combination of the automatic and the old-style switchboard 



l66 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Only a few operators are needed at this board, and they are unable to hear 
conversations that take place on the various lines. 

Recently the company has been making an annual profit of eight per 
cent., which is given to stockholders in the form of reduced rates. Stock- 
holders are limited in voting to four shares and all business of the com- 
pany is transacted at an annual stockholders" meeting, which is always largely 
attended. There are now about one thousand stockholders. The present 
officers of the company are : C. P. jNIiller, president ; W. V. Pleak, vice- 
president: J. H. Christian, secretary' and treasurer, and F. S. Chapman, 
general manager. 

MILEAGE AND V.\LUATION. 

The total mileage and \alue per mile of all telegraph and telephone 
lines in Decatur count}- are as follow : 

Value 

Miles. per j\Iile. 

Western Union Telegraph Company 385 $55 

American Telephone and Telegraph Company 391-2 75 

Central Union Telephone Company 516.5 36 

New Long Distance Telephone Company 40 46 

Decatur County Telephone Company 1-659 23 

Napoleon Telephone Company 7 10 

Zenas Independent Telephone Company 12.5 20 

THE GREENSBURG IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION. 

The Greensburg Impro\'ement Association had its birtli in 1S92, when the 
Baxter Carriage Company, of Cincinnati, hunting another location, sought to 
secure a manufacturing plant in Greensburg. There were a number of con- 
cerns manufacturing cheap buggies in the Queen City, and the town had fallen 
into disrepute from the carriage manufacturer's standpoint. A number of 
prominent citizens of Greensburg pledged themselves to provide the neces- 
sary funds to build a plant, and arrangements were made to move the plant 
here. 

Then some difficulties arose between the company and the Greensburg 
people, and the latter, for self-protection, incorporated the Greensburg 
Improvement Association. The first officers were Marshall Gruver, president; 
W. B. Hamilton, vice-president, and D. A. Myers, secretary. Other mem- 
bers of the board of directors were Louis E. Lathrop and Henrv Chrrstian. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 167 

The difficulties were amicably adjusted and the association purchased 
one hundred and ten acres adjoining the city on the northwest, known as the 
Meek farm, which it split into town lots and sold, netting a profit of about 
thirty thousand dollars, which was applied to the erection of a suitable plant. 

The company operated for a few years, but could not breast the hard 
times of 1896, and went into a receivership. When its affairs were wound 
up, the plant was sold to the Lincoln Carriage Company, headed by W. B. 
and Edward Austead, of Conners\ille. This company operated the plant 
successfully until 1905, when it was wiped out by fire, the entire brick 
building being destroyed, with a loss of one hundred thousand dollars. 

The plant was ])artially rebuilt and a hay bailer company, organized 
to commercialize a new invention, was launched, but this concern was unsuc- 
cessful and the building is now occupied by the Kelly Manufacturing Com- 
pany. 

At least one growing concern had its inception and start in Greensburg. 
This was the Greensburg chair factory, which is now located at Anderson, 
Indiana. The company outgrew its space here and received an offer of a 
free factory site in Anderson. Local stockholders were bought out and the 
factory moved. It has grown to be one of the best manufacturing enter- 
prises of Anderson. 

The Greensburg Improvement Association now owns the Kelly plant 
and a number of lots which were parceled from the original plat and never 
sold. These plats contain five acres each and are suitable for improvement 
as suburban homes. 

GREENSBURG COMMERCIAL CLUB. 

Recognizing the fact that no city grows and accumulates wealth, save 
under wise direction and careful safeguarding of its interests by its own citi- 
zens, leading business and professional men of Greensburg took steps, in 
1906, for the organization of a commercial body, which would afford these 
essentials for the future welfare of their municipality. 

The first meeting was held in the office of the mayor, March 5, 1906, 
when a committee was named to draw up plans for organization and draft 
a constitution and by-laws. This committee was composed of George E. Erd- 
mann, Harry Lathrop, Charles M. Woodfill, Dan S. Perry, C. D. Tillson, 
Oscar G. Miller and James E. Caskey. At a later meeting, the constitution 
prepared was adopted and Walter W. Bonner became the first president. 



1 68 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Other officers elected were: Charles Zoller, Jr., \ice-presiclent ; Oscar }ililler, 
secretary, and Dan Perry, treasurer. 

The enteiprise \yas made a stockholding concern and six thousand and 
forty dollars was subscribed. A tract of land was bought and sold in town 
lots, netting the club a profit of three thousand, five hundred dollars, which 
was made the nucleus of a factory fund. A hay-bailer factor}' and a shoe 
factory were brought to Greensburg, but both discontinued operations after 
a short time. A large nunilier of factories which sought sites in Greens- 
burg were, after careful investigation, refused financial assistance, and many 
thousands of dollars thereliy saved local investors. 

Since its organization, the club has always maintained a \ery substantial 
balance. The latest report of the treasurer places the assets of the organiza- 
tion at four thousand, nine hundred and thirteen dollars. Most of it is 
invested in short-time securities, so that it can be made available at any 
time needed. 

When the automobile manufacturing" fever was at its height, and mush- 
room plants were springing up in all parts of the state, a company was 
organized in Greensl^urg for the manufacture of a six-cylinder car, to be 
called the Hamiltonian. The sum of fifty thousand dollars was raised and 
the company was incorporated. Some steps were taken toward opening a 
factory, and then the entire matter was dropped. Officers of this company 
were: W. W. Bonner, president; Harry Woodfill, vice-president: C. P. Cor- 
bett, secretary and treasurer, and Harry Hamilton and D. A. Myers, direc- 
tors. Although this company had the endorsement of the commercial club, 
it was in no sense an organization undertaking. 

New directors of the organization elected in 1913 were: Locke Bracken, 
John H. Batterton, C. C. McCoy and Ed. G. Schultz. The holdovers were 
John F. Russel, Roy C. Kanouse and James E. Caskey. John F. Russel 
served that year as chairman, C. C. McCoy was elected secretar}-, and Roy 
C. Kanouse was re-elected treasurer. 

Stockholders in the club authorized the directors to sell the Skeen 
building, which the organization owned, to George ^lontgomery. Mr. Mont- 
gomery had recently lost his place of business through fire. The building 
was sold to him at a price somewhat less than its estimated worth, as it is 
the desire of the organization to foster any enterprise which tends to build 
up the city. 

At a later meeting, that year, Edwards Doles applied to the board for 
a loan at less than the usual rate. His spoke and rim factory had been 
burned and he wished to rebuild. The Commercial club responded to his 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 69 

request and loaned him several thousand dollars at very liberal rates and 
on very easy payments. 

In 1914, J. F. Russel, James E. Caskey, Roy C. Kanouse and E. G. Schultz. 
directors, whose terms expired that year, were re-elected. Georg E. Erd- 
mann was elected to membership on the directorate, taking the place made 
vacant by the removal of Locke Bracken. John H. Batterton was elected 
president, the other officers remaining unchanged. 

In 1914, the club pledged fifteen hundred dollars to secure the A. L. 
Lewis plant, located at Marion, Indiana, for Greensburg. The offer was 
accepted by the Marion company, which is now a permanent fixture, with 
bright prospects of becoming a large manufacturing plant. Old directors 
and ofTficers were re-elected in 191 5. 

Since its formation in 1906, the present Commercial Club has accom- 
plished a great deal for the city of Greensburg and the citizens thereof. The 
worth of a commercial club is not always to be measured by the number of 
manufacturing plants it secures for a city, but more often by its success in 
sifting out the good from the many fraudulent schemes offered to gain 
the public confidence. A commercial club is a guide post, or financial 
advisor to a city, to clear the way to safe investment, and the Greensburg 
Commercial Club has ever been on the alert, truly active in behalf of the 
best interests of the city. 

THE GREENSBURG BUSINESS MEN's ASSOCIATION. 

Co-operation is the watchword of modern business. Lawyers and phy- 
sicians, recognizing the value of mutual helpfulness, long ago, organized 
county, state and natioual organizations and used these bodies for the purpose 
of furthering their professional work through more efficient service. Fol- 
lowers of the other professions were not slow to fall in line. 

The retail merchant has, in almost e\'ery instance, been the last to avail 
himself of the advantages of co-operation. The keen competition of present- 
day business life has in a measure been responsible for this condition. \\'hile 
retailers realized that there was a great economic waste through purely inde- 
pendent business methods, for a long time they felt themselves powerless to 
change conditions. 

If John Smith, deadbeat, beat a hardware store out of a bill, the owner 
of the grocery, who had previousl\- lost through extending credit to Smith, 
laughed in his sleeve at the owner of the hardware store. It was amusing 
to learn that some other unfortunate had run counter to the bill-beating 



170 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Smith. Tlie grocen-nian nursed his feehngs in secret for a time and then 
turned to laugh at the deadbeat's next victim. 

After a while. Smith made the rounds of all the places where credit 
was obtainable and then found but two courses open to him — either he must 
pay his bills as he contracted them or move out of town. Xow. the merchants 
of his town knew that he would not pa}' his bills, but thev luul paid high for 
their knowledge. 

This sort of thing went on for years. Perha]5s Smith left town, but 
others of his kind, under the same or other names, came in his place and the 
economic loss continued, a heavy drain not only upon the merchants, but 
also upon honest customers who were saddled with a goodly portion of the 
merchants' losses. 

At last, the retailers roused themselves. They were confronted with 
the knowledge that if credit was to be extended at all, in fairness to the man 
who paid cash, it must be extended wisely. Accordingly, various merchants 
arranged for exchange of confidential credit information. In a short time 
every merchant in town was attracted by the idea and an organization was 
perfected. 

Four times the business men of Greensburg ha\e attemjited such an 
organization and three failures ha\e resulted. They relied largely upon 
word-of-mouth information and transacted what little Inisiness they had 
through officials chosen from the standpoint of popularity rather than from 
any unusual ability in organization work of this nature. Consequently, each 
of these three organizations, started under most auspicious circumstances, 
worked energetically for a time, lost et¥icienc\-, lingered for a time and then 
passed out of existence so quietly that even the professional dead-beats 
scarcely knew the exact hour of their passing. 

The Greensburg Business Men's Association, the Greensburg merchants' 
fourth co-operative venture, was organized May 6, 1914. It differed from 
its predecessors in that it had a central olfice, with a paid secretary to do the 
work of the organization and look after details which had formerly been 
neglected by volunteer workers. 

The first officers of this organization, who still manage its affairs, were 
Samuel Bonner, president: George Parish, vice-president; D. A. Betterton, 
treasurer, ami Harry Lathrop, secretary. These officials are assisted in the 
management of organization matters by the following men, who, with them, 
comprise the directorate of the association : Clyde L. Meek, W. W. Bonner, 
Walter \V. Crisler, Lemuel Dobyns, Roy C. Kanouse, Mort Richey, E. G. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I7I 

Shultz, Robert St. John, George Shoemaker, Charles Thomson, C. P. Corbett 
and \V. C. Pulse. 

Besides guarding its members against losses through unwise credit 
extensions, through its confidential exchange file, the association also [irotccts 
them against loss at the hands of promoters of \-alueless advertising schemes 
and itinerant peddlers. Memljers of the association agree to pay out no 
money to solicitors of any kind unless the}- ha\e received the sanction of a 
special committee. 

This committee is composed of three men. whose identity is unknown 
to the general membership and to one another. They report ujwjn each appli- 
cant to the president and if two api)r()vc bis project he receives the commit- 
tee's sanction before he begins his canvass. During the first year of its 
existence, this committee passed upon twenty proposed advertising schemes 
and declined to sanction all but four. The estimated saving to the merchants 
of Greensburg through protection from the unworthy sixteen was i)laced at 
four thousand dollars. 

Membership dues in the association were one dollar a month, and 
Greensburg merchants found its assistance so valuable that all but eight 
business men in tlie city had identified themselves with it before the end of 
its first year. At the end of its first year the organization had one hundred 
and ten members, ele\-en of whom lived in Adams, St. Paul, Letts, Sandusky, 
Newpoint and other parts of the count}'. 

As a result of this co-operati\'e venture, a better feeling grew among 
business men of Greensburg and the organization aimed at larger under- 
takings. Membership meetings are held each month and are well attended. 
During the summer a "Big \\'ednesday'' is held once a month and special 
entertainment features are offered to bring citizens of Decatur county to 
Greensburg. The association conducts an annual street fair, works for good 
roads, sanitary living conditions and is a twenty- four-hour-a-day booster for 
Greensburg and Decatur county. 

THE GREENSBURG CHAUTAUQUA. 

In the last decade, a large number of chautauqua programs have been 
offered in cities and towns through the Middle West. In some instances, the 
public has held aloof or, at best, taken but a mild interest in efforts made by 
puljlic-spirited citizens to bring the l)cst in music, in oratory and kindred arts 
to them at prices so low as to belie their real worth. In such locations, the 
Chautauqua was a failure from the start and was rarely repeated after the 
first attempt. 



172 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



But in places where there is a genuine pulilic interest in matters of 
political importance, where there is a real appreciation of music, where people 
are alive to other things which make for sound knowledge and a more than 
veneered culture, the chautaucjua has taken deep root and is accomplishing 
results which can he obtained in no other manner. 

The success of the Greensburg Chautauqua Association, which offered 
its first program in 191 1 and has occupied the field ever since, speaks well for 
the citizenship of Greensburg and Decatur county. As was of necessity the 
case, the first chautauqua held in Greensburg was something of an experi- 
ment. Xo one knew whether the event would prove a splendid success or an 
ignominous failure, in order to make the e.xperiment, it was necessary that 
some one should guarantee the promoters against loss. The merchants of 
the city readily agreed to become guarantors of the undertaking and the first 
program was announced. It was so popular and so successful from every 
standpoint, that it was repeated the following year without first securing a 
list of guarantors and has been so conducted ever since. For business reasons, 
the association was incorporated in 19 14, under the laws of Indiana, as an 
organization to promote general culture, and not for profit. 

]\Ianagement of the Greensburg chautauqua is vested in the board of 
directors of the association, together with James L. Loar and James Shaw, 
of Blooniington, Illinois, who were largely responsible for the introduction 
of the chautauqua in Decatur county. These men had been engaged in the 
business in Illinois for some time, but made their first attempt to conduct a 
program away from home in Greensburg. 

Although the association has, in several instances, made money from 
its programs, it has, in all cases, given its patrons the benefit, by spending it 
the following year upon better and more expensive numbers. Since the first 
year, all meetings have been held at ^Vest Academy. The program is given 
about the middle of August and usually lasts ten days. 

The following celebrities, among others, have spoken from a Greens- 
burg chautauqua platform : \\' illiam Jennings Bryan, Richmond P. Hobson, 
Senator Thomas P. Gore, George W. Bain and Bishops Ouayle, Hughes and 
McDowell. Innes' and Vatales' bands have given concerts and some high- 
class dramatic talent has added variety to the programs. 

Officers and directors of the association are: J. W. Craig, president; 
Dr. C. R. Bird, vice-president ; G. G. ^^'elsh. treasurer ; Will Ehrhardt, secre- 
tary ; Dr. P. C. Bentle, E. C. Jerman, Judge Hugh Wickens, R. C. Kanouse. 
Bert Morgan, Mrs. J. F. Goddard. Mrs. Alex. Porter and Miss Edith Patten. 
]Mr. Ehrhardt is platform manager. Although the chautaucpia grounds are 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 73 

not exceptionally attractive as a camping place, a considerable number of 
patrons camp there each season. 

THE ASSOCIATED CHARITIES OF GREENSBURG. 

The Associated Charities of Greensburg was organized in response to a 
definitely-felt need in November, 1906, and has been in active operation 
since 1907. Charities, public and private, had, of course, existed in the city 
previous to this date, but the board of directors, recognizing the necessitv of 
placing the matter of relief upon the most sensible and most practicable 
working basis by bringing into co-operation all charitable agencies, so that 
they should not duplicate each other's work, such as keeping of records, friendly 
visiting among the poor and the organization of charitable effort so that 
it might be directed more effectively. Their first endeavor was to obtain a 
general secretary, who slmuld organize and push forward the work. They 
were very fortunate in securing the services of Mrs. Emma Sefton, who, for 
five years, discharged the duties with exceptional intelligence and devotion. 
Besides the general secretary, the chief agency of the work is the board of 
nine directors, representati\'e men and women, who gi\'e their services 
gratuitously and have no other object in view than the proper care of the 
unfortunate. Monthly meetings are held and the general operation and 
policy of the association are under their direction. Four of the members 
of the board, Mrs. F. P. Montfort, \-ice-president ; C. \V. Woodward, treas- 
urer ; ^Margaret Drake, secretary, and Harry Lathrop, have served continu- 
ously since the organization of the society. George Erdmann, president ; 
John F. Russel, I. Carl ]\litchell, Mrs. Emma Hamilton and Robert St. 
John have since been elected directors. Mrs. Carrie F. Meek, the present 
general secretary, has served in this capacity for almost three years and has, 
with a singleness of purpose, endeavored to increase the scope and usefulness 
of the society. Its methods have been worked out slowly by careful experi- 
ment. Many of its cherished ideals are as yet unrealized, but each )-ear 
some new things are accomplished that had before been unattainable. 

The Girls' Cooking School, the fifth session of which is now being held, 
is one of the most helpful and practical departments of the association's 
work. The thirty girls enrolled are taught to cook, wash dishes, set the 
table and to serve. The excellent quality of the food prepared by them and 
the neatness and skill displayed attest how effectively instruction is given. 
The linen loan department, maintained by the Woman's Christian Temperance 
Union, contains almost exervthing needed in a sick room and has carried 



174 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

comfort and cheer into nian_\' homes. .\n employment l^ureau is maintained, at 
which a registration is made of 1joth emi)lu}crs and men seeking work. This 
department has done some excellent work in relieving distressing situations 
by helping the heads of families to find employment. Each year a number of 
vacant lots are given out for gardening purposes to families that need them. 
Complete records of over four hundred cases of persons applying for assist- 
ance are on file in the office of the association. These are not for public 
inspection, but are kept in order and up to date, that intelligent aid may be 
rendered. 

POSTOFFICE HISTORY. 

After the incorporation of the town of Greensburg, the following letter 
was drafted, asking that a postoflice be established there: 

"Greensburg, Indiana, SeptemJjer ii, 1822, 
"Hon. Return J. Meigs, Postmaster General of United States: 

"The undersigned respectfully represent that a postoffice is much wanted 
at Greensburg, Indiana. This place is selected as the seat of justice for the 
county of Decatur, established and organized at the last session of the Legis- 
lature of this state : it is situated on the waters of Sand creek, forty-four 
miles southeastward of Indianapolis, and on the mail route leading from 
Lawrenceburg by way of Napoleon, to that place. 

"The\' recommend for the appointment of postmaster 

and request that the office papers may be directed to Madison, from which 
place they can be speedil}- transmitted to this. They further request that the 
mail route aforesaid Ije put into immediate operation."' 

From the fact that no names are attached and no one is recommended 
for the office of postmaster, it is to be inferred that this was probably the 
first draft of the petition. 

The first postol'fice in Cireensburg \\-as estalilished when the town was 
first laid out and Thomas Hendricks was the first postmaster. The ne.xt 
was Andrew Davison, Democrat, appointed by Andrew Jackson in 1829, 
who served until ^Villiam Henry Harrison took office. Then, in 1841, 
Davison resigned, whether of his own volition or by request, is not known. 
His successor was Silas Stewart. 

The Greensburg Repository for May, 1841, says: "Barton M. Harney, 
Esq., has been appointed postmaster at this place, in the place of Silas Stew- 
art, resigned. We believe this appointment will give universal satisfaction. 
Bart is an uncompromising Locofoco, an honest man, a good tailor, a clever 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 75 

fellow, and we doubt luit that he will make an accommodating and efficient 
postmaster." 

Harney did make a good postmaster — for one day. When he received 
his commission, he removed the postoffice sign and the few mail pouches to 
his tailoring establishment, .\fter conducting the office for one day he con- 
cluded that |)atrons of the office were damaging his stock. That same night 
he moved the "ofiice" liack to its old location and appointed John Stewart, a 
drug clerk, deputy postmaster. 

John B. Covington, a Democratic editor, w'as appointed postmaster in 
1854, and had the office on the north side of the square. Later, he sold his 
newspaper to William Van Horn, and the postmastership was transferred 
with it. The ne.xt postmaster was John Watson, during whose term the office 
was located near the railroad. 

During the war the postmaster was John J. Hazelrigg. He was fol- 
lowed by James King. While King was postmaster the office was in the 
basement of the I'resbyterian church. George Id. Dunn, his succes.sor, held 
the oflice for the longest period in its history. He was appointed by Presi- 
dent Grant in 1869 and served until 1886. His deputies were Sam McGuire 
and George Dunn, Jr. 

Henry E. I'.lack ser\'ed as postmaster from 1886 until 1890. His 
deputy w'as Miss Ida Black. The office was then located on South h^ranklin 
street. Thomas Hendricks was appointed to the office in 1890 and Stephen 
Rogers in 1894. 

The ne.xt postmaster was James E. Caskey, during whose administration 
both urban and rural free delivery was established, and the business of the 
office correspondingly increased. While Caskey was postmaster, the safe was 
blown open and a small amount of money and stamps alistracted. A. M. 
Willoughby, editor of the Grccusbury Rez'ic7v, was appointed postmaster in 
1902, and served four years. He was followed in 1906 by L. D. Braden, 
editor of the Grccnsbtirg Standard. Mr. Braden made way, in 1910, for 
Bert Morgan, who ser\-ed until 19T4, when the present incumljcnt, George E. 
Erdmann, was appointed by President \\'ilson. 

There are now thirteen rural routes radiating from the Greensburg 
office, supplying Decatur county farmers with daily papers and placing them 
in close touch with the city by means of the parcel post, which has shown a 
wonderful development during the past year. Including messenger boys, 
twent\-five persons in all are now emijloyed at the Greensburg office. 

No county in the state surpasses Decatur for completeness of service, 
it is said. Patrons of the rural mutes leading from Greensburg are peculiarly 



176 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

fortunate in tlieir service, as they, in most instances, receive their mail in 
the forenoon. Carriers get awav from the otiice and sometimes have their 
routes half covered, when carriers from other oflices are still waiting for the 
morning mail train to arrive. 

The chief rural free delivery center of the county is Greensburg, which 
has thirteen mutes leading from it. In addition, it supplies postofhces at 
]\Iillhousen. Clifty and Clarksburg. Rural routes are also operated from the 
Letts Corner, Westport, Newpoint, St. Paul and Burney postoffices. 

PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

The inception of the Greensburg public lilirary dates from the latter 
part of 1901, when A. Al. Willoughby, then mayor of Greensburg, opened 
correspondence with Andrew Carnegie regarding a donation for a library in 
this city. Correspondence was continued with ^Nlr. Carnegie, which resulted 
in liis making a proposition to furnish fifteen thousand dollars for the erec- 
tion of a building, providing the city would furnish a suitable site and agree 
to support the library. In May, 1902, a vote was taken at the regular city 
election on the question of taxing the city for the support of the library and 
the resulting vote was practically unanimous in fa\or of the imposition 
of the tax. On August i, 1902, the city council accepted Mr. Carnegie's 
gift formally and passed resolutions authorizing the le\'ying of the library 
tax. 

The next cpiestion was the location of the proposed building. The 
council advertised for property suitable for a library site and, after consider- 
ing several locations, the site of the W. A. \\''atson foundry, on North 
Michigan a\-enue, was chosen. The council paid six thousand dollars for 
the lot, Mr. Watson donating one thousand to the city, which, with a donation 
of eighteen hundred dollars by citizens, reduced the amount paid by the city 
to thirty-two hundred dollars. 

In Octoljer, 1902, a li]>rary Ijoard of seven members was appointed, as 
follows : By the judge of the Decatur circuit court, Hon. Will Cumback, 
Hugh D. Wickens and Mrs. Ida L. Ewing; by the common council, Mollie 
Zoller and Thomas E. Davidson ; by the school board, Mrs. Anna C. Grover 
and ]\I. D. Tackett. The board met at the house of Mrs. Grover on October 
24 and organized by electing the following officers : Will Cumback, presi- 
dent; Hugh D. Wickens, vice-president; Mollie Zoller, secretary: Thomas E. 
Davidson, treasurer. Several architects submitted plans for a building and, 
after careful consideration, the firm of Harris & Shopbell were employed to 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 77 

furnish the plans and specifications. On April i6, 1909, Pulse & Porter, of 
Greensburg, were awarded the contract for the construction of the building, 
the contract calling for $10,725. This did not include the heating plant, 
which was awarded to Watson Sons, of Terre ffaute, for $741.63, and the 
wiring and plumbing to Watson & Company, of Greensburg, for $450. This 
brought the total cost of the building up to $11,916.63, of which amount the 
architects were to receive four per cent. The remainder of the fifteen-thou- 
sand-dollar donation of Mr. Carnegie was applied to the furnishing and in- 
terior decoration of the Iniilding. The cornerstone was laid on August 21, 
1903, and on Januar\- 24, 1905, the library board formally tendered the com- 
pleted building to the citizens of Greensburg. On the following day the 
library was opened for the circulation of books and during the decade wliich 
has elapsed since that time the library has continually increased in usefulness 
to the community. 

The present liljrary Ijoard is composed of the following: Sanuiel Bon- 
ner, president; Mrs. Kate Minear, \'ice-president ; Mrs. Ida L. Ewing, secre- 
tary; Mrs. Will Pulse, Charles H. Ewing and Oscar G. ^Miller. Bessie 
Montfort was the first librarian and served in this capacity until her death, 
on Septeiuljer 17, 1905. Her father, Frank P. Montfort, was then elected 
librarian, and still continues in that capacit_y. The library now has a total 
of eight thousand volumes on the shelves and a wide varietv of standard 
magazines. The records show that in June, 1915, about eleven hundred 
persons were taking advantage of th.e library. 

THE YOUNG ME.N's CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION. 

In 19 1 5 there was completed in Greensburg what is probably the finest 
Y. M. C. A. building in the United States for a citv of its size. Certainly 
there is no building in Indiana which approaches it in completeness. Another 
distinctive feature of this building is the fact that it is the gift of one man, 
and he not only gave the money for the site, the building and its equipment, 
but also an endowment fund for its perpetual maintenance. As far as is 
known, no other Young Men's Christian Association building in the world 
has been established under such conditions. 

Nelson Mowrey is responsible lor this magnificent building, which will 

stand as a tribute to his philanthrophy for many generations yet to come. .\.s 

a youth, ]\Tr. Mowrey was deprived of educational advantages and it has 

been his desire for se\-eral years to do something for the city of Greensburg 

(12) 



lyS DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

which would lielp the bij^'s and young men of the town to improve their 
opportunities. It was not until, after careful investigation and long confer- 
ences with intimate friends, that he decided to build and endow a Young 
Men's Christian Association building for his native city. 

On July 30. 1914, ]\[r. Mowrey made a donati(5n of sixty thousand dol- 
lars for the purchase of a site and the erection and equipment of a Young 
Men's Christiaii Association building. But his beneficence did not stop here. 
Realizing the difficulty which a city of this size would ha\e in maintaining a 
building of this size, he provided for a permanent endowment fund of forty 
thousand dollars, which was to be kept intact, only the interest to be used 
for maintenance. Since making this original gift of one hundred thousand 
dollars, Mr. Mowrey has made an additional donation of twelve thousand 
five hundred dollars in order that the building and grounds might have 
certain desirable improvements. 

When Mr. Mowrey made his original donation he provided for a board 
of ten representative citizens of Greensburg (he being one of the number), 
and this board became the incorporators of the Young Men's- Christian 
Association. These incorporators included himself and nine other citizens 
of the city, as follows : Dr. C. C. Morrison, D. A. Myers, E. C. Jerman, 
Robert Naegel, C. P. Corbett, George P. Shoemaker, Frank Bennet, R. C. 
Kanouse and Henry Hodges. Furthermore, Mr. Mowrey designated the 
first seven of these men as a board of directors. The directors at once 
organized, with the following officers : Frank Bennet, president ; D. A. 
Meyers, vice-president ; E. C. Jerman, secretary. Mr. Bennet resigned in 
November, 1914, to move to California, and Dr. C. C. ^lorrison was elected 
president to fill the vacancy. In order to keep the number of incorporators 
up to the local requirement, ^^'. ^^'. Bonner was selected to fill the vacancy 
created I)y the resignation of Mr. Bennet. The board of trustees consists of 
D. A. Meyers, R. C. Kanouse and Flenry Hodges. 

As soon as the two boards were organized, steps were taken at once to 
select a site, to plan tlie Ijuilding and equip it in such a way as to make it as 
good as any in the country. Many sites were suggested before the present 
location on North Broadway, a half block from the public square, was finally 
selected. This site, purchased from Doctors Kercheval and White, has a 
frontage of one hundred and twenty and a depth of one himdred and sixty 
feet. Several architects submitted plans, but those of Shattuck & Hussey, 
of Chicago, were finally selected. The contract for the building was let on 
February 15, 1915, to W. H. Isgigg & Son, of Greensburg, the same to be 
completed by the 15th of the following October. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 79 

The main Iniikling is seventy by one hundred feet, with annex extending 
thirt\-se\en feet in the rear. It has a basement and two stories, with a total 
of thirty-eight rooms. The style of architecture is known as early English 
and the architects have succeeded in designing a building which combines 
beauty and utility. 

The basement has three educational rooms, separated by accordion doors 
so that the rooms can be thrown together for banquet purposes. Two hun- 
dred people can easily be seated in the three rooms. A kitchen, completely 
equipped, adjoins these three rooms. It was the desire of Mr. Mowrey that 
the girls and women of the city might have accommodations in the building, 
and for this reason a ladies' rest room, cloak, locker and toilet rooms are 
provided in the basement for their use. An outside entrance is provided for 
the ladies. Furthermore, the basement is so arranged that they have access 
to the swimming pool and it is the intention to set aside certain days in each 
week when the girls and women may have the use of the pool. On the oppo- 
site side of the basement from the ladies' quarters, are found the lockers and 
toilet rooms for the boys and men. The distinctive feature of the basement 
is the swimming pool, which is twenty by sixty feet, with maximum depth 
of nine feet. The pool itself, as well as the room in which it is placed, is 
floored with tile and a wainscoting of the same material extends around the 
room. The pool extends back into the annex of thirty-seven feet, which has 
been pre\'iousl_\' mentioned, the whole of the annex being roofed by a sky- 
ligh.t. The rest of the basement is taken up with the heating plant and coal 
room. It should be mentioned in this connection that it was thought desirable 
to have additional coal space and ]\Ir. Mowrey very generously provided for 
an outside underground bin, adjoining the l)oiler room, which has a capacity 
of two car loads. The basement, as originally planned, had a cement floor, 
but, at the suggestion of the board of directors, Mr. Mowrey made an addi- 
tional donation for a terazzo floor. This flooring is used in all the base- 
ment except the pool room, which is of tile, and the boiler and coal rooms, 
which are of cement. 

The first floor is reached by marble steps from the front of the building. 
The vestibule has two doors, the right door opening into the men's side and 
the left door into the boys' department. Between the two doors, facing the 
outside door, is a magnificent bronze plaque of Mr. Mowrey in bas-relief. 
The rooms set aside for the men are provided with books and magazines and 
wholesome games of various kinds. The reading room faces the front and 
is a large, airy room, with beautiful appointments. The boys' rooms, on the 
left, correspond in a general way to those of their elders on the right. The 



l8o DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

secretary's office is placed in such a manner that lie can oversee not only the 
rooms of the men and boys, but also the gymnasium, which occupies the rear 
of the first and second stories. The gymnasium extends the full height of 
the first two stories and is surrounded with a gallery. In this room are found 
all the latest jjhysical appliances, while the room is arnpl}- large enough for 
basket ball, hand hall and various other kinds of indoor sports. A cork 
running track is also provided. The office of the physical director adjoins 
the gymnasium. 

The second floor contains seventeen dormitories, which are to be rented 
to members of the association. This floor is provided with shower baths and 
toilet rooms. As has been said, the gymnasium extends through the first and 
second floors. 

The liuilding is heated with Imt \\ater and lighted by electricity. Noth- 
ing but the best of material was used in its construction and the board of 
directors have taken pride in making this building the equal, to say the least, 
of anv building of its kind in the country. The grounds are surrounded 
with a nine-inch coping, which adds not a little to the general attractiveness 
of the building itself. A croquet ground is provided in the southwest corner 
of the grounds and a tennis court in the northwest corner. It was an after- 
thought of Mr. !Mowrey to pro\-ide f(jr the paving of the alleys, which are on 
the side and rear of the grounds. 

Such, in brief, is a description of one of the nnjst unique buildings which 
has ever been erected in the United States. Mr. Mowrey has taken an active 
interest in the building frimi the start and the board of directors have found 
in him a sympathetic assistant in their labors. To Dr. C. C. jNIorrison, as 
president of the board, should be given a large amount of credit. As the 
closest personal friend of I\Ir. Mowrey, he has tried to carry out his wishes 
in a faithful and conscientious manner and Mr. Mowrev is free to ack- 
nowledge the indebtedness which he owes to Doctor ?iIorrison. The other 
members of the Ijoard have labored no less zealously to make this building 
what it is and the city of Greensburg owes a debt of gratitude, not only to 
the donor of this magnificent building, but to the men whom ^Ir. Mowrey 
chose to take general management of his gift. It is to be hoped that the 
boys and young men of Greensburg will properly appreciate this building 
and that it will mean a better citizenship and a better city. 

MUNICIPAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 

The finances of the city are in the hands of the clerk, who, at the end of 
each vear, issues an annual statement showing the financial condition of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. jgl 

city. The city clerk, Cortez Patton, furnished the following financial state- 
ment for the year ending December 31, 1914: 

LIABILITIES. I 



00.00 



Schools bonds, issued August 15. 1899 ^22. 

Refunding bonds issued December 30, 1909 20,000.00 

School site bonds, issued June i, 1912 6,500.00 

Miscellaneous 439.00 

Total $49,439.00 

Assets $60,705.00 60,705.00 

E.xcess of assets over lialiilities $11,266.00 

RECEIPTS. 

Regular receipts $35,347.00 

Special improvement assessment 3,342.00 

38,889.00 

EXPENDITURES. 

Regular $39,731.00 

Carnegie Library Board 2,419.00 

Interest and principal on bonds 3,236.00 

44,386.00 

Deficit for year 5,497.00 

CITY OFFICERS. 

The present officers of the city of Greensburg are as follow : Mayor, 
James E. Alendenhall : ckrk, Cortez Patton; council, Wesley Lanius (first 
ward), Harry Mount (second ward), Marion Allen( third wartl), Thomas 
Tumilty (fourth ward), and two-at-large, Frank Magee and I. B. Levy; 
chief of police, \V. L Johnston; chief of the fire department, Joseph Kelley; 
health officer. Dr. B. S. White. 

The churches, schools, lodges, newspapers, banks, building associations, 
railroads and industries of Greensburg are referred to in separate chapters. 



CHAPTER VIl. 



EDUCATION. 



The educational history of Decatur county fahs into two divisons, the 
period from the organization of the county, until 1853, when the present 
system of public schools was adopted, and from that date to the present. 
Free schools w'ere provided for by the Constitution of 185 1, but it was 
not until two years later that they went into operation. From 1822 until 
1853 there was not a single free school in Indiana, for even the old academies 
were supported, in part, by tuition. 

All education was obtained in what were known as subscription schools, 
parents paying the teacher so much a term for each pupil they sent to school. 
Teachers were not examined and taught only the rudiments of reading, 
writing and arithmetic. The three R's formed the basis of all work in the 
school room, although in the more pretentious institutions geography and 
history were taught. 

EARLY RURAL SCHOOLS. 

The usual school term in Decatur county during the early days was 
three months, and the school day began early in the morning and lasted until 
sundown. The teacher would be at his desk at sunrise and the iirst pupil 
to arrive at the school house would be the first to recite. This privilege of 
reciting first was much sought by those more eager for knowledge and there 
was usually keen competition among the star pupils, and consequent early 
rising. There were a few drones, however, who cared little whether school 
kept or not. and therefore, as if to show their contempt for learning, would 
come straggling in about ten o'clock, or in plenty of time for the noon recess. 

Early schools were held in vacant log cabins, chinked with mud, pro- 
vided with puncheon seats and oiled-paper windows. Text books were the 
American Primer, Dilworth's and Webster's spelling book, Guthrie's or 
Pike's arithmetics, the English Reader, the Bible and, sometimes, Weem's 
"Life of Washington." This last book was a novel, but won a place in the 
list of text books because of the excellence of the moral carried by the cherry 
tree story. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 183 

School houses were not provided with bells in those days and when 
llie teacher wished to call his pupils from play, he would step outside, pound 
upon the side of the school building with a stick and shout, "Books! Books!" 
at the top of his voice. 

Pupils studied "out loud." and the resultant bedlam was audil)le for 
some distance from the building. The experienced teacher could tell in an 
instant when some youth wavered in, his pursuit of learning or sought to 
engage in con\'ersation, at the expense of his lessons. 

Sometime near 1840 Miss Jane Bartee taught a school in the southern 
part of the county. She must have possessed an ear for both rhyme and 
r\-thm, for she gave her school rules a metrical embodiment. The follow- 
ing classical fragment is still e.xtant : 

"No rippin', no tearin'. 
No cussin", no swearin', 
No clingin', no swingin', to trees." 

The father of this poetical school ma'am was a justice of the peace, and, 
by virtue of that office, a member of the county board, which performed the 
duties of the present-day county commissioners. When the board met in 
Greensburg, j\Ir. Bartee would walk thither, barefooted and garbed in 
undyed homespun, and, thus attired, enter upon his official duties with all 
due dignity. 

Teachers were expected to treat their pupils at Christmas. Whisky 
and sugar were common delicacies for teachers to serve to boys and girls 
at this glad season. Sometimes a teacher, with more than ordinary moral 
and physical courage, bra\ed public opinion and declined to treat on this 
occasion. Often it went hard with him. A Mr. East, teaching in Marion 
township, once declined to follow precedent in this respect. He was seized 
bv the larger boys and hustled most ingloriously toward a nearby pond. 
He yielded to the inevitable just in time to escape a ducking. 

Singing was a common method used by teachers in inculcating fami- 
liarity with multiplication tables and geographical facts. The pupils sang 
their tables through, from the "twos" to the "twelves," forward and back- 
ward, and then, with what spirit they had left, swept into the strains of the 
geography song, the first line of which went something like this : 

"Maine, Maine, Augusta, on the Kennebec river; Maine, Maine, 
Augusta, on the Kennebec river." 

Some of the early teachers who had charge of schools in Decatur 
county during the twenty years following its organization were : J- H. 






184 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

I'lankin and William Marlow, Springhill ; John Goddard, Clinton township ; 
"Uncle Jack" Bell and John Hopkins, Mt. Carniel ; Sam Donnell, Samuel 
Henry, James McCoy, "William Thomson, Kingston; Tom Peery, Elijah 
Mitchell. Enoch l^ackett. J. S. Guant and (iarrard Morgan, near Greensburg. 
and Joe I'atton, Samuel Sebaugh and James Brockmare. in Greensburg. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF TEACHER.S. 

In the early days, not much preparation was recpiired in order to 
"teach scho(jl.'" The i)edagogue looking for a school for the winter, with an 
opportunity to "board round" and so eke out his scanty earnings, went to 
the township trustees, applied for a place, and if they liked his appearance 
he was hired without much of an examination into his qualifications. In 
most cases, the trustees themselves were men with very little education and 
would not presume to question the aliility of anyone seeking a position as 
teacher. 

^^'hen examinations were given, they were usually oral and, in most 
cases, delightful farces. In the early days, so the story goes, a young woman 
applied to Doctor Moody for a license to teach. Doctor bloody was a mem- 
ber of the board of county examiners. He asked her a few questions and 
then gave her the following certificate : 

"This certifies that Miss can read a little and write a little." 

In 1S35 Dr. S. H. Riley, then a young man, wanted a license to teach 
and presented himself at the drug store of County Examiner Da\-iess Batter- 
ton, in Greensburg. Mr. Batterton wrote down a question upon a slate and 
Riley, seated upon a box, would write the answer u]ion paper. Aleanwhile 
Mr. Batterton would wait upon a customer or two and then write down 
another question. When the examination was completed, Batterton wrote 
out a teacher's license for Riley. 

Residents of Springhill called a meeting on July 2, 1843, for considera- 
tion of methods for improving the common school system. George Ander- 
son presided and E. Mitchell acted as secretary. The following organiza- 
tion was effected: Adams Rankin, president; William Anderson, secretary; 
^A'. M. Herrick, Rev. James Worth and John Bell, directors. Rev. Hugh 
Maime and P. Hamilton were re(|uested to address the meeting at a future 
date. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 185 

THE DECATUR COUNTY SEMINARY. 

In 181 8 the Legislature passed a law providing for a trustee for each 
county, whose duty it should be to accumulate and invest funds arising from 
exemption money and fines, for the estalslishment of a secondary school in 
each county, to receive pupils from township schools and fit them for the 
.State University. This law was superseded in 1824 Ijy an act providing for 
county seminaries. The Greensburg seminary was authorized by an act of 
the Legislature on January 20, 1832. 

In 1833, eleven years after its organization, Decatur county availed 
itself of this law. A sufficient sum had been raised from sources mentioned 
to build a seminar}-. The location selected was the corner of Franklin and 
McKee streets, one S(|uare from the railroad. Contract for its erection was 
awarded to Jacob Stewart, who completed the building in 1834, at a cost of 
two thousand dollars. Stewart had formerly been a land surveyor under 
Colonel Hendricks. 

The first trustees of the institution were: James Freeman, James Elder, 
Abraham Garrison, Benjamin Jones, Morton .\tkins, David Montague, 
Da\'id Johnson and Samuel Donnell. 

The old building, which is still standing, is a large, square, two-story 
brick structure, surmounted by a brick cupola. The grounds about the 
institution covered an entire block, giving the few pupils a considerable 
amount of territory over which to romp and play. The seminary was opened 
in September, 1834, but, like other institutions of this character in the state, 
it relied entirely upon tuition fees to pay teachers and meet other expenses. 
The day of free schools was still far distant. 

James G. May was the first instructor. He had been employed as 
assistant teacher for a time at Salem and was well (|ualified to take charge 
of the institution. He was assisted by his wife and sister and Elias Riggs, 
a Princeton man and uncle of Riggs Forsyth, at one time head of the old 
First National Bank. The first pupils were Orviile Thoni|>son, Oriegon 
Thompson, Camilla Thompson and James B. Lathrop. 

May was succeeded, in 1840, by .\bram T. Hendricks, a graduate of 
Hanover College, who taught for one year and then (|uit to enter the ministry. 
While he was in charge of the seminary he had the valuable assistance of his 
younger brother, Thomas A. Hendricks, who later became \-ice-president of 
the United States. 

Dr. J. B. Lathrop, who was one of the first students at the old seminary, 
remembers yir. Hendricks verv well, as he and the man who later liecame 



l86 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

go\-ernor of Indiana and then \ice-president, read \'irgil together in the old 
building. Tiie last time Mr. Lathrop met the cH.^tinguished man, 'Mr. Hend- 
ricks told him that, while he didn't know whether or not he had accomplished 
much good in the world, he did know that he had many pleasant recollections 
of days spent at the old seminary. 

Speaking of Air. }ila_y, the first instructor, Mr. Lathrop says: "He was 
assisted by his sister, Miss Elizabeth Alay. I can say for him that, while he 
licked them every day, the boys who went to school to him have a profound 
reverence for his memory. T remember that he was very anxious to organize 
a Latin class. I was nine years old and was one of its first members. i\Ir. 
May taught later in Salem and New Albany. He taught until he was eighty- 
two years old. When he became so old that he was no longer wanted in 
town, he went out into the country to teach." 

The next superintendent of the seminary was Philander Hamilton, a 
product of the institution which was placed in his charge in 1841. \Mien 
but a small lioy, he met with an accident and was badly crippled. He first 
studied in the seminar}- under James May and later graduated from Hanover 
College. He managed the institution for one year and then retired to edit 
the Grecnshtirg Sentinel. Hamilton turned a year later to the study of law 
and died after practicing a few years. He served one term in the Legislature. 

Francis P. Monfort, graduate of Oxford College, and later a Presby- 
terian minister, followed Hamilton. He is said to have possessed marked 
ability as a poet. IMonfort was assisted by Agnes Neal until 1844, when he 
was succeeded by Dr. Andrew M. Hunt, later founder of Sioux City, Iowa. 

Davies Batterton, an Indiana University man, was the last head of the 
seminary. He took charge of the institution in 1847. ^''' 185- the new 
state constitution abolished the seminary system, the building was sold and 
the money applied to the school fund. As Greensburg was not incorporated 
until 1 831), the l)uiUling was rented and maintained by pri\ate enterprise as 
a grammar school. 

Among students at the seminary who achieved success in later life were: 
Thomas A. Hendricks, United States senator and vice-president of the United 
States; Dewitt C. Rich, who represented Jennings count}- in the Legislature: 
John F. Ewing, who became a successful lawyer at Burlii-igton, Iowa; James 
N. Sander, noted Presbyterian minister ; Or\-ille Thompson, printer, soldier 
and writer, and James B. Lathrop, minister and banker. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 



About 1840 Benjamin Nyce and his sister Elizabeth conducted a school 
in a small building on the site of the present county jail. Miss Nyce taught 
the smaller children and her brother the larger ones. Eight years later a- 
subscription schoul was started on Jackson street by Miss Martha Ann 
Gageby. Dennis Coakley, an Irishman, had a school during the spring of 
1849 on North Eranklin street. Another school was opened in the base- 
ment of the Presbyterian church in 1850 by Rev. David Monfort and Miss 
Mary Carter. In 185 1 Mrs. Luther taught a subscription school in a little 
one-room frame house on West Washington street. 

Later, private schools were, started for those who wished to secure a 
higher educaticm than they ciiuld obtain in the pul.)lic schools. Miss Abbie 
Snell, a New Englander, taught a class of twenty regular high-school sub- 
jects in the rear of the present Greensburg National Bank Iniilding. Associ- 
ated with this school was one taught by Miss Hood, later Mrs. James Bonner. 
Miss Snell later married Judge Bonner. Miss' Hood, with the assistance of 
Belle Carroll, conducted a school in the basement of the old Presbyterian 
church. It was organized in 1869 and continued until 1875. 

FIR.ST FREE SCHOOL. 

The first free school in Greensburg was opened on July 20, 1857, with 
four teachers: Mrs. INIcCollough, Miss Eunice I'aul, B. F. West and I. G. 
Grover. Text books used were : McGuffey's readers, Ray's arithmetic, 
Pineo's grammar, Goodrich's history. Bullion's languages, Comstock's philos- 
ophy and chemistry, and Davies's legends. The higher branches were taught 
by Mr. Grover. The first school trustees under the new system were W. \\'. 
Lowe, A. I. Hobbs and B. H. Harney. The primary department, taught 
by Mrs. McCollough. was located in the basement of the Baptist church ; 
the next grade, taught by Miss Paul, met in the basement of the Presbyterian 
church, and the other {\\o teachers held forth in the seminary. 

GRADED SCHOOLS. 

The first graded school in Greensburg was in 1861. It was conducted 
in the basement of the old Baptist church. Miss Drucilla Warthin was prin- 
cipal and Miss Rebecca Richmond, assistant. The school was free for town 
pupils, but those coming from the country were charged six dollars for the 



l88 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

three-months tenn. The curricuhini eniljraced pliilosopliy, algebra and 
ancient history, in addition to the common school branches of learning. 

Upon the organization of this graded school, Doctor Moody, A. R. 
Forsyth and J. B. Lathrop were named trustees. There was only sufficient 
.money to run the school for a term, with no allowances for incidentals. 
Money was raised to hire a janitor by assessing each pupil fifty cents. 

It was during this term that Doctor Moody displayed true Solomonic 
wisdom in settling a rather delicate matter. One of the patrons of the 
school came to him and protested because a little negro girl was attending 
the school. He said he w(-iu!d take his own daughter out unless the colored 
pupil was removed. The colored girl was very light in color, while the pro- 
testing citizen's daughter was a very dark krunette. "Very well," said Doc- 
tor Moody. "We will send a man around tomorrow to pick out the negro. 
If he picks nut the negro, she goes out, and if he picks nut your child, she 
goes out." The irate citizen was content to drop the matter. 

B}' the school law of 1853, civil township trustees were authorized to 
establish a sufficient number of public schools to care for the education of 
all white children. Xegroes and mulattoes were not to Ije admitted ; neither 
could they be taxed for school purposes. 

The following old petition, presented by Greensburg colored people to 
the school board, is preserved in the public library: "We. the colored people 
of the city of Greensburg, respectfully ask you that our children be admitted 
to all the rights and pri\ileges of the public schools. \\'e beg to say that we 
make this recpiest for the reason that there are not sufficient colored chil- 
dren in the city to justify the organization of a separate school for them.'' 
The petition was signed Ijy J. \V. Therman, Richard Lewis, Mitchel Tracy, 
W. B. Scott, S. Crewett, ^V. Sanders, John Morgan and George W. Lee. 
Richard Lewis was the father of a subsecpient graduate of the Greensburg 
high school who became professor of mathematics at Hampton Institute. 

In 1870 a separate school for colored children was operated for a time 
in rooms over the First National Bank, with a Miss .\nderson as instructor. 
The project was abandoned after a short trial. 

teachers' gatherings. 

The first recorded gathering of Decatur county pedagogues took place 
in Greensburg in 1857. Two teachers in Sand Creek township, Kidd and 
Chaffin by name, had been raising a consideraljle amount of rhetorical dust 
in arguments on corporal punishment. Debates had been held in various 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 189 

parts of the townsliip, and they arranged to condnct a debate in Greensljnrg, 
in order that teachers from all parts of the county might be present. 

Fifteen teachers assembled in Harney's hall to hear the two worthies 
present their arguments. But, before either of them could take the floor 
and open the meeting, W. H. Powner arose and. after pointing out the futil- 
ity of such a discussion, proposed that an organization be effected for 
iniprovement of methods of instruction. The suggestion was followed and 
Davies Batterton was elected president and J- A. Dillman, secretary. Neither 
of the authorities u])on corporal punishment was gi\-en an o])portunity to 
loose their floo<lgates of oratory. The first teachers' association met in 
Greensburg the first Saturday in December, 1859, and the last Saturday of 
the same month a permanent organization was effected with Davies Batter- 
ton at the head. 

Tliis organization conducted the first teachers' institute in August, i860. 
G. W. Hoss, later state superintendent of public instruction, was the lecturer. 
The following year an institute was held at Clarksliurg. 

Probably the first class of any kin<l t(T be conducted for the benefit of 
teachers was one held in Milford, in August, 1862. This institute was in 
session fi\'e weeks, with an attendance of forty-five. One of the nieiubers 
of this class was Elizabeth Rile_\-, wlio later liecame Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart. 
The instructors were County Examiner X'v'illiam H. Powner, J. B. Mallett, 
G. \\'. Stotsenberg, Jacob Dillman and a Mr. Merritt. At the end of the 
term a written exanunation was conducted. Most of the male teachers left 
in the middle of the tenn, when news of a Confederate raid was recei\'ed, 
to volunteer for home defense. 

Those who were successful in passing the examination received a 
teacher's license, issued by the county examiner, which had been written by 
Mr. Sinks, a writing teacher. The county examiner delivered them in ])er- 
son and collected a fee of fifty cents from each person who secured a license. 
A local newspaper of that day made the following pertinent comment on 
the meeting: "Professors Powner and Merritt have soh-ed two important 
pn:)1)!ems : h'irst, that institutes in this county are a fixed fact and will be 
held annualh", and, second, that this county has no need to import teachers 
to conduct normal schools." 

NORMAL SCHOOI.S. 

Need of some educational advantages for professional teachers was 
first officially recognized in 1870, when a county normal school was con- 



I go DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ducted by C. W. Harvey, although we find the following article in the 
Standard files of 1862: "The Decatur County Normal School closed its first 
session of six weeks on August 15, at Milford. Dr. D. S. Welling, Prof. G. 
Hoss and Prof. W. H. Venable were the lecturers, and held an examination 
the last week. There were enrolled sixteen males and thirty-one females, 
whose names are given. R. \\\ ]\Iiers, L. H. Braden and IMisses Maggie 
Logan and Louisa Marshall and Mrs. Mary Sefton still survive." 

Thirty teachers attended this training school of 1870, which continued 
for three weeks. Although the results accomplished were of great value, 
no effort was made to give another normal course until 1879, when E. L. 
Duncan and Dr. J. A. Carr, then county superintendent, conducted a si.x- 
weeks course at Adams, which was attended by thirty-five teachers. 

In 1880 Messrs. Duncan and Carr held their first normal in Greensburg. 
It continued for six weeks, was attended by sixty-four teachers and closed 
witli the county teachers' institute. The feature of this course was the pro- 
fessional instruction given by Mr. Duncan. The following summer, C. L. 
Hottell, principal of the Clarksburg schools, opened a normal school, which 
had only a fair attendance. 

A third normal course was given in Greensburg in 1892 by W. P. 
Shannon, George L. Roberts and C. T. Powner. Other courses of a similar 
character were given in Greensburg in 1893 and 1897. Most of them lasted 
for six weeks and were held for the purpose of making an academic re\ lew 
of the common branches. Lectures were also given upon psychology and 
other subjects, with the idea of fitting those attending to pass teachers' 
examinations. 

Since the passage of the act recjuiring all candidates for teachers' 
licenses to have taken a prescribed course in normal work, this training has 
been given at state institutions and other educational centers, and the county 
normal is a thing of the past. In its time it did a great deal of good, and 
many teachers received excellent preparation for the school room by attend- 
ing its sessions. 

THE FLAG. 

Today the American flag flies over every school house in the country. 
There was a time when it was not customary to display the national ensign 
from such places, and an attempt to fly it over the school house in Milford 
caused considerable trouble, resulting in the arrest of a number of promi- 
nent citizens there. In honor of the election of Abraham Lincoln, two of 
his ardent supporters raised a flag above the school house. That same night 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I9I 

it was taken down by others, who saw in the action an affront to themsehes. 
Another flag was secured and placed upon a pole in the school house yard. 
This pole was cut down and the flag remo\'ed. At the next session of court 
ten Mil ford men were required to answer to charges of riot. 

During the Civil War the schools of the county were closed for one 
year, on account of financial troubles. Trustees had been hiring teachers a 
year before money with which to pay them became available. The Leg- 
islature passed a law requiring the necessary money to be in the township 
funds before teachers could be retained. This luade it necessary to close 
the schools until operating funds could be secured. During this period a 
large number of subscription schools were conducted. 

SCHOOL SUPERVISION. 

Before the creation of the office of county superintendent by act of the 
Legislature in 1872, the duties of that position were discharged by school 
examiners. There were at first three e.xaminers for each county, but later 
the number was reduced to one. The powers of the school examiner were 
slightly broader than those wielded by the board of examiners. The first 
examiner to be appointed was William H. Powner, who was given the office 
in i860. J. B. Alallett took the office in 1866. He was followed by James 
R. Hall, who served until the reappointment of Mr. Powner in 1871. Pow- 
ner then held the position until it was abolished. 

Establishment of the office of county superintendent in Decatur county 
did not work the marked changes which were experienced in other parts of 
the state. Powner, who had been school examiner, was continued in charge 
of the schools of the county, at a shght increase in salary, with Ijut slight 
changes from the duties he had been performing during the ten years pre- 
vious. 

In 1873, under the amended superintendency act, the board of county 
commissioners appointed Philander Ricketts superintendent. The amend- 
ment to the original law curtailed the salary of the office and also reduced 
its powers. Ricketts served for a year and then tendered his resignation. 
Meanwhile, the amended law had been declared unconstitutional by the 
supreme court. The board of county commissioners then, in 1876, appointed 
James L. Carr. John H. Bobbitt was appointed the following year, and, 
after serving for a short time, resigned. W. B. Ryan was a]>pointed to com- 
plete the unexpired term. Mr. Carr then held the office for a tenu of two 
years. J. H. Boljl)itt was elected in 1881 and served for three terms, or 



192 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

until 1887. He was again a candidate for the office in this year, hut was 
defeated liy John W. Jenkins in a close contest. Eighty-six ballots were 
taken Ijy the township trustees hefore either candidate secured a majority 
of the votes. 

County superintendents elected since that time have heen : L. D. Bra- 
den, 1889; John W. Jenkins, 1S91 ; E. C. Jerman, 1897; Edgar Mendenhall. 
1903, and Frank C. Fields. 191 1. 

The school enumeration for Decatur count)' for 187J, as taken by 
Su])erintendent W. H. Powner, was seven thousand and fifty-eight. The 
number of sch()ol children in the county, according to the latest enumera- 
tion is fi\'e thousand ninet_\'-eight. 

FIRST SCHOOL BUILDING. 

The first school building in Greensljurg was completed in 1863 by R. B. 
Thomson, contractor, at a cost of twehe thousand dollars. It was located 
on Monfort street, midway between Xorth and ^^^ashington streets, on what 
was then known as the Luther lot. The erection of this building was begun 
by the town school board, composed of Samuel Christy, W. A. Donnell and 
Barton Wilson. Two additions were later added to this lot. The high 
school addition, a two-stoiy affair, was erected in 1876, and used until the 
present high school building was opened. 

When the first building was in the course of construction a workman 
fell from its walls and was killed. For many years the tradition lingered 
that the ghost of the unfortunate mechanic lurked in the basement of the 
building, and many a child held to the straight and narrow path of school 
discipline through fear of being sent to the basement in punishment for mis- 
demeanors. 

The real beginning in earnest of the schools was not until 1862, when 
the "seat of learning" was transferred from the "old seminary" in the south- 
east part of the city, to the present site on ^Vest Washington street. The 
location of this site was made by popular vote. 

B. F. Brewington was superintendent when the new building was first 
used in the fall of 1862, and he remained four years, being succeeded ^y 
J. R. Hall, who was at the helm in 1866-67, and J. W. Culley in 1867-68. 
The school had grown in 1867 until the enrollment was six hundred and 
sixty-nine. 

A new era dawned on the schools in the fall of 1868, when Prof. C. W. 




HIGH SCHOOL r.riLDING. GltKENSBT'ItG. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



193 



Harvey became superintendent. He remained at the head of the schools for 
thirteen years, and by his ]jlanning- and firm executive ability he set the schools 
upon a higher plane of usefulness than they had ever been before. At the 
conclusion of his term in 1881 there were eight hundred and tvveuty-si.\ 
pupils in the schools and fourteen teachers employed. 

GREENSBURG HIGH SCHOOL. 

Near the close of Professor Harvey's first year, 1869, the high school 
department was instituted in the same building where the common branches 
were taught. Until 1875, when the high school addition was erected, the 
school had the competition of the i)ri\-ate school which was managed by Mrs. 
Abbie Bonner. 

The Greensburg- high school began its career on September 5, i86g. 
with Miss Rebecca Thomson as principal. Rev, J. R. Walker, a nati\'e of 
Ireland and a well-remembered United Presbvterian preacher, was professor 
of languages. Prof. C. W. Harvey was superintendent, but was ill and not 
able to be in school the first week. Miss Thomson came here from Rising 
Sun in 1808, and went from here to Franklin College. 

Other teachers of the schools at this time were : Mary Howells, Cin- 
cinnati ; Mehitable Fowler, Troy; Amelia Holby, Kate Cimningham, Alary 
Wilson, Almira Thomson, Bell Carroll and Mrs. Rebecca Rhiver. 

The first high school commencement exercises were held at the Baptist 
church on May 19, 1871. There were two graduates, Miss Ida R. Stout and 
Miss Anna Myers, who afterward won distinction in the New York jour- 
nalistic field. On this memorable occasion the two young lady graduates 
read essays which were pronounced credital:)le productions Ijy the hearers. 

There were five graduates at the second annual commencement, which 
was held at the Christian church. Those who were members of the class of 
1872 were Mollie Paul, Mary Christy, Jennie Williams, Lizzie Shirk and 
Lou Pope. Mr. Po]ie later became head of a Chicago educational concern. 
In 1873 Ida and Herschel Wooden and Belle White were granted diplomas. 
There were about fifty students in high school at that time. 

The grade teachers then were as follows: Rebecca Rhi\er, Seymour 
Pierce, Allie Thomson, Mamie Wilson, Lizzie Dobyns, Mary Howells, Ame- 
lia Holby, Mary E. Wilson, Maggie Stoner and Mary Elcock. 

The high school grew steadily in popularity as people percei\'ed its value 
and in a very few years classes of considerable size were being graduated. 
(13) 



194 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

As years went by, more and more students saw tlie necessity of secondary 
school training and entered the high school direct from the common branches. 

In 1876 the attendance had so increased that added c^uarters were ren- 
dered necessary, and a brick addition, fifty by eighty feet, was built, in 
1877, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. Tiie trustees then were W. A. 
Donnell, Samuel Christy and Doctor Bracken. The addition is still in use 
for the grades. The first principal of the new high school was W. P. Shan- 
non, who served until 1882, when he became superintendent of the city 
schools, succeeding Superintendent Harvey. ]Mr. Shannon died on Decem- 
ber 16, 1897. 

C. T. Hottell became the principal when Mr. Shannon was given the 
superintendency. He was followed by David Curry and George L. Roberts. 
Mr. Roberts ser\ed the high school for ten years and then went to Indiana 
University in the summer to take his Bachelor's degree. He returned to 
Greensburg for the following school year, and upon the death of Mr. Shan- 
non was appointed to take the superintendency. He remained here until 
1901, and then went to Frankfort, and later to Muncie. He is now at the 
head of the department of education in Purdue University. 

The next high school principal was Edgar N. Mendenhall, who served 
six years and resigned in 1903 to become county superintendent. Superin- 
tendent Roberts was succeeded in 1901 by D. M. Geeting, former state 
superintendent of public instruction, a man of broad experience, who was 
thoroughly acquainted witli all branches of school work. He served until 
1903. and then left Greensburg to become deputy state statistician, a posi- 
tion he held until his death. Superintendent Jerman, the present incum- 
bent, succeeded Professor Geeting in 1903. 

There have been graduates every year except 1883, when the high 
school course was enlarged and another year's w'ork added. There have 
also been five colored graduates from the Greensburg high school, but none 
of recent years. The enrollment in 1908-09 had been the largest up to that 
time. It was as follows: High school, 184; West building, 679; East build- 
ing, 284. Total, 1,147. 

The high school had reached such proportions bv 1912 that it was 
deemed necessary to provide larger and more modern quarters. The con- 
tract was let on August 16, 191 2, for the erection of a new high school build- 
ing by Trustees W. C. Woodfill, John F. Russell and Dr. R. M. Thomas. 
Pulse & Porter were awarded the contract for $65,410.09. It was completed 
in the wdnter of 1914, and, although not entirely finished, the high school 
classes were first held in the new building in the winter term of that year. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 195 

There have been 753 graduates from tlie Greensburg liigh school in its 
forty-six years of existence, 267 boys and 486 girls making up the list, ac- 
cording to the figures gleaned from the Standard. 

The Greensburg schools have attained their high state of development 
through a long series of educational efforts, and the good citizens of this 
city deserve a great amount of praise in contributing so nobly to this cause 
and standing behind all educational ventures which have been carried on bV 
the different heads from the l^eginning of the school systems. The higli 
school stands today in the front ranks, and in looking back over the educa- 
tional history of the county it can be seen that the early seeds of education 
which were sown by such illustrious men as Professor May and others are 
being reaped by our present generation in their modern building and the 
up-to-date instructors. 

ADAMS TOWN.'^IIIP SCHOOLS. 

The ]3resent status of the schools in Decatur county may be discussed 
by townships. Adams township has three consolidated schools and one 
district school. The largest of these schools is located at St. Paul. This 
is a commissioned high school and its history and developments will be 
taken up later. The next consolidated school in this township in point of 
size is located at Adams. This school is equipped with a modern jjuilding 
and, in addition to the regular grade work, three 3-ears of high school work 
are taught. F'our hacks serve as a means of transportation to the children 
who attend this school and five teachers administer to the intellectual wants 
of the children. The third consolidated school is located at St. Omer. The 
regular grade work is taught in this school, but the high training is secured 
at St. Paul. The district school is supplied by one teacher, who has charge 



if all the grades. 



CLAY TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS. 



- Clay township has within its limits two consolidated schools and two 
district schools, in addition to a joint district school which accommodates the 
))upils from Clay and Sand Creek township and is located on the township 
line. The largest of these consolidated schools is located at Burney. This 
is a commissioned high school and aft'ords excellent opportunities to the 
pupils of this section for high-school training. The children are furnished 
with seven hacks to bring them to the seat of learning in the township and 
the school is well attended. Although the building is large and the school 



196 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

has been provided with sufficient teachers to accommodate them in the past, 
still in the last few years, owing to the general trend of children from the 
district schools to the consolidated schools, the capacity of the school has been 
crowded to the limit and plans are already rmder way to enlarge the present 
building in order that the increase in enrollment can Ije properly taken care 
of. Clifty is also provided with a consolidated school, but only for grade 
work. This school has three teachers who administer to the grade pupils. 
Two district schools are located in the rural districts of the township and 
are each su])plie(I with one teacher, who has charge of all the grades. 

CLINTON TOWNSHIP CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 

Clinton township was originally divided into four school districts, each 
district being accommodated with a one-room school building. The school 
enumeration of Sandusky having increased, it was necessary to add another 
room to the building there. 

The first .steps toward consolidation were made in 1894 under rather 
singular circumstances. A teacher had been hired to teach the schocjl at 
district No. 2. When the day arrived for the opening of the school year 
the teacher was present, but not a pupil put in his appearance, as they had all 
entered the Sandusky schools. The teacher continued going to the school 
and finally the trustee compromised with her for one-half of her salary. 
This was the beginning of consolidation in Clinton township. 

The enrollment steadily increased and in 1896 another room was added. 
In 1900 one school hack was introduced for the transportation of children 
to and from the Sandusky schools. The second district school to be aban- 
doned was district No. 4, which occurred in 1905. The following }-ear the 
third and last district school was abandoned, with the resignation of the 
teacher in charge of that school. 

This left Sandusky the center of the schools of Clinton township and, 
with the added enrollment from the other three districts, the school build- 
ing was not large enough to accommodate the pupils. In August, 1907, 
another room was added to relie\-e the congestion. In 1898 the two-year 
high school course was offered and in 1907-08 the rooms were di\-ided and 
a teacher placed in charge of each room. The state superintendent's report 
shows that Clinton was the first township in the state to have a completely 
consolidated school, with necessary conveyances to carry the children to and 
from school. All was progressing very nicely until January 21, 19 10, when 
the entire building and its contents were destroved bv fire. The term of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ip7 

school was unfinished and it was necessary to finish the school in the Metho- 
dist church and three private dwellings. 

In the spring of the same year (1910) Trustee E. L. Meek let the 
contract for a $15,750 school huilding, which was to be erected during the 
summer. The l)uilding is located on the north side of town and on the Ft. 
Wayne pike. It is on the site of the old ijuilding, but the grounds were 
enlarged by the purchase of an acre of ground. This building was completed 
in the fall of 1910 and school was held in it for the first time that year. The 
building is one of the most beautiful, modern and well-equipped consolidated 
school buildings in this part of the state. There are three rooms on the first 
floor for the different grades and the second floor is taken up with the eighth- 
grade room, high school room and auditorium. 

The enrollment for 19 15 in the high school was seventeen. There 
were four grade teachers and the high school superintendent. The teachers, 
and grades over which they have charge, are as follow : Kirby Payne, high 
school; Carrie Thackery, seventh and eighth grades; Janie Martin, fiftii 
and si.xth grades ; Mary Cushman, third and fourth grades ; Mabel 
McDowell, primary. The basement is divided into two large play rooms, 
one for each sex. Six hacks are utilized in transporting the children to and 
from this seat of learning. Consolidation has proved successful in Clinton 
township on account of the small size of the township and the excellent 
financial condition at the present time. 

FUGIT TOWNSHIP. 

Fugit township has not made such rapid advancements in the lines of 
consolidation as some of her sister to\vnships. The only consolidated school 
in this township is located at Clarksburg. This school received its commis- 
sion in 1913, graduating the first class in 1914. This school is well attended 
and has a very modern course of study. Kingston has one of the most 
unique schools in the county. A new country school building was erected, 
at a cost of thirteen thousand dollars. It was the intention of the founder 
to form a commtmity school. This building has two rooms, with a large 
assembly room in the basement, covering the entire first floor, and is modern 
in every respect. One striking feature of this building is the lighting system 
which includes a large .skylight. At present only one teacher is employed 
in this school and the attendance the past year was only twenty. A Catholic 
school is located at St. Morris. This luiilding is owned by the church, but 
the teachers are employed by the township and are approved by the citizens 



198 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of this parish. The building has two rooms and two teachers are regularly 
employed. There are also two district schools in this township. 

JACKSON TOWN.SHIP. 

Jackson township has the greatest number of consolidated schools, no 
district schools remaining in this township. The five consolidated schools 
in this township are located as follows : Xewburg, Waynesburg, Alert, Big- 
horn and Sardina. The four first-named schools have only two teachers, 
who administer to the wants of the children, while the last named has three. 
Two years high school work is taught in all of these schools, in addition to 
the regular course of study for the grades. 

MARION TOWNSHIP. 

Marion township, owing to its unfortunate location in not being sup- 
plied with the proper railroad or interurban facilities, has made no advance- 
ment in the line of consolidation. The condition of the roads in this town- 
ship make consolidation almost an impossibility. There are eleven district 
schools located over this township and one teacher supplies each of these 
schools. There is also a parochial school, located at Alilhousen. Four 
teachers are employed to administer to the children of this locality. One of 
these teachers, however, is employed by the jiublic, the church exercising 
power in the choosing of this teacher. 

SALT CREEK TOWNSHIP. 

Salt Creek township has lately made rapid ad\"ancements in the consoli- 
dation of its schools. In IQ09 a school building was erected at Newpoint, at a 
cost of twelve thousand dollars. This school maintains a three-years high 
school, in addition to the grade work. There are also three district schools 
remaining in this township, which have not been changed by the consolida- 
tion. Among those, who, in more recent years, served as teachers in the 
schools of Salt Creek township, are: G. M. Card, Ellen Moody, James D. 
White, John H. Bobbitt, Dennis O'Dea, H. \V. Jenkins, ]\Irs. H. W. Jenkins, 
Ed Glidewell, Grover C. Harding. J. G. Collicott, now superintendent of the 
Indianapolis city schools, received his elementary education in this township, 
as did also Lewis A. Harding, prosecuting attorney, and Anna B. Collins, of 
Indiana l'ni\-ersity. Fred Baas was principal of the Newpoint schools in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I99 



SAND CREEK TOWNSHIP. 



Sand Creek township has one consohdated school, located at Letts. 
This school building has been remodeled and affords very modern and com- 
modious quarters for the young aspirants for knowledge. This school also 
presents a commissioned high school course of study and the enrollment for 
the past year totaled forty-four. Westport also has an up-to-date high 
school, with an enrollment of eighty-five. There are six outlying district 
schools in this township, which have not experienced the advantages of a 
consolidated district. 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

Washington township has two consolidated grade schools, supplied with 
two teachers each. There are also three district schools in this township, 
which cannot be consolidated. The high school students of this township 
are accommodated by the Greensburg high school, which is dealt with in its 
proper place. 

Summarizing the different township schools of this county, it can be 
easily seen that there is a marked advancement toward consolidation and 
centralization. The citizens of this county, as in other counties, are begin- 
ning to realize the greater advantages which can be gained from a consoli- 
dated school, which affords more high-salaried teachers and better educa- 
tional facilities than could be received through many scattered one-room 
schools. 

WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL. 

The first school at W'estport was taught in tlie year 1845 ''}' 'i ^^r. Bid- 
dinger. This school house was a one-room log building, having seats around 
the wall, a large stove in the center of the room and recitation benches 
arrayed in a quaint manner around the stove. These benches and seats were 
made of rough-hewn .logs which were not promoters of comfort. The ses- 
sions of the school during the first winters after the building was erected 
never exceeded three months and the average attendance was estimated at 
about thirty. 

In 1859 this log building was re])laced by a two-story Ijrick structure, 
erected on the site of the old log school house. The upper room was used 
as a town hall, but soon the school attendance was increased and conse- 
quently this was used for class purposes. Mr. Strickland taught the first 
school in this new brick building. He also was the first teacher to introduce 



200 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

high-school stucHes in the curricuhmi of the school course. When he retired 
from the field of teaching this work was dropped and was not taught again 
until the present school building was erected. Under Mr. Strickland's leader- 
ship the attendance of the school was increased, tlie average then being 
alK.iut sixtv-fi\-e pupils. Two teachers were regularly employed and, some 
years, the attendance was increased until it was necessary to add another 
teacher. 

The increased attendance also brought about the necessity for larger 
and mure modern quarters, Init this could not be provided at that time, so a 
frame room was built for a temporary means of relieving the congestion. 
The publication of a weekly school ]iaper was begun about this time and 
became quite an interesting factor among the students. After the building 
of the railroad, the attendance of the school rapidly increased and the school 
soon boasted of an attendance of one hundred and twenty students. The 
majority of these were enrolled at the brick building, as the frame room 
was only used for the primarv grades. The average length of the term was 
from six to seven months, and from three to four teachers were employed. 

The present building was erected in 1896. It was originally a two- 
stor\- brick Ijuilding, containing four rooms and two halls. The average 
attendance at tliat time was about two hundred and twenty-five and from 
f(3ur to five teachers were employed. In 1909 the building was enlarged 
b}' the addition of two new rooms. The original two upper rooms were 
converted into one large auditorium and a laborator\-, and a recitation room 
was' also ailded to the liasement. 

The school was commissioned in 1909-10 and additional improvements 
have been made to the building since that time. The school is furnished 
with modern equipment and devices, is both comfortable and attractive and 
has an a\erage attendance at present of two hundred and eighty. The 
school has been under the leadership of Supt. Oscar \V. Holmes since its 
commission to the first grade ranks. Sui)erintendent Holmes is a graduate 
of Indiana State Normal School and ranks with the foremost educators of 
tlie day. Since its commission Westport high school has graduated eighty 
students from its ranks who are now engaged in various callings. 

.\thletics is a great factor in the regular work of the school life. 
Domestic science and agriculture have also been added to the curriculum 
of studies. The common school attendance a\'erages two hundred and the 
high .school attendance is placed at eighty. Seven teachers are employed. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 20I 



ST. PAUL SCHOOL. 



The history of the St. Paul schools, as with all of the early schools of 
Indiana, begin with the little log school house. In the year 1851, when the 
surrounding country was one vast wooded territory, with scattered settle- 
ments, there was established a small scliool in the little village of St. Paul. 
This was the beginning of an educational program, the end which has not 
been reached, but is still pushing ever higher. The interior of this room 
was characteristic of all the early log school buildings. A large fireplace 
occupied one end of this building, and at the opposite end was a small plat- 
form, on which the early pedagogue held his sway. The desks were made 
of half logs, with their flat face hewn smooth, and the seats were similarly 
constructed. Along the wall was a long, smooth, wide board used for writ- 
ing. The three R"s — reading, writing and arithmetic — were the only sub- 
jects taught. Such was the beginning of the school system in St. Paul. 

About the year 1856 the quarters of the school was changed to a frame 
building, Init this was only a temporary change. The next move was to the 
second story of what was then known as the Ridlen building, but is nov^' 
occupied by Mr. Johannes' bugg)- shop. Some of the teachers who saw 
active service there were Mr. Madison, George Stotsenburg, David Sutton, 
Dr. and Mrs. Ballard. Spelling was one of the chief di\ersions in the schools 
of this time and many good spellers were developed. 

After several years, the school again shifted and this time established 
in the building which is now the home of Henry Neidigh. The growth of 
the schools had reached such proportions at this time that two rooms and 
two teachers \\-ere re(juired. Among the names of the teachers who served 
at this time were James Scull, ;\Irs. D. J. Ballard, Eunice Paul, Charles 
Powner, George Stotsenburg and Doctor Ballard. One of these who is 
especially remembered by the pupils is Charles Powner. Air. Powner was 
a near-sighted man, of little training, and the boys found plenty of time and 
opportunity for fun at his expense. It was during this period of school that 
the people became di\ided on religious and political \iews and this, in turn, 
split up the school system. There were then established three different 
schools, besides the remnant of the public school. They were located as 
follows : One in the Methodist church, one in the Catholic church, and one 
in the Floyd building. The latter was a pri\-ate school established liy the 
Madison and Woodard families, the former being sectarian schools. This 
factional difference was soon adjusted and in 1870-71 a new school build- 



202 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ing was erected on the site of the present high school Iniilding. This was a 
large, sfjiiare, brick Ijuilding erected by Trustee Benjamin Jenkins. It con- 
tained six class rooms and a large assembly room. Each morning the entire 
school would gather in the large assembly room for the opening exercises, 
which consisted of singing, etc. 

Grailuall}' the courses were enlarged by the addition of a few high 
school subjects, but the exact date of this is unknown, although the first 
graduates of .this one-year course are given as Flo Hoover and Frank Ray. 
The first teacher in that high school was ]Mr. Alcott. This was merely an 
incentive toward the greater work of making this a standard high school. 
A short time later a three-year course was added and this was maintained 
until the old building was destroyed by fire. The teachers who assisted 
in the old building were Mr. Lewark, principal; Mr. Jewett, number four; 
Mrs. Jewett, number two, and Mrs. Viola Palmerton, number one. 

The building was destroyed by fire in 1901 and work was immediately 
begun on the erection of a new building, but this was not accomplished in 
time for school work that winter and, in consequence, school was held in 
the rooms of the Kanouse and Floyd buildings. In 1902 the building was 
completed, but the courses of study remained the same. A little later the 
standard for Indiana high schools was raised by the Legislature and Mr. 
Crawlev was placed in charge of the schools. Too much jiraise cannot be 
given to Mr. Crawley for his efforts in raising the St. Paul schools to their 
present standing. The advancement of this high school has been marked 
and. with the assistance of the patrons, Mr. Crawley has been able to meet 
all (if the demands of the state board of education and keep St. Paul high 
school in the first rank of commissioned schools of the country. It was 
commissioned in the fall of 191 1. 

Nearly all lines of work are now demanding a high-school education. 
Competition is driving men in e\ery field of endeavor to make better prepa- 
ration. As a result, ad\'anced schools for farming, business, theology, medi- 
cine and law are demanding that students shall have completed a standard 
four-year high school course before taking up their college or advanced 
work. The patrons of this school have fully realized this and, in order that 
their children might be able to go forth into the world and cope with gradu- 
ates from other schools on an equal footing, they have seen to it that their 
high school should add all of the different advanced courses in learning 
and offer every inducement for the home training. 

The high school has graduated approximately thirty-five students in 



t> 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 203 

their four years of commissioned standing. Professor Crowley have served 
as superintendent for the school for thirteen years and deserves a good por- 
tion of the praise due this high school. There are seven teachers and two 
hundred students at present in grades and high school. The high school 
alone employs three teachers and has an enrollment of fifty students. 



CHAPTER MIL 



THE CHURCHES OF DECATUR COUNTY. 



There is no more potent factor in the hfe of any community than the 
church, and tiie influence of an acti\e denomination is measured by the 
wholesome spirit which may be found in the community. More than ninety 
years have elapsed since the first settlers of Decatur county made their per- 
manent homes here, and within that time more than ninety churches have 
arisen in the county. Many of them have long since closed their careers, but 
the good which they accomplished still remains. There are those who main- 
tain that the people of today are not as religious as the pioneers of the state, 
]:)ut things religious are not to Ije measured l.)\- human standards. The mere 
fact that there are fewer churches in Decatur county today than fifty years 
ago does not argue that the people are any the less religious; neither does it 
imply that the life of people is of a lower standard than it was in the "good 
old days," which some like to think were nearer the millenium. 

Churches may come and churches may go, but a better civilization is 
not gauged by the mere number of churches. ^lany factors have entered into 
the disappearance of the rural church, and not the least of these is the shift- 
ing of population from the country to the towns and \'illages. For this same 
reason, there are hundreds and even thousands of public schools throughout 
Indiana which ha\e been discontinued within the past twenty-five years. 
Manv a neighljorhood which had from fifty to seventy-five school children 
half a century ago cannot even sup]3ort a school with the minimum number 
of twelve required by the law at the present time. This ever-increasing drift 
from rural to urban centers affects not only the church and the school, but 
our national life along all lines. Nor does it mean, in any sense of the word, 
that we are becoming less religious because of fewer churches, or more ignor- 
ant because of the abandonment of so many rural schools. 

There can be no cpiestioning the fact that Decatur county has passed 
through a marked religious change during the past three-quarters of a cen- 
tury, nor can it be denied that things nnght be better. Yet it must be admit- 
ted that the people of the county are living lives today much closer to the 
Ten Commandments than ever before. History tells us that our good fore- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 2O5 

fathers were not always as good as we have usually pictured them; could 
we of today see them in their daily life we would he surprised at some of 
the things they did. The great majority of them drank — and drank 
whisky; they were very profane: they were prone to fight: they grafted in 
public affairs just as has been done since; they had many shortcomings which 
we have not been accustomed to associate with them. Yet, they were relig- 
ious — though the preacher often worked his sermon nut with the aid of a 
whisky flask. In those cold churches of the twenties and thirties the Ijottle 
was called upon to supply the heat denied by the old fireplace or rude stove. 
It was the way people lived in those days; in their view a bottle of whisky 
was as essential to the fanner on harvest day as the bottle of machine oil 
is today. 

Under truly pioneer conditions did our forefathers live for many years, 
and to see them file into church on Sunday morning in the thirties, one would 
certainly think so. An old settler, writing in 1830, tells of going to church 
at Westport, "where most of the congregation was barefooted. Some wore 
moccasins, some buckskin lireeches and hunting shirts, with coon, fo.x or 
'possum-skin caps on their heads. Many of the caps were ornamented with 
fo.x tails. One old man and his spouse rode to the meeting on a big red 
bull." 

According to the custom of the period, the men sat on the left side of 
the center aisle and the women on the right. Husbands and wives and sweet- 
hearts went to and from church together, but sat apart during ser\'ices, lest 
their attention be distracted from the parson's discourse. 

Says Mrs. Martha Stevens, writing of a Greensburg church of early 
days : "Then ladies used to sing treble, and you would often hear a lady 
away above the congregation. They thought it was fine, but, under the new 
way, the men sing the tenor. The hymns were lined, as it was then called. 
Two lines would be given out by the minister or clerk, then sung by the 
congregation, then two more lines would be read and sung." 

Our forefathers in Decatur countv did not worship in beautiful churches, 
but gathered in their own homes, in school buildings, in groves when the 
weather permitted, and even in barns. They neither grumbled nor com- 
plained, but were joyful and happy with the lot Providence had seen fit to 
give them. Their ser\-ices were very irregular: they li;id no Sabl:)ath schools 
and no musical instruments. Without any of the modern attractions which 
are now deemed a necessary part of the church, they worshipped in a quiet, 
simple and very unostentatious manner. Often weeks must pass without a 
regular minister, and then some pioneer conducted the services, if not in an 



206 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

orthodox manner, yet with that true Christian spirit which found favor with 
the Giver of all good things. In these humble meetings — and often the lit- 
tle band did not number over a dozen — they thanked God for what He had 
vouchsafed them and asked Him to continue His blessings toward them. 
And who is there to say that they did not do all they could to advance the 
kingdom of Heaven. 

We want a religion that softens the step and tunes the voice to melody 
and fills the eye with sunshine and checks the impatient exclamation and 
harsh rebuke. A religion that is polite, deferential to superiors, courteous to 
inferiors, and considerate to friends ; a religion that goes into the family 
and keeps the husband from being cross when the dinner is late and the wife 
from fretting when he tracks the floor with his muddy boots, and makes 
him mindful of the scraper and doormat; keeps the mother patient when 
the baby is cross, and amuses the children as well as instructs them ; cares 
for the servants besides paying them promptly ; projects the honeymoon into 
the harvest moon; makes a happy home like the Easter fig tree, bearing in 
its bosom at once the beauty of the ripened fruit. We want a religion that 
shall interpose between the ruts, gullies and the rocks of the highway of life 
and the sensitive souls that are traveling over them. And who shall say 
that the simple faith of our forefathers was not as potent in bringing all 
this about as the religion preached today. 

The Baptists and Methodists were the first to establish churches in 
Decatur county, and they were closely followed by a number of other denom- 
inations. The Presbyterians and Christians (erroneously called the Camp- 
bellites) were early in the field, and b}- the middle of the last century more 
than fifty churches were scattered throughout the county. The Protestants 
had the field to themselves until 1840, when the first Catholic church was 
established, and since that year the Catholics have steadily grown in power 
and influence. The}' have many strong congregations in the county, most 
of their members being of German birth or descent. But, whether Protest- 
ant or Catholic, the influence of the church is always e.xerted in behalf of 
cleaner living and for a higher conception of the brotherhood of man and 
the fatherhood of God. 

In the discussion of the churches of Decatur county it seems best to 
submit a list of all the churches, both acti\'e and discontinued, which have 
appeared at one time or another in the history of the county. For the ])ur- 
pose of location, they are given by townships, and by section if in the rural 
districts. 

It may be a surprise to many people of Decatur count}- to know that 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



207 



there lia\e been more tlian ninety different chnrch organizations in the connly 
since its organization in 1822, bnt a study of the rehgious history of the 
county reveals the fact that there have been that many in existence at one 
time or another. A surprisingly large number of these churches are now 
discontinued and many others are strugghng with a few menil)crs and irreg- 
ular services. 

Churches representing the following denominations ha\"e been found in 
the county: African Methodist Episcopal. Baptist (three kinds), Christian 
(Campbellites), Christian (Newlights), Christian Science, Christian Union, 
Episcopal, Free Will Methodists, Holiness. Lutheran, Mediodist Episcopal, 
Methodist Protestant, Pentecostal, Presbyterian (two branches), United 
Brethren and Catholic. 

In many cases the location of the church is designated 1)y section. Where 
the section is given it refers to the section, township and range of the par- 
ticular civil township. The list follows : 

Adams Township — Baptist, Adams, Mt. Moriah ( discontinued ) and 
New Little Flat Rock ; Catholic. St. Paul : Christian, Adams arid St. Paul ; 
Methodist, Adams, St. Omer (discontinued), St. Paul and Shiloh (discon- 
tinued) ; Presbyterian, St. Omer (discontinued); Union church, section 34; 
United Brethren, St. Omer and Union Chapel. 

Clay Township — Baptist, Burney and Mt. Hebron (discontinued) ; 
Christian, Clifty: Methodist, Cliffy and Burney; unknown, section 36, south. 

Clinton township — Christian, section 2 ; Methodist, Sandusky. 

Fugit Township — Catholic. St. Maurice; Christian, Clarksburg; Meth- 
odist, Clarksljurg, Mt. Carmel and St. Maurice (discontinued); Presbyter- 
ian, IMemorial (section 20), Kingston, Clarksburg and Springhill. 

Jackson Township — Baptist, Dry Fork (discontinued). Mt. Pleasant, 
Sardinia, and Mt. Pisgah (discontinued); Christian, Waynesburg; Chris- 
tian Union, Alert; ]\Iethodist, Alert, Asbury (discontinued) and Wesley 
Chapel; Presbyterian, Forest Hill and Sardinia (discontinued); United 
Brethren. Sardinia. 

Marion Township — Baptist, Sandcreek, Rock Creek and Antioch ; Cath- 
olic, Millhousen; Christian, Antioch (discontinued); ^Methodist, Burke's 
Chapel and Mt. Plea.sant; unknown, section 27, north. 

Salt Creek Township — Baptist, Rossburg; Catholic. Enochsburg; Chris- 
tian, Mechanicsburg and Newpoint; German Lutheran, section 26; German 
Methodist, section 23 ; Methodi.st, section 32. 

Sand Creek Township — Baptist, Mt. Aerie, Letts, Friendship, Westport, 



208 nECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and section 28: Christian, W'estport : Methodist, \\'estport, Letts, section 2^ 
and section 18, south; L'nited Brethren, hVedonia : unknown, section 4, east. 

Washini^ton Township — Baptist, Lilierty, Sandcreek (moved to Mar- 
ion township); Baptist, section 28; Christian ( Newli![;;ht) ; Methodist, sec- 
tion 15, south. 

Greensburg — African Metliodist, Baptist, Cathohc, Cliristian, Christian 
Science, Episcopal, HoHness, Lutheran, ]Metho(hst Pnitestant. ^lethocHst 
Episcopal (two churches), Presbyterian. 

One difticulty in locating these churches is in identifying the church 
witli the local name. Three Sand Creek churches, two Antiochs, two Mt. 
Pleasants, two Mt. Moriahs and two Flat Rocks have been found. One 
church still shelters two separate congregations — Lower Union — in Marion 
township. The Baptists call it Rock Creek and the United Brethren know 
it as Lower Union, the oldest title l)y which the people of that neighl)orliood 
know it. One of the Antiochs was torn down several )'ears ago, mo\-ed to 
Greensburg and is now the home of the Pentecostal (Holiness) band of 
worshi]:)pers. Another iilace of \vorship in tlic county seat enjoys the sug- 
gestive title of Ark. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHES. 

In 19 1 5 there were eighteen active Methodist churches in Decatur 
county, as follow, the names of the pastors also being given : Greensburg, 
First, J- H. Doddridge; Greensburg, Centenary, J. Ed. Murr ; (ireensburg. 
Colored, T. W. Daniels; Milford. J. A. Gardner; Adams, J. A. Gardner; 
Westport, T. J- Lewis; Letts, T. J. Lewis; Mt. Pleasant, T. J. Lewis; Burk's 
Chapel, T. J. Lewis; Clarksburg, C. E. Hester; Sandusky, C. E. Hester; Mt. 
Carmel, C. E. Hester; Newpoint, H. A. Broadwell; Middlebranch, H. A. 
Broadwell ; New Pennington, H. A. Broadwell; Alert, William Die Hart; 
Wesley Chapel, William De Hart; Burney, Joseph H. Laramore. 

Although there were Methodist meetings in Decatur county at a very 
early date, little is known of the activities of tliis denomination before 1835, 
as most of the work was done in small classes and no records of them were 
kept. But it is known that among the first settlers of this county were 
hardy, two-fisted Methodist ministers, ready to turn a hand in the clearing 
and at other rough toil or to preach, pray and e.xhort. L'ncultured and 
unkempt as most of them were, yet they brought with them a message that 
could not pass unheeded, for they were marching in the vanguard of a mili- 
tant denomination. 





CEXTKXAKY M. K. CIUKCII. 



ItAI'TIST CIintCH. 




OLD FIK.ST M, K. rlllUCII. 





rP.ESHYTKKIA.N ('IHUCII. 

so.MK (;Ki;i:.\sr.ri:(i CHntcHKS. 



FIRST M. K. CHrRCH. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 209 

Most of these early ministers of the gospel have been forgotten, the 
names of many of them have l^een lost, forever, and stately temples tower 
high on the sites of the rude cabins in which they first summoned sinners 
to repentance. The names and deeds of a few of them are still i)reser\-ed 
through the lapse of almost a centur\-. 

James Murray was the first of the }ilethudist circuit riders to enter the 
"New Purchase." Then there was James Havins, "Old Samuel" they called 
him, will) for fift)" \-ears rode circuits and served as presiding elder. There 
were John Havens and John Linville, camp-meeting singers, well worthy of 
the name, who would compare most favorably with the exangelistic singers 
of today. Nor should Daniel Stogsdill be forgotten, "old Dan Stogsdill," 
who walked more miles, organized more churches and preached more free 
sermons than any other man in Decatur county. And last, there was James 
Hobbs, one of the first settlers at Clarksburg, and an old man then, "l^reacher 
of the gospel — ordained," he styled himself. Besides, there were many 
others, but their names have been lost to the historian. 

METHODISM IN GREENSBURG. 

During the ninety-three years which have elapsed since 1823 the Meth- 
odist church has been an active factor in the religious life of Greensburg. 
Its history, like that of Ancient Gaul, ma}' be divided into three parts, for in 
the ninety-three years there have been no less than three separate congrega- 
tions in the city — and all three claiming to be founded on the doctrines as 
enunciated by the Wesleys. The historian in attempting to follow these 
three distinct congregations from their inception down to the present time is 
seriously handicapped by not having access to all the several church records. 
Then again, there is no cjuestion which excites such violent prejudices as does 
the religious question. The causes leading to the various divisions in the 
Methodist church in Greensburg are fairly well defined, }-et an impartial 
historian in such a case would not dare to rely altogether on what people 
have to say concerning the matter. The following discussion of the First 
Methodist, Centenary and Methodist Protestant churches of Greensburg is 
based on church records which have been examined, on articles appearing 
in the newspapers at the time the various divisions occurred, and, finally, on 
personal interviews with people representing each of the three churches. An 
attempt has been made to treat the question from a historical and not a 
doctrinal viewpoint. 
(14) 



2r0 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

It should Ije Stated in the laeginniiig that there was only one Methodist 
Episcopal church in Greensburg up to the spring of 1866, the year when the 
first division occurred which resulted in the establishment of the present 
Centenary church. These two congregations still maintain their separate 
organizations. The third Methodist church was the result of a split in the 
congregation of the Centenary church in the spring of 1877, but this third 
branch has long since disappeared. With this brief statement of facts, the 
history of the First Methodist church, the only one in the city from 1822 to 
1866, is taken i\\> and followed to the time of the great schism of 1866. 

In a ponderous volume, entitled "Church Record," the history of the 
beginning of Methodism in Greensburg has been preserved. While Rev. 
Charles Tinsley was pastor of the First Methodist church in 1881, he pre- 
pared a "History of Methodism in Greensburg, Indiana," which appears 
on the first few pages of the above mentioned "Church Record." His 
account was undoubtedly prepared with a view of presenting the main facts 
and the historian uses it verbatim : 

"John Robbins, who is living at this date (September 13, 1881), in 
Greensburg, states that he settled near Mt. Pleasant Methodist Episcopal 
church, March 28. 1822, four miles south of Greensburg. The first Metho- 
dist sermon he heard in the county was about September of the same year 
by Rev. James Murray, of the Connersville circuit — then of the Ohio con- 
ference — at the double log cabin of Col. Thomas Hendricks [in Greens- 
burg]. Mr. Robl)ins immediately afterward received authority by letter 
from Mr. Murray to iirganize a class, which he did at his own house, and 
from this [grew] the first religious organization in the county. After this 
he [Robbins] attendeil the organization of the Baptist church at Sand 
Creek. 

"The members of this first Methodist class were John and Ruth Rob- 
bins, Robert Courtney, Elizabeth Garrison, John H. Kilpatrick and Mary, 
his wife — seven persons, and soon afterward [they were joined by] Jacob 
Steward, A. L. Anderson, Mary Garrison, Tamzen Connor, Lydia Groen- 
d}-ke, Re\-. ^Vesley White and wife Elizal^eth, and James and Polly Arm- 
strong. 

"When the Greensburg class was formed Jacob Stewart was transferred 
to it. [Where he had previously belonged is not stated,] The Robbins 
neighborhood has remained a preaching ])lacc ever since. In 1834 a log 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 2X1 

church was Iniilt and called Mt. Pleasant — it was about twenty-four by 
thirty feet, and in 1870 this was replaced by the present frame of about 
thirty-six; by fifty feet, at a cost of three thousand dollars. [This is the 
church four miles south of Greensburg.] The most remarkable revival at 
this place was conducted by Landy Cravens, when sixty persons united with 
the church. Rev. George Winchester, the present [1881] pastor of the 
Greensburg church, to which this society belongs, says it is the strongest 
society on the circuit. It now [1881J has a membership of eighty and is 
properous. [This whole paragraph seems to have no connection with the 
Greensburg church, but it given just as Rev. Tinsley wrote it.] 

"Aaron Wood succeeded Mr. Murray for two months in the fall of 
1823. He preached at Greensburg, Robbin's, McClain's, Emlie's, John Mil- 
ler's and John Shultz's in the county. Mr. Wood attended camp meeting on 
Shultz land, Septeiuber 22, 1823, but, meeting Jesse Hale at John Havens' 
house, he found he [Wood] was in the bounds of Mr. Hale's circuit and 
withdrew. [At this point in the narrative of Rev. Tinsley he gives a list 
of the pastors of the Greensburg church from 1822 to 1866, and then a list 
of those serving the First ?^Iethodist church up to the time his article was 
written in 1881. The complete list of pastors will be given later in the 
chapter.] 

"Father Robbins and Ezra Lathrop recollect the preaching of Jesse 
Hale at Col. Thomas Hendricks' house, where all preachers were welcome. 
Mr. Hendricks was a Presbyterian, yet a generous-hearted gentleman. His 
first cabin was situated near where Porter's old saw-mill stood. He built 
the first house on the public square and invited the preaching to that house. 
John Havens, a local preacher, who supplied the circuit, probably organized 
the first class. It consisted, perhaps, of Jacob Stewart and wife, Silas Stew- 
art and wife, John Ford and wife, Jared P. Ford and wife, Martin and 

Nancy Jamison, Isaac Plue and Plue. John F. Roszell and his 

brother Nehemiah were members in 1826. John Ford was class leader and 
a good one. The Roszells and Plues were blacksmiths — the former the 
first in the county. 

"Rev. Joseph Tarkington was appointed to the circuit, then called the 
Rushville circuit, in the fall of 1829. William Evans, his assistant, was 
married In- Tarkington, the latter still Iieing single. Evans lived in a log 
cabin on the corner of Franklin and Central avenues. Brother Tarkington's 
first sermon was in the grand jury room of the court house — southwest 
upper room. There were about thirty persons present. This room was 
frequently used b}- the Presbyterians and Baptists. Reverend Lowrey was 



212 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the Presbyterian minister and Rev. Daniel Stogsdale, tlie Haptist minister. 
Jaco1) Stewart was tiie class leader and steward. James Freeman was a 
local preacher. It was a four-weeks' circuit." 

Thus closes the history of "Methodism in Greenshurg." as written by 
Rev. Charles Tinsley in t88i. He devotes two pages and a half to a brief 
summary nf the lives of Joseph Tarkington, Asbur\- Wilkinsnu and LewTs 
Hurlbut, but of the history of the church since 1829 there is no account. 
It is to be regretted that he did not go into a discussion of the memorable 
division of 1866, Init of this schism he makes no mention whatever, nor, 
of course, says an_\'thing of the split in the Centenarv church in 1877. It is 
to be hoped that the Reverend Tinsley was a better preacher than he was a 
historian. In this "Church Record" is given a list of the probationers from 
March 7, 1863 (Martha Carter), to .\ugust 28, 1892 (David Mason Mur- 
phy). There is a record of se\'eral classes, but most of them are imdated, 
the last date appearing being September, 1887. An "Alpiiabetical Record 
of Members in b'ull Connection" occupies several pages and was evidently 
started after the dixision in 1866, since the first date noticed is October 6, 
1867. The last date of the reception of a member is June 12, 1892. Thirty- 
four marriages are recorded, dating from December 25, 1867 (William I. 
Grant and Indiana Mendcnhall), to June 8, 1873 (Tamor McGranahan and 
Ellen Millis). The ministers ha\-e indicated the fees the\- received and it 
seems that the bridegrooms rated their brides at \'arying values. Some paid 
the minister nothing, some one dollar, other two dollars, several ten dollars 
and one man (Albert T. Beck) gladdened the preacher's heart with twenty 
dollars. 

FIR.ST METHODIST CHURCH (1829-I915). 

The Methodists graduallv grew in strength and intluence from the 
beginning and when the schism of l866 occurred they were by far the 
strongest church in the city. The first house of worship was built on lot 66 
in 1834. The lot was purchased, I'^ebruary 23, 1834, for twenty-five dollars. 
This remained the hoiue of the congregation until i84(;, when a two-story 
brick, forty-five by si.xty feet, was built on the lot now occupied by the 
church. For a quarter of a century the congregation worshipped in this 
building and it was while they were still using it that dissension arose wdiich 
ultimately divided the congregation. During Doctor Gillett's pastorate 
arrangements were made to erect a new house of worship. 

The present building was finished and dedicated on December 12, 1875. 
Bishop Bowman, of St. Louis, preached the dedicatory sermon and the news- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 213 

paper account of tlie meeting says, "Many wept as the eloquent bishop 
touched the sympathies of the many hearts that were moved by his elo- 
(juence." I'ieverend Johnson, of Spring Hill, and Rev. C. J'. Jemkins, of 
Centenary, were in the pulpit. Hon. Will Cunihack made a statement at the 
close of the sermon that the churcii had cost thirty thousand dollars and 
that twenty-two thousand seven hundred dollars had already been raised. 
There was still two thousand dollars of unpaid pledges. The Bishop asked 
for six thousand dollars and the generous assem])lage raised four hundred 
dollars more than this amount before the meeting closed. David Lovctt and 
Doctor Bracken gave five hundred dollars each; Mr. Cumback, Walter Bra- 
den, John and Williar.i 'I'honias. three hundred dollars each. The Inulding 
is firt\- by ninety feet and will accommodate six hundred in the auditorium. 
The church silent about six thousand dollars in im])ro\ements in lyu. The 
present membership is about seven hundred. 

THE SCHISM OF 1866. 

History records that every innovation introduced into our social fabric 
is met with more or less oppcjsilion. An enumeration of all the causes which 
have lead to schisms in churches would reveal some very interesting things. 
Before the Civil War the question of slavery divided thousands of congre- 
gations into two rival cani])s. The use of intoxicants has l)een a prolific 
cause of dissension, and at least one church in Decatur county split on this 
question. Secret societies ha\'e been the means of creating hundreds of new 
congregations, especially in the United Ijrethren church. Missionary work, 
and even Sunday schools, have been opposed in Ba])tist churches in the past, 
and thus have arisen "Hardshell" and "Softshell" Bapti.sts. But of all the 
nonsensical causes for church divisions, the question of music seems to the 
modern way of thinking the most ludicrous. Just why so many of our good 
forefathers should ha\'e thought that an organ was an instrument of the de\-il 
is hard to say — but they did. Not only were many of them violently op- 
posed to instrumental music, but they refused to associate in church relation- 
ship with those who countenanced such an innovation. 

And the iiniocent organ — which today peals forth in both .Methodist 
churches in (ireensburg — was responsible for the schism of 1866. Christian 
charity and forbearance were thrown to the winds; the precejits of the thir- 
teenth chapter of Corinthians were forgotten; "love thy neighbor as thyself" 
was relegated to oblivion; men and women who had worshipped in the same 
pews for years, who had knelt around the altar rail in humble confession to 



214 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

their Alaker, now separated their ways. And the innocent (jrgan was to 
blame. 

CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH. 

Rew J. B. Lathrop, of Greensburg, then presiding elder, presided over 
the meeting on March i, 1866, when one hundred members withdrew from 
the First Methodist church (which before the schism had two hundred and 
seventy-eight members) for reasons above stated. Services were held in the 
high school building until the church was ready for occupancy. On March 
18 they bought a lot for a new building; ten days later they fonnally organ- 
ized a church ; on April i they began work on their new building, although 
the cornerstone was not laid until August 25, 1866. By the last day of the 
year the lower story was ready for the first service, the sermon on that occa- 
sion being preached by Rev. F. C. Holliday. The building remained unfin- 
ished during 1867, and in January of the following year work was resumed 
and the auditorium completed. The dedicatory services were held on July 
12, 1868. The building cost nineteen thousand dollars, of which amount the 
late GabrielWoodfill contributed fifteen hundred dollars. This building is 
still in use, although extensive improvements were made on it in 19 12. A 
new furnace, choir loft, inside stairway, opera chairs, hardwood floor, new 
roof and a refrescoed auditorium were the main improvements. Six months 
were consumed in making the repairs, which cost a little over five thousand 
dollars, three thousand of which had been raised before the church was reded- 
icated on Sunday, April 6, 1912. Bishop D. H. Moore, of Cincinnati, 
preached the sermon, and at the end of his discourse appealed for help to 
cancel the debt. The sum of $1,009.80 was raised at the morning service, 
and the amount was increased to $1,288.55 ^t the evening service, leaving a 
debt of only $836.45. A parsonage, adjoining the rear of the church, liad 
been constructed in 1904, under the ministry of Rev. J. E. Fisher. During 
the present pastorate of Rew J. E. Murr the church has been cleared of debt. 

The Centenary church, born under the influence of those opposed to the 
use of the organ in the church, waxed and grew strong. A revival under 
Rev. G. L. Curtis in 1867 resulted in the addition of sixty new members, 
and another revival during the winter of 1869-70, under the same pastor, 
added eighty-two more to the membership. The present membership is 
three hundred and fifty. A])out twelve of the charter members are still liv- 
ing. In June, 1867, a Sunday school was organized, which has continued to 
hold regular services from that date. Wesley Chapter, Epworth League, 
was organized February 23, 1893, and it has been a potent force in the life 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 2X5 

of the church during its whole existence. The league now has a memher- 
ship of forty-seven. 

It has been said that the church grew in strength from year to year, 
but history must record a lamentabe division which took place in the church 
in 1877. Starting out with the avowed determination of never allowing an 
organ in the church, the passing of years brought about a change of senti- 
ment in some of the members. Before a decade had passed away it was 
discovered that some of the children were drifting to the Sunday school of 
the First Methodist church, and incjuiry revealed the fact that the hated 
organ was the cause of the deflection. The death of some of the more radi- 
cal anti-organists, the wise foresight of some of the leaders, and the wish to 
keep the congregation together, finally was the cause of an organ being 
installed, for Sunday school purposes only. Evidently the once despised 
instrument had won some friends in the church, and it was not long before 
the organ was being' carried upstairs for church services. This was more 
than some of the members could stand. Just as they had split off from the 
mother church in 1866, so did they decide to do the same thing from the 
Centenary congregation — and thus we come to the third and last division in 
^Methodism in Greensburg. 

METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. 

In July, 1877, fifty-two members of the Centenary church withdrew 
their membership and at once proceeded to build a church on Broadway 
across the railroad. It was a frame building, thirty by forty-fiVe feet, and 
cost thii-teen hundred dollars. They were not put to an expense for musi- 
cal instruments, their outlay in the musical line being confined to a nominal 
sum for hymn books. But there was one fact which they had evidently not 
considered. They were, in a sense, outside the pale of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and were not recognized by the conference. They dropped the 
suffix Episcopal and denonunated themselves the Methodist Protestant 
church. They added some members to their original roll, and at one time 
had a membership of something more than a hundred. The main families to 
throw their support to this third branch of Methodism in Greensburg were 
those of Gideon Drake, John Robbins, J. E. Roszell, James L. Fugit, Calvin 
H. Paraniore, D. Patton, J. B. Roszell, John A. Turner and C. Boring. They 
continued to hold together as a separate congregation until the early eighties, 
when the organization was disbanded. Some of the members returned to 
one or die other of the two Methodist Episcopal churches, some joined other 



2l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

churches, hut most of them, 1)eiiig well along in years at the time of the 
division in 1877, have long since gone to the King of that kingdom where 
church schisms are unknown. 

EFFORTS TO UNITE FIRST AND CENTENARY CHURCHES. 

The discussion of Methodism in Cirecnsburg cannot be dismissed with- 
out reference to an effort made in 1909-10 to unite the First and Centenary 
churches. At that time Re\'. T. Iv. Willis was pastor of the Centenary 
church and William G. Clinton was presiding elder. At that time the Cen- 
tenary church was not in a very flourishing condition, and Rev. Willis became 
con\-inced in his own mind that the Ijest interests of Methodism would be 
ser\'ed Ijv a union of the two churches. He talked over the matter with 
some of his parishioners and advised them to take out their letters from the 
Centenary church and place them in the First church. Quite a number fol- 
lowed, his suggestion, although their action was dei)lore(l liy a large portion 
of the Centenary congregation. Rev. Willis communicated with the presiding 
elder. Rev. W. G. Clinton, in regard to the union of the two churches and 
the latter came to Greensburg, called a meeting of the official board of the 
Centenar}- churcli and ordered them to disljand and unite with the h'irst 
church. Evidently the ]M-esiding elder had lieen misinformed in regard to 
the feelings of the congregation, for he found that most of them were very 
much opposed to the union. The church absolutely refused to follow his 
order, and consequently nothing was done by the church as a congregation. 
However, some individual members withdrew and affiliated with the First 
church, while others withdrew their membership and still have the letters, 
having ne\er placed them with any church. .\t the time the papers of 
Greensljurg took up the agit;ition, and it seemed to be the 0])inion of those 
whose articles appear in the papers that the union of the two churches was 
a very desirable thing. This movement toward union, which came to a cli- 
ma.x in 1910, has been the last concerted effort looking toward a consolida- 
tion of the churches. Shortlv after this both began to make plans for the 
complete overhauling of their buildings, and since then have spent more than 
twehe thousand dollars in improvements. At the present time there does 
not appear to be any hope of a union for many years yet to come. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 217 

PASTORS OF THE METHODIST CHURCH, 1822-1866. 

The following' ministers have served the Greensburg First Methodist 
Episcopal church; James Murray and I. Taylor, 1822; Aaron Wood, Jesse 
Hale and George Horn, 1823: John Havens, 1824; Stephen Beggs and John 
Strange, 1825; N. B. Griffith, r826; James Havens and John Kerns, 1827-28; 
Joseph Tarkington and William Evans, 1829; J. B. Sparks and J. C. Smith, 
1830; S. W. Hunter and J. Kimble, 1831 ; C. Bonner and C. Swank, 1832; 
Joseph Tarkington, 1833: W. AI. Dailey, 1834; C. Bonner, 1835; J. Scott 
and L. M. Reeves, 1836; C. Bonner and A. Bussey, 1837: A. Bussey; Mel- 
ville Wiley and E. G. Wood, 1838: W. B. Ross, 1839; G. C. Beeks, 1840; 
J. W. Sullivan, 1841; F. C. Hohiday, 1842: J. S. Barwick, 1843: J. A. 
Brouse, 1844: James Havens, 1845: C. B. Davidson, 1846: J. W. Sullivan, 
1847; E. H. Sabin, 1848; J. B. R. Miller, 1849; James Crawford, 1850-51; 
S. P. Crawford, 1852; A. Wilkinson, 1853; A. Nesbit, 1854: W. W. Hib- 
ben, 1855-56; Joseph Cotton, 1857-58: W. W. Snyder, 1859; J. W. Mellen- 
der, 1860-61; E. D. Long, 1862; S. Tincher, 1862; Charles Tinsley, 1863- 
64; W. Terrill, 1865-66. 

With the schism of 1866 begins two separate Methodist churches in 
Greensburg and both ha\-e been independent charges from that date down to 
the present time. The following- ministers have served the First church : 
R. M. Barnes, 1866-69; S. T. Gihette, 1870-72; M. L. Wells, 1873-74; L. 
G. Adkinson, 1875-76; Sampson Tincher, 1877-79; Charles Tinsley, 1880- 
81; John G. Chafee, 1881-84; E. L. Dolph, 1884-88; E. B. Rawls, 1888-92; 
J. W. Dashiell, 1896-97; F. S. Tincher, 1897-1900; John Poucher, 1900-01; 
George H. IMurphy, 1901-05; A. R. Beach, 1905-08; S. S. Penrod, 1908-10; 
M. B. Hyde, 1910-13; J. H. Doddridge, 1913 to the present time. 

PASTORS OF THE CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH. 

The following ministers ha\'e had charge of the Centenary church: J. S. 
Winchester, 1866-67; G. I. Curtis, 1867-71: R. R. Roberts, 1871-73: Har- 
vey Harris, 1873-75; G. P. Jenkins, 1875-76; J. W. Mellender, 1876-78: W. 
S. Falkenburg, 1878-80: J. H. Doddridge. 1880-82; C. C. Edwards. 1882- 
85: R. D. Black, 1885-88; W. W. Reynolds, 1888-92; L. D. Moore, 1892- 
95; W. P. Barnhill, 1895-96: J. Wesley Maxwell, 1898-1901; John Mach- 
lin, 1901-03; J. E. Fisher, 1903-06; A. L. Bennett, 1906-08; J. U. Brown, 



2l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1908-09; T. K. Willis. 1909-10: H. H. Sheldon. 1910-13; J. \V. W'asburn, 
1913-14, and J. Ed. Murr, the present pastor. 

AN UNIQUE COURTSHIP. 

Mrs. J. H. Alexander, wife of the oldest physician in Greensburg. is 
the daughter of Joseph Tarkington. She has preserved her mother's account 
of her father's very ministerial courtship. It runs as follows: 

"One Sunday in the spring of 1831, as I was on horseback riding home 
from John Cottom and Amanda Clark's wedding, he rode up Ijy m\- side 
and asked me if I had any objections to his company, and I said I did not 
know as I had. He had been stopping at father's on his rounds of the cir- 
cuit. It was one of his homes. ^Ir. Tarkington, some time after this, about 
a month before we were married, as he was starting away on his circuit, 
handed a letter to mv father, which is as follows: 

" 'August 30, 1831. 
" 'Dear Brother and Sister, — You. by this time expect me to say some- 
thing to you concerning what is going on between your daughter and myself. 
You will, I hope, pardon me for not saying something to you before I ever 
named anything to her, though she is of age. Notwithstanding all this, I 
never intended to have any girl whose parents are opposed. Therefore, if 
you ha\'e any objections, I wish yon to enter them shortly. I know that it 
will be hard for you to give up your daughter to go with me; for I am 
bound to travel as long as I can, and of course, any person going with me 
must not think to stay with mother and father. 

" 'Yours very respectfully, 

" 'J. Tarkington.' 

■ "Father thought that there would be so many dangers, with suffering 
and poverty, in being a minister's wife, that it was a very serious matter, and 
though he was a man of very few words, he told me as much, while he 
appeared to be very gravely aft'ected. But he wrote a note and gave it to 
him when he came around next time, which is as follows : 

" 'September 4. 1831. 
" 'Reverend Sir: — You express a wish to know if I have any objections 
to you forming an afifinity with my daughter Maria, to which I would reply : 
If you and my daughter are fully reconciled to the above proposition, which 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 2ig 

I have no reason to doubt, I do hereby assent to the same; nevertheless, if 
such a union should take place, it would be very desirable, if you should 
settle down here, that you would not be too remote from us. 

" 'Yours most respectfully, 

" 'S. AND M. Slauson. 

" 'Pleasant township, 

" 'Switzerland county, Indiana.' " 

But before the Reverend Joseph rode home with the fair Maria from 
the wedding, he had a disagreealjle duty to perform. In accordance with 
Methodist discipline, he could not speak of love or matrimony until he had 
"consulted his brethren." He hastened to see his presiding elder and. with- 
out disclosing his secret, said : "I am thinking of- getting married before 
next conference." The elder replied, coldly, "I reckon you are old enough, 
if you ever intend to," and the interview ended. Shortly, after he had "con- 
sulted" the presiding elder, the ride referred to occurred. 

For many years the Reverend Tarkington rode circuits all over Indiana. 
When superannuated he came to Greensburg to spend the remainder of his 
life. He died in 1891, two years after the death of his wife. He was born 
in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1800, and gave practically his entire life tij the 
service of the church. 

EARLY MINLSTERI.VL EXPERIENCES. 

Rev. Joseph Tarkington, in his autobiography, writes of his early expe- 
riences in Greensburg as follows : 

"The fall of 1833 conference was held at Madison, and I was sent to 
the Greensburg circuit. When we came to Greensburg things appeared dis- 
couraging. The town had been visited by typhoid fever and many had died 
— Doctor Teal, George Robinson, Mrs. Silas Stewart and others. There 
had been no religious services for some time. There was no Methodist 
church. I preached in private houses, and in David Gageby's cabinet shop, 
where the Rogers house now is, on the northwest corner of the public square. 
I went to work visiting the sick and praying for them. It was a long time 
before Silas Stewart got restored from his sickness to health of body and 
mind. Until he got to walking about he thought he owned the town. 

"The church members were collected together and had prayer meet- 
ings in pri\ate houses, such as Freeman's. Rozell's, Stewart's, and sometimes 
in the old CDurt house. Preaching was had in the old court house, but it was 



220 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

a hard house to preach in. In the spring I gut hfteen dollars from Silas 
Stewart, five dollars from Jacob Stewart and five dollars from James Rob- 
inson and bought the lot that Mr. F. Dowden owned on Franklin street, and 
built the house that is now on the lot. 

"The Greensburg circuit was cut out of the Rush\ille circuit in i8jS. 
In 1833 it had appointments at Greensburg, Robbins', Burke's. W. Braden's, 
Cox's, George Miller's, Biggott's, Gray's, Sharpe's, T. Perry's and also at 
Burney's, south of where Milford now is. 

"We lived in a little frame house which stood where S. Br^-ant built on 
Franklin street. There the IMethodists, Presbyterians and Baptists had one 
place of worship. David Gageby was chorister for all alike. The Presby- 
terian preacher was Rev. Lowrey, the Baptist was Rev. Daniel Stogsdell. 
and we would all meet together. One would preach, another e.xhort and the 
third ]iray. There was no complaint of large meetings, although some per- 
sons would come from eight to ten miles to attend." 

AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH. 

There have never been many colored people in Greensburg, and at the 
present tmie (1915) there are only ten families. In the latter part of the 
seventies the colored people established a Methodist class and held meetings 
at private homes and in rented rooms. At one time they held services in a 
room at the southwest corner of the public square. About 1880 they built 
a frame house of worship at tlie corner of Lincoln and North streets, and 
this has remained their chiu'ch home since that time. The church records 
are not available, but it is known that the following ministers have served 
the church: Jasper Siler, igo6-o8; C. P. Smith, 1908-10: Clayton A. D. 
Evans, igio-ii (died before the end of his first year and his wife filled out 
his year): ]\Irs. Clayton A. D. Evans, 1911-12; \\'. T. Anderson, 1912-13: 
William Kelly, 1913-14: T. W. Daniels, 1914 to the present time. The trus- 
tees of the church are Samuel T. Evans. Adolphus Frazier and \\\ S. 
Meadows. The stewards are Mrs. Irene Hood. W. S. Meadows and Adol- 
]5hus Frazier. The president of the Mite Missionary S<iciety is Mrs. ^\^ S. 
Meadows. The Sunday school of fourteen pupils is under the superintend- 
ency of ^\^ S. Meadows. The church now* has about twenty active members. 

WESI.EY CHAPEL. 

Wesley Chapel, located one and one-half miles north of Sardinia, in 
Jackson township, was organized in 1830. For the first fi\-e years ser\'ices 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 221 

were held in the homes of the members and the preaching was very irregu- 
lar. Regular class meetings were held, however, and the infant church grew 
in strength from year to year. By 1835 there were sufficient memljers to 
warrant the erection of a house of worship, and a hewed-log churcli was 
raised on an acre of ground donated by Daniel Shafer, one of the leaders 
in the society. Here the little band worshipped for nearly twenty years be- 
fore they felt strong enough to laiild a more pretentious structure. In 1854 
the (lid log house was torn down and replaced b\- the frame liuilding wliich 
is still in use. The records of the church are not available and consecpiently 
it is not possible to give a list of the charter members or the faithful pas- 
tors who have served the church during the eighty-five years of its exist- 
ence. Several years ago Wesley Chapel was considered the strongest rural 
church in the Southeastern Indiana conference. It was often remarked that 
a minister, after a two- or three-year pastorate at Wesley Chapel, was eligi- 
ble to the office of presiding elder. There is scarcely a notable minister of 
the conference who has not at one time or another served as pastor of this 
church. Of recent years the church has lost many of its strongest members 
by death or removal and it is now but a shadow of its former self. The 
church is now on the Elizabethtown circuit and is served b_\- William De 
Hart. The present membership is thirty-six. 

S.A.NDUSKY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Methodist Episcopal church at Sandusky was organized in 18S7 
by Rev. F. S. Potts and S. W. Troyer, with the following charter meml^ers : 
Mr. and Mrs. John Harrell, Albert and Kate Higgins, Mrs. Phillip Harrell. 
W. O. Rozell and others whose names have not been preserved. Until 1892 
services were held in private homes and school buildings, but in that year a 
substantial frame building was erected, which is still used by the congrega- 
tion. The church has maintained a steady growth from the beginning and 
now numbers one hundred and thirty members. A Sunday school and an 
Epworth League are important auxiliaries of the church and exert a whole- 
some influence on the church and the community in general. The following 
pastors have served this church : F. S. Potts and S. W. Troyer, S. W. Troyer 
and James Gillespie, J. W. Allen and H. O. Frazier and J. T. Jones; D. 
Ryan and D. C. Benjamin, C. E. Hester, J. L. Brown and ^\^ G. Proctor, 
jA. N. Marlatt and C. C. Bonnell and E. I. Larue. E. P. Jewett, L. M. 
Edwards and A. L. Bear, F. A. Guthrie and P. W. Coryea, F. AI. Westhafer 
and J. L. Brown, T. J. Anthony, J. W. Dashiel, W. ]\I. Creath, J. E. Side- 
bottom and C. E. Hester. 



222 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The Sandusky church was first attached to the Milroy circuit, a large 
circuit in charge of two ministers, until Rev. F. M. Westhafer took charge 
in 1905. At that time Sandusky and Shiloh churches were made a separate 
circuit and placed in charge of Rev. T. J. Anthony, through whose efforts 
a parsonage was built at Sandusky. It was called the Shiloh circuit until 
the Shiloh church was discontinued, and then the Sandusky circuit was 
organized, with Sandusky, Clarksburg and Alt. Carmel churches, in charge 
of one minister. At the present time it is listed in the conference minutes 
as the Clarksliurg circuit, although it is still composed of the same three 
churches. 

CLARKSBURG METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The early history of the Clarksburg Methodist church dates back to 
the beginning of the settlements in the county. Concerning its first mem- 
bers and ministers very little is known, but the same men who preached in 
the other Methodist churches of the county from the beginning also filled 
the pul])it at Clarksliurg. The location of the church has been changed at 
least once. For many years it was at the head of a circuit including Mt. 
Carmel, Wesley Chapel and Stips Hill (Franklin county). The present 
building in Clarksburg was erected about 1856 and the church property is 
\alued at fifteen hundred dollars. The congregation numbers one hundred 
and twenty and maintains an actix'e Sunday school and Epworth League. 
It has always been a strong congregation. 

MT. C.\RMEL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Mt. Carmel Methodist church had its inception in 1823, when a 
few members met at the home of Jolin Miller, which stood just north of the 
present residence of Maggie Thorp. The first members were the families of 
Lin\ille, Hobbs, Jarrard, Griffiths and Hobbsin. The first pastors were 
probably Aaron Wood and John Havens. Shortly after the organization 
of the class, Daniel and Nancy Bell joined the society. During 1824-25 
Rev. James Hanes was the pastor. This church was one of the leaders in 
the temperance movement in the county and early organized a \\'ashington- 
ian Society, every member of the congregation signing the total abstinence 
pledge. Their first house of worship was a rude log structure, and this has 
been succeeded by three successive buildings, each being demanded because 
of the ever-growing congregation. For many years the church took an active 
part in the life of the community which it seeks to ser\'e, but within the past 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 223 

few years deaths and removals have decreased the membership until now 
there are only about thirty members. At the present time the church main- 
tains neither a Sunday school nor an Epworth League. However, this chuich 
had the honor of establishing one of the first Sunday schools in the countv, 
and for a long time kept it in operation. It is impossible to give a complete 
list of all the pastors, with their dates of service, but practically every pastor 
of the Clarksburg church also preached at the Mt. Carmel church. Among 
the pastors who have had charge of this congregation may be mentioned the 
following, arranged chronologically as nearly as possible : Nehemiah B. 
Griffiths (1826), Robert Burns and Isaac Elsburg (1828), Amos Sparks 
(1829), Isaac Kimball, Elijah Burriss, William Evans, E. Whitten, Amos 
Bussey, Charles Bonner, O. H. P. Ash, M. Wiley, Joseph and William Car- 
ter, Hayden Hayes, James Conwell, John Winchester, Williamson Gcrril, 
John H. Bruce, Lewis Hurlburt. Jacob Whitman, Samuel P. Crawford, John 
Wallace, Lemuel Reeves, Wesley Wood, Benjamin F. Gatch, Joseph Mc- 
Crea. The dates of the remainder of the pastors have been found : J. V. R. 
Miller, 1851 ; Landy Havens, 1852; G. P. Jenkins, 1853; John I. Tevis, 1854; 
Robert S. Beswick, 1856; Benjamin F. Gatch, 1858; Landy Havens, 1859, 
J. C. Crawford, i860: Jacob Whitten, 1861 ; Jacob Whitman, 1862; W. A. 
Thompson, 1863; J. S. Winchester, 1864-67; R. A. Lameter, 1868; J. S. 
Alley, 1868-73; J- D. Pierce, 1874; G. E. Neville, 1877; Isaac Turner, 1879; 
James McCaw, 1880-82; G. W. Winchester, 1882-85; J- H. Norton, 1885; 
J. D. Current, 1886; D. C. Benjamin, 1887; G. C. Clouds, 1888; Andrew 
Ayer, 1890; James P. Maupin, 1891-93; Charles Ward, 1895-96; George 
Reibold, 1896-98; D. A. Wynegar, 1898-00; William Telfer, 1900-02; M. 
S. Taylor, 1902-06; H. D. Sterrett, 1906-08: T. J. Anthony, 1908-10; E. 
L. Wimmer, 1910-11; U. M. Creath, 1911-12: J. E. Sidebottom, 1912-14; 
C. E. Hester, since 1914. 

MT. PLE.\SANT CHURCH. 

The first Methodist sermon preached in the county was delivered by 
James Murray, in September, 1822, in the home of Thomas Hendricks, 
then the only house in Greensburg'. The first class to be organized in the 
county was at Mt. Pleasant, about ftmr miles south of Greensburg. The 
stoiy is told that John Robbins. one of the early settlers, was at work near 
his cabin, when two men approached on horseback and bid him the time of 
day. They talked for a while and then Robbins said: "You men look like 
Methodist ministers." The strangers admitted that they were and said that 



224 DECATL'R COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tliey were on their way to attend conference. Robbins wanted them to stop 
a while and organize a clas.s, but they stated that they had no time to spare 
then, Ijut that they would g-ladly do so on their return. One of these horse- 
men was John Strange, an early minister. 

When conference was over the men returned and organized a class in 
Robbins' cabin. Another story is to the effect that Robbins himself organ- 
ized the first class at the direction of James Murray. At any rate, the mem- 
bers of this first class were John and Ruth Rol)l)ins, B. Courtney. Elizabeth 
Garrison, J. H. Kirkpatrick and his wife Mar\- and Nat Robbins — seven 
persons. Later additions were James and Polly Armstrong, Jacob Stewart, 
A. L. Anderson, Nancy Anderson, ]\Iary Garrison, Tamzen Connor, Wesley 
and Elizabeth ^^'llite and Lydia Groenendyke. 

The first church was built in 1834 and called Mt. Pleasant. It was a 
log structure, twenty-four feet wide and thirty feet long". This building was 
used until 1854, when a new church was built. The present pastor is T. J. 
Lewis, who has built up the church until it numbers one hundred and thirty 
members. 

ADAMS METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Adams !\Iethodist church was organized January 14, 1859. by the 
Re\'. Jesse Brockway, of JNIilford circuit. The church was organized with 
seven members : William Ryan, Mary E. R}-an, Barnard Young, Jane Young, 
Miner\a Young, J. W. Deem and Lemuel Deem. Some time later, Jona- 
than Tindall and family and George \Y Kirljy united with the church. Jona- 
than Tindall was appointed class leader. 

Reverend Brockway preached until the conference of 1859 and was 
followed by Rev. Jacob Montgomery. In i860 the class was placed on the 
Westport circuit by the Rev. Joseph Tarkington. A subscription was taken 
by the Reverend Tarkington in the spring of 1861 for the erection of a 
church at Adams. The trustees chosen were J. G. \\'hite, J. T. Hamilton, 
D. N. Hamilton. T. W. Deem and William Ryan. 

Rev. James Tarkington, G. W. Pye and T. S. Turk preached until the 
conference of 1861, when Rev. P. J. Rosencrans was placed in charge. He 
served one year and Rev. J. B. Lathrop was sent in the fall of 1862. The 
church was built iluring his pastorate. The building committee was G. W. 
Kirby, Lemuel Deem and William Ryan. The church was erected by Ander- 
son Stevens and dedicated on January 14, 1863, by Rev. Samson Tincher, 
the presiding elder. Adams was then taken into the Milford circuit, with 
Rev. James McCann as pastor. The Sunday school was organized on Easter 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 225 

Sunday by Rev. P. J. Rosencrans. The church now has a membership of 
one hundred antl sixty-two and is served by Re\'. J. A. Gardner. 

MILFORD METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Milford Alethodist Episcopal church, which is one of the original 
outposts of Methodism in Decatur county, was organized in 1834. at the home 
of Samuel Burney, by Rev. William Daily. Early records of the church have 
disappeared, but it is known that the Rev. Joseph Tarkington was the first 
pastor appointed to the charge. He was followed by a long line of. min- 
isters, earnest, hard working and prayerful, who, with dauntless courage 
and matchless energv, wrought a church in surroundings that were none too 
favorable. 

The ministers who served this church have been the following: William 
Daily, James Scott and C. M. Reeves, Amos Busey and Allen Wiley, Elijah 
Whittier and C. Carey, T. Hurlljurt and Edward Burris, L. Havens, Jacob 
Miller, John Reisling, John T. Keely, Seth Smith, C. B, Jones, Lewis Doles, 
Lundy Havens and John S. Lewis, Nimrod Benick, John Winchester and 
J. Crawford. 

Li 1854, during the pastorate of John Winchester, the church was erected 
at a cost of nine thousand dollars. Following Reverend Crawford, came 
Rev. Jessie Brockway, during whose pastorate the Adams church was added 
to the Milroy circuit. Since then the two charges have been tended by the 
following ministers : Jacob Montgomery, J. S. Barnes, W. F. Maulsin, James 
McCann, T. B. McClain, J. S. Winchester, F. S. Woodcock, J. C. White 
M. H. Mullin, J. N. Dashiel, John Machlan. J. R. f. Lathrnp, T. N. Jones, 
T. Kennedy, H. Morrow, T. D. Keys, \V. R. Plummer, S. C. Clouds, S. A. 
Morrow, 1900-03; H. M. Elwyn, 1903-4; C. R. Sylvester, 1904-06; P. E. 
Edwards, 1905-09: J. T. Perry, 1909-12; C. E. Smith, 1912-13, and J. A. 
Gardner, 1913 to the present time. The present membership of the jMilford 
church is one hundred and ten. 

ST. PAUL METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Methodists organized a class in St. Paul about 1857, and for a time 

met in the upper room of the building now occupied by the Johannes buggy 

factory. The early records of the church were destroyed when the parson- 

ag'e burned in 1CJ14, and hence the earlv history of the church is lacking in 

(15) 



226 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

many of the minor details. Aiiout 1S58 a uninn cliurch was erected in the 
town and it seems to have Ijeen used principally by the Methodists and the 
Lutherans. The fact that the Lutherans outnumliered the Methodists caused 
the church to lie usually known as the Lutheran church. This building was 
bought b\- the Christian cliurch in the sexenties and is still used liy them. 

During the Civil War the ]\Jethodists erected a house of worship, which 
remained in use until it was burned down in 1891, during the pastorate of 
Rev. S. W. Troyer. The same year the congregation erected the present 
building. Extensi\'e repairs, to the anmunt nf tweh'c hundred dollars, were 
made on the building in 19 13, while Re\'. E. T. Lewis was ])astor. The pul- 
pit was changed from the end to the side of the building and a choir loft 
was installed in the rear of the pulpit. The pews were changed and art 
windnws and frescoing added to the general attracti\eness of the interior. 

A parsonage was acquired early in the seventies and when it was burned 
with all its contents in the spring of 1914, the present beautiful parsonage 
was erected, at a cost of eighteen hundred dollars. 

For a number of years the St. Paul church was in the St. Omcr circuit, 
but in 1866, at the close of the first year's pastorate of Robert Roljerts. it 
was placed in the St. Paul circuit, where it has since remained. The min- 
isters since 1859 ha\e been as follow: S. B. Falkinburg, 1859: Asbury 
Wilkinson i860; H. M. Lore, 1861 ; J. H. Stallard, 1862: Joseph Taricing- 
ton, 1863; G. M. Hunt, 1864: Robert Roberts, 1S65-66: William A. Thomp- 
son. 1867: J. S. ^^'inchester, 1868-69: J. Crawford, 1870; B. F. ^Morgan, 
1871 : W. S. Jordan, 1872: Asliury \\'ilkerson, 1873: M, Black, 1874: Landy 
Haven, 1875; M. H. Molen, 1876: J. D. Pierce, 1877: William Evans, 187S: 
J. McCaw, 1879; J. D. Pierce, 1880-81; J. T. I'ell, 1882-83; J. W. 
McLain, 1884; D. C. Benjamin, 1885; Henry Morrow, i885-88; G. 
W. Winchester, 1889-90: S. W. Troyer, 1891 : T. K. J. Anthony, 1892; J. 
P. Maupin, 1893-94: D. A. Wynegar, 1895-97; ^'- H- Reibolt, 1898-99: H. 
C. Pelsor, 1900-01; H. D. Sterrett, 1902-03; C. R. Stout, 1904-05; C. W. 
Maupin, 1906; J. W^ Cordrey, 1907; J. L. Brown, 1908-10; C. S. Whitted, 
191 1 ; E. T. I^ewis, 1912-13; S. L. Welker, 1914 to the jiresent time. St. 
Paul has been in the following districts: Greensljurg, 1859-62; Lidianapolis, 
1862-68; Lawrenceburg, 1868-71; Greensburg, 1871-73; Lidianapolis, 1873- 
76: Connersville, 1876-1915. The present district superintendent is Rev. 
V. W. Tevis. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 227 

MIDDLE BRANCH METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Methodist cliurch at Middle Branch, in Salt Creek township, was 
organized in 1867, with fifty charter members. They worshiped in private 
liomes nntil a bnildint;- was erected for worship in 1872, at a cost of twenty- 
five hundred dollars. The same building, with ^•arious improvements from 
time to time, is still in use. Class meetings, Sunday school and Epworth 
League are maintained and the work of the church in the community which 
it ser\-es is such as to commend it to all worthy pen|)le. It is attached to 
the Bates\ille circuit. The following pastors have served the church : Mapes, 
Hunt, J. W. Mendell, Starks, A. M. Louden, R. L. Kinnear, J. S. \Ym- 
chester. F. A. (kithrie. W. F. Smith, E. L. Moore, W. ^Maupin, F. 'M \Vest- 
hafer, J. \Y. Recter, AIcDulfey, V. Hargett, Wolf, J. L. Jerman. Stout, 
Sylvester, W. H. Thompson, W. H. McDowell, C. M. X'awter. J. H. French 
and H. A. Broadwell, the present pastor. The trustees in if;i5 were: Isaac 
Doles. Thomas Doles, ^Villiam Caldwell, ^\'illiam Duncan and Isaac Redd- 
ington. 

DISCONTINUED METPIODIST EPISCOPAL CHl'RCHES. 

Just how nian\- disci nitinued Alethotlist churches there are in "Decatur 
county is not known, but among them may be mentioned the following: St. 
Onier, St. Maurice, Shiloh, Center Gro\-e, Finley and b'redonia. Little has 
been learned about these half dozen churches, although an effort has been 
made to trace the history of each. Shiloh was discontinued a few years ago, 
the members going to the Greensburg and Sandusky churches. Finley church 
was organized by the anti-war Democrats, who sent to Kentucky for their 
lireacher. It disappeared long ago. Fredonia was in the Tucker neighbor- 
hood in Marion township and was made up in large part of Free-will Bap- 
tists, who came to the church in a body. It was on the Holton circuit and 
was an active church until about six years ago. 

NEWPOINT METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The Methodist Episcopal church in .\ewpoint is the newest church in 
Salt Creek township, liax'ing been founded a little more than twenty years 
ago. The erection of the building was su])erintended b}' John Anedeker, Jr. 
One of the first pastors of this church was ^Vill Smith. Generally, the same 
pastors have served this church that have served the New Pennington Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, since the organization of the Newpoint church. 



228 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The trustees in 1915 were Leonard P. Hart, Charles \Mniams, Waker 
Stanley, William Koenigkramer, The Sunday school superintendent in that 
year was Leander Cam 

NEW PENNINGTON METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

Ever since it was founded, the Xew Pennington ^Methodist Episcopal 
church has heen one of the most active country churches in the eastern part 
of Decatur county. Its history is embodied in the lives of men like the late 
John Collicott, who, during his lifetime, was a spiritual adviser and leader in 
the church. He was a member always faithful in exhortation and in the 
practice of the "old-time religion." , 

The following pastors have served the church: John Collicott (exhor- 
ter), F. M. Westhafer. Albert Stout, Will Smith, French, Wilbur McDow- 
ell, W. H. Thompson, C. M. Vawter, V. Hargett, Claude Sylvester, J. L. 
Jerman, W. Maupin and H. .\. Broadwell. the pastor in IQ15. The trustees 
of the church are: Charles ^^'illiams, Leonard P. Hart, Alfred Ahring, 
William Ivoenigkramer. 

OTHER METHODIST CHURCHES. 

Unfortunately, there were several Methodist churches in the county 
which failed to give any data for their history, and all that is known of them 
has been gleaned from the 1914 conference report. Rev. T. J. Lewis has 
four churches on his circuit : Westport, one hundred and seventy-five mem- 
bers; Mt. Pleasant, one hundred and thirty members; Letts, sixty members, 
and Burk's Chapel, twenty members. Only one of these churches responded 
to a request for data, the Mt. Pleasant church. The pastor on this circuit 
lives at Westport. Newpoint, Middlebranch and New Pennington are 
served bv Rev. H. A. Broadwell from the Batesville circuit. New Penningf- 
ton is credited with ninety-four members and Newpoint with seven in 1914. 
William De Hart serves the charges at Alert and Wesley Chapel, but nothing- 
has been learned concerning either church. The church at Burney is in 
charge of Joseph H. Larmore. 

BAPTIST CHURCHES. 

The following is a list of the Baptist churches in Decatur county, 
together with their present membership and name of pastor : 

Flatrock Association: Greensburg, four hundred and forty-five mem- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 229 

bers, J. W. Clevenger, pastor ; Salem, one hundred and eighty-two members, 
A. A. Kay, pastor ; Sand Creek, one hundred and thirty-one members ; W. O: 
Beatty, pastor; Mt. Moriah, ninety-eight members, J. A. Elhs, pastor; Ross- 
burg, thirty-eiglit members, W. O. Beatty, pastor. 

Sand Creek Association: Mt. Aerie (Letts), three hundred and twenty- 
five members, W. C. Marshall, pastor; Liberty, two hundred and eighteen 
members, L B. Morgan ; Westport, one hundred and ninety-one members, 
A. A. Kay; Union, one hundred and seventy members, J. C. Nicholson, pas- 
tor; Mt. Pleasant, eighty-seven members, J. C. Nicholson, pastor; Friendship, 
thirty members, Eber Tucker, pastor ; Rock Creek, twenty-nine members, 
P. A. Bryant, pastor. 

The Baptist church was one of the first to get started in Decatur county, 
and, at one time or another, has had nearly a score of different congrega- 
tions in the county. It should be noted that this church was strong in the 
county of Franklin, which joins Decatur on the east, and that many of the 
ministers from Franklin served the early Baptist churches of Decatur county. 
This church, like many others, has seen many of its congregations di\ide 
on questions of polity, music, secret societies, whisky, slavery and on other 
questions, same of minor importance which today seem very frivolous. More 
than one Baptist church of Decatur county has been rent asunder over some 
petty differences, while, to their credit, they have later reconciled their dif- 
ferences and again united. 

SAND CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The first church of this denomination in Decatur county was estab- 
lished in 1822, the same year the county began its independent career, thus 
making the church coexistent with the life of the county. In fact, the actual 
organization of the Sand Creek church antedated the actual official opening of 
the county by about three months. It was on the third Saturday in January, 
1822, that eight people— Rev. John B. Potter, Jennie Potter, Zachariah Gar- 
tin, Polly Gartin, Dudley Taylor, Nancy Taylor, Rebecca Loyd and Jen- 
nie Miller— met for the purpose of organizing a Baptist church. Their first 
meeting was held in Washington township and sometime later they erected 
a building, which they used for many years. Rev. Potter donated fix-e acres 
of ground to be used as a cemetery. This church became the mother of the 
Baptist churches of Decatur, and, as other branches were established, many 
of the members joined other congregations. 

Shortly after effecting a permanent organization, the Sand Creek church 



230 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

elected a council, consisting of Joel Butler, Basil Meek antl Polly Baker. 
The church was first attached to the Silver Creek association, hut later, upon 
the organization of the Flat Rock association, joined the latter. Many able 
men ha\-e served as pastors of this church and the following list represents 
some of the ablest ministers the church produced in the early history of the 
church: John B. Potter, Daniel Stoggsdill, Abraham Bohannan. James Mc- 
Ewen. John Pavy, Jacob Martin, I. Christie, James W. Lewis, James Pa\'ey. 
M. B. Phares. Joab Stout, Preston Jones, J. W. B. Tisdale, J. \\'. Potter. 
G. W. Bower, C. X. Gartin, W. T. Jolly. 

The Sand Creek Baptist church was organized under the following con- 
stitution : "Being sensible of the advantages and benefits of church privileges 
and gospel ordinances, we do agree to give oursehes, liy the will of God. 
to God and to one another as a church, in order that we ma\' keep up a church 
government and discipline according to the New Testament regulations; 
also, to watch over one another in love for the benefit of the church of 
Christ and the glory of the religious cause of God, we do covenant together 
as a regularly constituted church on the articles of faith of the Silver Creek 
association." The following constituent members signed these articles of 
faith : Zachariah Gartin, Polly Gartin, Dudley Taylor, Nancy Taylor, Jennie 
Miller, Rebecca Loyd, Rev. John B. Potter and Jennie Potter. These mem- 
bers received the hand of fellowship from a council composed of Elder Joel 
Butler, from Union church, Basil Meek and Polly Baker. A year later the 
church joined the Flat Rock association, with which it has since been 
affiliated. 

Originally, the Sand Creek church embraced a wide scope of territory, 
being the second church of the denomination in the county, and holding the 
most central location. As suggested before it may very appropriately be 
called the mother of the many Baptist churches \vhich were to follow. Large 
;md flourishing churches have arisen in all parts of the countv. until at the 
present time the field of Sand Creek is confined to a comparati\'elv small ter- 
ritory. Howe\-cr, it is a strong congregation, and is constantly growing in 
strength and influence. Orig'inally located about a mile and a hatf southeast 
of Greensburg, it changed to its present site in Marion township in the fore 
part of the eighties. The first meetings were held at the homes of the mem- 
bers, and, even after a log church was erected, meetings were often held at 
the homes of the centrally located memliers in the winter. In .April. 182^, 
Nathaniel Madison Potter donated three-fourths of an acre of ground and 
William Loyd a half acre, for church and cemetery purposes. A building. 
twenty-four by thirty feet, was constructed of logs on the site so donated. 



€ 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 23 1 

on the Michigan road, a mile and a half soutiieast of the count}- seat. The 
cemetery is still there, but the building has long since disappeared. 

The iirst services in the new log building were held in April, 1824, and 
on that day the following contributions were made to Pastor Stogsdale for 
his ser\-ices : Three dollars in cash, twelve days" work, two days' work, hftv 
cents and one day's work, one dollar and one bedstead, two days' work, two 
days' work, one dollar, two and a half bushels of corn. It was agreed that 
the members donating work were to contribute it at certain specified times, 
and, presumably, when the pastor could use them to the best ad\-antage. 

John B. Potter ser\-ed the church until a building was erected and had 
the honor of being the first pastor and moderator. He died in February, 
1823. His grave marks the resting place of the first member of the Sand 
Creek church. He preached the first Baptist sermon, if not the first (jf any 
kind, in Decatur county, on Cliffy creek at a spring just above where the old 
Moriah Baptist church stood, in Adams township. The pastors in the log 
church were Daniel Stogsdale, Abraham Bohanon, James ]\IcEwen, John 
Pavy, Daniel Stogsdale and Jacob Martin, serving in the order given. 

In 1842 a contract was let for a new building to be located on the same 
site, a short distance east of the log building. It was a frame structure, fifty 
by forty feet, and cost six hundred dollars, the contractor and the congrega- 
tion both furnishing part of the material. The building was dedicated in the 
due course of time, with appropriate services, and continued to be the home of 
the church until 1883. During the early years services in the summer time 
were frecpiently held under the shade of a large poplar tree which stood near 
the south end of the church. Across the road a spring of excellent water 
gushed forth and the friendly gourd was ever hanging by it for the use of the 
members. In those days the evening services were conducted under the 
fiitful gleam of the candle, and many people are still living who can recall 
the .sputtering candles and tallow dips which were in use until the time of 
the Civil War. 

The pastors in the frame building were Jacob Martin, Daniel Stogsdale, 
I. Cristy, James Lewis, John Pavy, M. B. Phares, Joab Stout, Preston Jones, 
J. W. B. Ti.sdale, James Lewis, J. W. B. Tisdale, J. W. Potter, G. \\'. Bowers, 
C. N. Gartin, W. T. Jolly and H. II. Snn'th. 

In 1863, more ground was purchased from Mr. White for cemetery 
purposes, making about four acres altogether. About this time ser\ices 
were held in three different places — at the church, the Layton school house 
and the ?\Iiddle Branch school house. As the years went by and new Bap- 
tist churches were organized, the question of moving the church farther south 



232 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was seriously discussed. It was not until 1882, that a final decision was 
made on this momentuous matter. In that year it was decided to locate on 
the Michigan road, in Marion township, ahout four and a half miles southeast 
of Greensburg, just across the \\'ashington township line. Three and a half 
acres of ground were bought from J. D. Price for fifty dollars, and a brick 
building was at once planned. This building, thirty-two by forty-eight feet, 
was completed in the fall of 1883. and furnished in January of the follow- 
ing year. 

Rev. J. E. McCoy was the first pastor in the new building, being called 
in February. 1884. In June of the same year the formal dedicatory services 
were held by Rev. I. N. Clark, who preached from the text, "For we are 
laborers together with God; ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." 
(I. Corinthians, third chapter, ninth verse.) The well, wood shed, tenant 
house and bell were added later, the total cost of the lot and buildings being 
two thousand, seven hundred fifty-seven dollars and two cents. 

The pastors at the present building have been as follows : J. E. ]\IcCoy, 
\V. H. Craig, T. A. Aspy. J. A. Pettit, J. F. Huckleberry, E. C. J. Dickens, 
Charles M. Phillips, Dennis O'Dell, A. J. Foster, Chesley Holmes and W. O. 
Beatty, the present pastor. 

The Sand Creek church has been wholly, or at least partly, responsible 
in constituting the churches at Greensburg, Liberty. New Pleasant, Pleasant 
Grove, Mt. Zion, Columl^ia and Muddy Fork. Some of these churches are 
now e.xtinct. On three occasions Sand Creek has entertained the associa- 
tion. Sand Creek is proud of the fact that it has furnished so many faith- 
ful ministers to the church at large. The following men have gone out from 
this congregation as pastors : Licentiates — Ransom Riggs, Shelton P. Lowe. 
Nathaniel Madison, Potter, John D. Parker. Washington Pavy, A. J. I^Iartin 
and J. W. Potter ; ordained ministers — Ransom Riggs, Washing"ton Pavy, 
John W. Potter and William H. Le Masters. 

The ministers deserving special mention for their long connection with 
the church are Daniel Stogsdale (si.xteen and a half years), J. E. McCoy 
(eight years) and J(ilin \V. Potter (eighteen years). Rev. Potter probably 
did more for the church than any other man. Nathaniel M. Potter was a 
deacon in the church for nearly nineteen years, while R. E. Cafifyn was a 
deacon for nine years and clerk for fifteen years. Jacob McKee served as 
deacon for tweh'e years, Dora Privett was clerk for sixteen years, James 
demons was moderator for thirteen years and T. M. Clark was superin- 
tendent for ten years. 

The church has enrolled approximately one thousand members in the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 233 

ninety-three }'ears of its existence and now has a membership of one hundred 
and thirty-three active memliers. The yearly expenses average between three 
hundred and fifty and three hundred and seventy-five dollars. 

Under the leadership of the present pastor, W. O. Beatt}-, the church is 
enjoying a steady growth. A Sunday school is maintained ; a Young Peoi)le's 
society meets e\'ery Sunday evening and an acti\e Ladies' Aid society is doing 
efficient ser\-ice in the Master's cause. 

If the good pioneers who established this church nearly a centurv ago 
could know how much good had been done for the Redeemer and liow many 
souls have been added to his kingdom through its instrumentality, they 
would rejoice indeed and feel that their earl)- labors had not been in vain. 

MOUNT MORIAH BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Mt. JMoriah church was organized on Ma}' 23, 1823, with nineteen 
members: Rev. Daniel Stogsdill, Jonas Long, Joel Clark, William Harbord, 
Richard Guthrie and fourteen others whose names have not been preserved. 
This was the first branch of the Sand Creek church and included some who 
had belonged to the mother church. .\ liuilding was erected on land donated 
by Solomon Turpin and stood in Adams township, on the old Michigan road, 
about a mile north of the present village of Adams. A brick church was 
built in 1834. This congregation flourished for twenty years before any dis- 
sension arose. In 1843 there was a great temperance wave sweeping over 
the country, and many churches became divided on the cpiestion of total 
abstinence. One of the members of the Mt. Moriah church, in an unguarded 
moment, either to drown some secret sorrow, or in libation to the sheer joy 
of living, had taken on a greater cargo of alcoholic liquor than his navigatory 
powers could handle. He became gloriously intoxicated and was brought 
before the church for trial. He was found guilty and expelled from the con- 
gregation. At the same sitting", the congregation heard the case of a member 
charged with the heterodoxy of having joined a temperance society. He 
pleaded guilty to the charge and was also expelled from the congregation. 
Whereupon a member, having more of a sense of humor than the others, 
arose and asked : "Brethren and sisters, just how much whisky must a man 
drink in order to be a good churchman?" Some time later, a minister at this 
place joined a temperance society and was promptly ousted by the congre- 
gation. This did not deter him from preaching, however, for he held serv- 
ices in homes of members of the congregation who stood with him on the 
temperance question, and he was later taken back into the pulpit. 



^ 



234 DECATUR COUNTY, IXDIAXA. 

Tlien tlie conser\-ative Baptists of the Mt. INIoriah cinigregatioii, find- 
ing' themselves outnunil.iered h\" the temperance memljers. \vitluh"e\v from the 
Mt. Moriah congregation and organized a chiircli one mile helow Adams. 
which they called Mt. Hebron. 

MOUNT HEBRON AND ADAMS BAPTIST CHURCHES. 

The Alt. Hebron church, as has been stated above, was the result of the 
split in the Alt. Aloriah congregation, the cause of whicli may seem so sur- 
prising' to us today. This temperance branch of the old church built a house 
of worship in Clay township aljout a quarter of a mile south of the present 
village of Adams. These two ri\'al churches, the "wets'" and the "drys,"' 
stationed within about a mile of each other, maintained their separate organ- 
izations for more than twent\- years. By 1863 their ranks were becoming 
thin and they were growing so weak that they were scarcely able to keep up 
their organizations. It was at this juncture that Rev. J. B. Lathrop, who 
had established a JMethodist church at Adams, suggested to the two churches 
that they forget their differences, unite their congregations and build a 
church at Adams. The Civil War was in progress, many of the members 
of both churches had gone ti) the front, and most of the few remaining finallv 
decided that nothing could be gained by attempting to keep up two separate 
organizations. In this year the two churches — Mt. Moriah and Mt. Hebron 
— tore down the Alt. Aloriah church and used the brick to erect a new 
house of worship in Adams. This building is still standing and is now 
occupied by the congregation. Whether it was in the nature of a comproniise 
or not is not known, but it is interesting to note that it was agreed to use 
the Mt. Hebron cemetery. This final union of the two sister churches shows 
that most of the memi)ers could forgi\'e, even though they might not forget. 
Some of them, however, were not able to reconcile themselves to the new 
order of things, and within five years they withdrew and formed the little 
Flat Rock church. The pastors of the Adams Baptist church from 1865 
ha\'e lieen : Preston Jones, Daniel Stogsdill, A. Bohannan, James McEwen. 
J. Currier, J. Af. Smith, E. J. Todd, I. Christie, J. W. B. Tisdale. Evan 
Snead, J. Chancey. James Pa\'ey, John Pavey, Preston Jones, F. AI. Huckle- 
berry, L. E. Duncan, L. A. Clevenger (1880-83). 

LITTLE FLAT ROCK BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Little Flat Rock church was organized by tweh'c members of the 
Mt. Moriah congregation, the "wet" branch, after Alt. Aloriah and Alt. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 235 

Hebron had decided, in 1865, to unite in building' a new chnrcli at the \'il- 
lag'e of Adams. These twelve were B. W. Stogsdill, A. A. Stogsdill, Lewis 
and MaHnda Shelhorn, D. W. and Mary Shelhorn, S. A. and Eliza Shelhorn, 
H. L. and Einil_v Doggett, Mary Snickler and Ehzabeth Shelhorn. Whether 
they withdrew at once after the union of 1865 is not known; at least, they 
did not erect a house of worship and effect a permanent organization until 
1870. On the first Saturday in March of that year they met and decided 
to build a church in the Shelhorn neighborhood on the banks of Little Flat 
Rock. .\ commodious Ijuilding was erected and in a few years the church 
had enrolled over a hundred members. Rev. Preston Jones was the leading- 
spirit in the church for many years and served as pastor until along in the 
eighties. Other ministers ha\e been : F. M. Huckleberry and S. P. Smith. 

LIBERTY BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Liberty Baptist church was the third of the denomination to be 
organized in Decatur county and dates from 1827. Li that year nine mem- 
bers met at the home of Charles Taylor, three and one half miles west of 
Greensburg, on the second Saturdav of .\ugust. The original members were 
Obadiah ]\Iartin and wife, Elizabeth, John Whitlow and wife, Thomas 
Keel and wife, Moses Sally and wife and Andrew Nicholas. At the second 
meeting the members selected Obadiah ]\Iartin as their minister, he being at 
that time a licentiate. They set aside the second Saturday in Xovember. 
1827, for his ordination, but this ceremou)- was later postponed luitil the 
second Saturday in I\Iay, 1828. At that time the council, composed of 
Daniel Stogdel, Adam Cantwell, James Long and John Wheeldon, performed 
the ordination services. On the second Saturday in June following. Rev. 
Martin was chosen moderator of the congregation. He continued to ser\-e 
the church faithfully until his death, six years later. At the third regular 
meeting after his death, James McEwin was invited to become the pastor, 
and he remainerl with the church as pastor until 1836, at which time the 
church granted a license to preach to Joseph A. Martin and John T. War- 
ren. These two men then ministered to- the congregation jointly until 1839, 
when the church granted a license to Samuel Williams. From the time of 
Williams' ad\-ancement to the position of licentiate until October, 1840, the 
three men — Martin, \\'arren and Williams — served the congregation. At 
the latter date the congregation ordained Martin anrl ^^^arren and the two 
served the church together until 1843. In July; of that }-ear, the church 
called John Pa\v for one \'ear and at the same meeting chose JijIiu T. War- 



236 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ren as assistant moderator. In 1846 the chnrcli again selected Pavy as their 
pastor and the following year called Archibald Leach for a period of one 
year. The pastors from that year down to the present time have been as 
follow: Jacob Martin, 1848: Daniel Stogdel, 1849; Joseph Sampson, 1850; 
Joab Stout, 1850, until his death. The dates of the remaining pastors have 
not been furnished. They are : Albert Carter, F. M. Hucklelierry, Alexaniler 
Connell}', \V. W. Smith, T. A. Aspy, John Huckleberry, E. Sanf ord and I. B. 
Morgan, the present pastor. The deacons of the church have been as fol- 
low : John W'liitlow, 1828-37; Benjamin Taylor. 1837-1853; Elijah AIc- 
Guire, 1840-185 1 : Pleasant Martin, 1852-1915; Elijah Markland, 1854-1856; 
Simpson Turner, 1857-1915: James M. Brown, 1871-1915. Among the 
clerks of the church may be mentioned Moses Sally, Pleasant Martin, ^^'iIl- 
iam Douglass, Samuel Howell and Richard Wright. 

The first building was a log structure, twenty-two by twenty-six feet, 
which, however, was ne\'er completely finished. It was built about one mile 
north of the present Iniilding. In 1844, the church started to erect a second 
building, but it was not completed until 1852. In 1855 the congregation 
built a substantial frame building, thirty by thirty-six feet. It was destroyed 
by fire in 1866. In the same year plans were made for the erection of a 
brick building and it was finished and dedicated in 1868. 

For many years after the church was organized there was little money 
for church expenses. The first sexton received two dollars and a half a year 
for his services, while today he receives a salary of fifty-two dollars. The 
total expenses for 1915 are as follow: Pastor, $150; assistant, $150; visiting 
ministers, $100; home missions, $S^; foreign missions, $11.25; sexton, $52; 
Sabbath school, $50. I'our members of the church gave a total amount of 
$251 for the endowment fund of F'ranklin College during 1914. 

The Libert}' church was first a member of the Flat Rock association, but 
in 1850, it united with the Sand Creek association. During the twenty-three 
years preceding 1850, the church admitted one hundred and three persons 
to membership. Of that number, eleven have been excluded, and of the 
members in 1850, there are two still living. In the last twenty years the 
church has admitted two hundred and twenty-three to membership. In the 
spring of 1912, Rev. S. G. Huntington conducted a revival, which brought 
twenty-nine new members into the church. The total membership at the 
present time is two hundred and eighteen. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 237 



SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH. 



The Salem Baptist church was estabhshed on the third Saturday of 
February, 183 1, at the home of John S. Rutherford, one and one-half miles 
northeast of Milford. The constituent memljcrs were : Ruchard and Fan- 
nie Johnson, James and Elizabeth Dunn, James and George M. O'Laughlin, 
Mathias and Margaret Mount, Thomas and Elizabeth Jones. The first 
house of worship was erected in 1831, and this remained in use until 1888, 
when the present Ijuilding was erected. It was remodeled in 1909, and is now 
provided with all the modern improvements. The church property is valued 
at three thousand dollars. 

The ministers include the following: John Pavy, J. W. B. Tisdale. 
W. E. Spear, James Pavey, J. W. Potter, A. A. Downey, W. A. Pavey, 
Alonzo Aspy, T. A. Aspy, J- A. Pettit, j. F. Huckleberry, Noah Harper, 
E. C. J. Dickens, M. C. Welch, L. T. Root, D. P. Liston, D. P. Odell, R. 
H. Kent, H. W. Clark, C. B. Jones, and A. A. Kay, the present pastor. 
The clerk is F. L. Sasser, who furnished all the data for the history of the 
church. The church now has a membership of two hundred. A Baptist 
Young People's Union was organized in 1914. 

GREENSBURG BAPTIST CHURCHES. 

According to the early records, the Greensburg Baptist church was 
founded in 1841, by the Rev. Joshua Currier, of Connecticut, sent here by 
the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Prior to his coming, the 
Greensburg Baptists held membership in some of the older churches of the 
denomination in the county. The missionary was a thrifty New Englander 
and both he and his wife were well endiiwed with those attributes necessary 
for success in this particular field. 

From their hillside home on the left of the present entrance to South 
Park cemetery they worked, taught and \'isited for seven years. The church 
was organized July 17, 1841, with eighteen members and united the follow- 
ing month with the Flat Rock association. Eight members were added the 
following year, after which the new church only held its own until 1848, 
when, with thirt}-three baptisms and twelve additions by letter, the number 
of members was raised to ninety-seven. 

Just a little later it suffered a heavy loss through the removal of the 
pastor and several families to Iowa. The next minister was the Rev. M. B. 
Phares, a young college man, who served in 1849-50. Following him came 



238 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Ref. D. G. Heiiston (1853-54), who was also a Franklin College man. Dur- 
ing his pastorate, lire destroyed the meeting house. This building had been 
purchased of the Presbyterians, who had erected a new edifice. The pews 
of this church faced the doors and it was lighted with candles. 

For a time the congregation used the office of Ezra Lathrop for busi- 
ness and prayer meetings. Occasional preaching services were conducted 
in other churches. Plans for rebuilding were laid at once, and the church 
was completed during the pastorate of the Rev. J. W. B. Tisdale (1856-59). 
The basement of the new church was occupied as soon as it was completed. 
Pri\-ate schools were conducted in it for a time, the teachers being James 
Caii'yn and Rev. J. W. Potter. 

The new church was a two-story structure, with thick brick walls and 
heavy stone steps, with iron railings. It was lighted with kerosene and- 
heated with two large stoves. Rev. Harry Smith was the pastor in i860, and 
was followed in 1861 by Rev. M. B. Phares, who had previously served the 
congregation. 

During the an.Kiety and depression of the Civil Wnr. when man)^ of the 
able-bodied members of the congregation were at the front, the Greensburg 
church shared its pastor with the Sand Creek congregation. Rev. Phares 
was unal)le to bear up under the consequent heavy labor antl died before the 
war was o\er. He lies buried in the Sand Creek cemetery. 

Rew Ira C. Perrine, who was also a physician, ser\-ed the church for a 
time and then retired un account of failing health. Upun his death, which 
took place soon after his retirement, the pulpit was supjjlied l)y a number of 
ministers until the coming of Rev. J. Cell, in 1864. He served for two 
years and was followed liy Re\'. L. D. Robinson, who remained for three 
years. During the latter's pastorate there were a number of inno\ations 
introduced into the church, including the introduction of instrumental music, 
a choir, Christmas trees, church socials and other means of supplementing the 
regular church revenues. In this period the church membership was con- 
siderably augmented through additions by baptism and letter. 

Re\'. J. S. Green, who ser\ed the church as pastor for some time, 
alisconded in 1870 after forging the signatures of a number of his par- 
ishoners. He was located in Portlaufl, Connecticut, where he was working 
in a tinware factory. He had formerly preached in a ^Methodist church 
there under another name. He was kept in jail for a time, during which he 
improved his leisure by writing a series of letters to the newspapers. 

The next pastor was Re\". John Chamljers, who remainefl for a vear. 
Then came Rev. ^Y. A. Caplinger, a supply, who conducted a re\i\al with 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 239 

ihe assistance of Re\-. J. Cell, and the heart of the congregation turned to 
the former pastor, who was gladly recalled. He died after a few months' 
service and lies Ijuried in South Park cemeteiy in Greensburg. 

Re\'. B. F. Cavons came in 1870, with his young bride, and remained for 
seven vears, during which the church enjoyed a steady growth. The bap- 
tistry was constructed and other needed improvements added. Hitherto 
baptismal services had been held in Little Sand Creek, usually near Michigan 
avenue and W'ashington street. 

The next pastor was Rev. W. E. Pritchard, who had been trained in 
Spurgeon's London college. He came to the church in 1881. About this 
time agitation was started for the erection of a new church or enlarging the 
old one. The church building then in use was twenty-fi\'e years old, and the 
congregation was much larger than at the date of its erection. No decision 
could be reached and the agitation continued throughout the pastorate of 
Reverend Pritchard and that of his successor, Rev. J. A. Kirkpatrick 
(1885-86). 

Reverend Kirkpatrick devoted his energy to strengthening the body of 
.the church and added many new members. During his ministry the fiftieth 
anniversary of the church was fittingly celebrated. During the tenure -of his 
successor, Re\'. D. W. Sanders, the church united on building- plans, tore down 
the old building and erected the present structure, which was cleared of debt 
after several years of heroic efi^ort. 

Rev. J. B. Thomas was the pastor in 1892, and was followed In- Rew 
\y .W. Smith, who ser\-ed the church with zeal and industry for four years. 
In 1900 Alanford Schuk was called and ordained. He occupied the pulpit 
for a year and then left to continue his studies. His successor. Rev. H. W. 
Davis, served two years. The last four named were students at Franklin 
College and three of them spent their early life in the \icinity of Greens- 
burg. During the pastorate of the Rev. Davis, the pipe organ was in.stalled. 

The next pastor was Re\'. J. Heritage, another English-trained minister. ' 
While he was minister, Mrs. Joseph W}'nn jjresented the church with an 
individual communion set. He was followed in turn b}' Re\-. J. F. l*"razer, 
Re\-. J. F. Fradenburg, and Re\-. J. A\'. Clevenger, the present minister, who 
took the pulpit in 1914. 

In its history of three-f|uarters of a century the Greensliurg Baptist 
church has had twenty-four pastors, two of whom were recalled to the pulpit. 
There were times when the pulpit was filled by supplies, liut, for the most 
part, services ha\-e been regular since the organization of the church. 

A number of Baptist ministers have spent tlieir last years in (ireens- 



240 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

burg and have added considerably to the power of the church. Among them 
have been Rev. J. W. B. Tisdale, S. M. Stimson, D. D. ( for twenty-five 
years secretary of the Foreign Mission Society), Rev. T. J. Connor, Rev. 

F. M. Huckelberry, Rev. Alexander Connoley, Rev. C. M. Phillips and Rev. 

A. D. Berry, who brought the office of the Baptist Observer to Greensburg 
for a time. 

The first license to preach was granted by the Greensburg church to 
Thomas Edkinsom, one of the constituent members. Dyar M. Christy was 
given a license in the late sixties, and he preached until his death, twenty- 
five years later. E. Hez Swem, who was the third sent out, has spent a use- 
ful quarter of a century in ^^'ashington, D. C. Three ministers have been 
ordained b\' the church. Rev. Manford Schuk, Rev. William LeMasters and 
Rev. O. A. Bowman. 

A few legacies have been left the church. Ezra Lathrop bequeathed 
it fifteen hundred dollars, and Mahalla Ragan and ^Ir. and ]\Irs. Joseph 
Wynn left it one thousand dollars. The church has been host to the Indiana 
Baptist state convention four times: 1861, 1868, 1878 and 1913. It has 
entertained delegates and messengers from the churches of the Flat Rock 
association three times, in 1866, 1889 and 1913. 

The first clerk of the church was Jabez Edkins. Z. A. Withrow is 
reported as occupying that office in 1852. Among those who held the office 
during long terms of years were J. N. Shirk, F. C. Eddleman, R. T. Wright 
and C. W. Woodward. Ezra Lathrop, George Fletcher, George Perrine, 
Isaac N. Shirk and Benjamin Bowers were among the early deacons. The 
following among others have served as church treasurer : Ebenezer Edkins, 
R. T. \Vright, Everet Alarsh, Charles Schuk, C. W. Woodward, Harrington 
Bo}d and Hugh Taylor. 

Some of the Sunday school superintendents ha\-e been I. N. Shirk, W. 

B. Han'cy, Ira Hollensbe, R. T. ^^'right, Charles Williams, Everett Alarsh, 

G. G. Welsh, Herbert West and William G. Bently. ^Nlrs. Elizabeth Johnston 
was a loyal and efficient leader of the primar_\- department for more than 
thirty years. 

The Woman's Missionary Society was organized in 1877, with Mrs. 
Joseph Wynn as president, and women's prayer meetings have been a con- 
tinuous feature of the life of the church. The early meeting places were 
the homes of Mrs. Abi Lathrop, Mrs. T. Edkins or Mrs. Fletcher. For a 
periad of ten years these meetings were held regularly at the home of Mrs. 
J. B. Wheatley. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 24I 



MT. PLEASANT BAPTIST CHURCH. 



The members of the Baptist church H\ing in the southern part of Jack- 
son township met at the home of James Blankenship on the third Saturday 
of February, 1835, and organized the Mt. Pleasant church. The constituent 
members had been attached to the Bear Creek church, in Bartholomew 
county, before this time. They numbered ten, as follows : William T. Strib- 
bling, Achsa Stribbling, John Chambers, Elizabeth Chambers, John Graham, 
Eliza Graham, James Blankenship, Mary Blankenship, Maiy Chamliers and 
Catherine Eli. At the home of John Chambers the new church was reor- 
ganized by the council on February 28, 1835, Bear Creek, Mt. Moriah and 
Vernon being represented in the council. They worshipped in private homes 
for two years, and in 1837 erected a log church, which was supplanted in 
i860 by a brick building. The church has drawn her membership from a 
large territory, with Sardinia as her center. Among pastors of this church 
are the following: Chesley Woodward, William Vawter, John Pavy, Hiram 
Pond, John Stott, Ira Gleason, Alliert Carter, F. M. Huckle1)erry, W. Y. 
Moore and J. C. Nicholson. 

DRY FORK BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Dry Fork church was constituted in February, 1835, at the home 
of Enoch Garrison, with the following constituent members : John Patrick 
and wife, Enoch and Margaret Garrison, Elizabeth and Sarah Patrick, Susan 
Morgan, Rebecca Black and Eleanor Tazewell. For the first six years after 
the organization, the congregation held services in the homes of the mem- 
bers, and then built a rude log church. In 1852, a substantial frame struc- 
ture was erected one-half mile south of Newburg in Jackson township. The 
pastors of this church include the following: A. Leach, John Vawter, James 
Blankenship, ^Villiam Moore, G. W. Pavey, Evan Snead, G. W. Patrick, 
Absolom Pavey, James Pavey, Joab Stout, B. Denham, Hugh McCalip, W. 
E. Spears, F. M. Huckleberry, John W. Potter and Albert Carter. Dry Fork 
is the mother of the churches of Westport and Mt. Aerie (Letts). 

WESTPORT BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Westport church is an arm of the Diy Fork church and was organ- 
ized January 4, 1851, with twenty-three members, as follows: Richard 
(16) 



242 DECATUR COUNTY, IXDIAXA. 

Childers, Benjamin Childers, Elizabeth Childers. James Hamilton, John Bnck, 
Lewis T. Scott. Catherine Shields, Susan Morgan and sixteen others, whose 
names have not been preserved. The formal organization was in charge of 
a council from Mt. Pleasant, Dry Fork and Sand Creek churches. A Ijuild- 
ing, erected in 1852, is still in use. The pastors of the church include the 
following: Hiram Pond, G. W. Patrick, Joab Stout, Hiram Christie, J. W. 
Reynolds, G. W. Herron, Benjamin ^^'ilson, Jonathan Allee, \V. E. Spear, 
John Waters, John Stott, J. C. Remy and .\. A. Kay. 

ROSSEURG BAPTLST CHURCH. 

The Rossburg church was estalilished on March i, 185 1, hv a council 
re]M-esenting the churches of Pipe Creek, West Fork, Delaware and Napoleon. 
The charter members were as follow : James Alexander, \\"illiam W. Hol- 
lensbe, John F. Hollenshe, James Updike, Andrew J. Martin, San ford Stapj), 
.A.ll)ert I. Osborne, Rev. Sylvester Ferris and seven others. The pastors 
have been Sylvester Ferris, J. C. Perrine, Enoch Tilton, James W. Lewis, 
James ^I. Smith, Obediah Alartin, Horace Wilson, Spear, Simms, Frank 
Level, J. W. Tisdale, George W^ BoAvers, Alexander Connelly and W. O. 
Beatty, the |)resent pastor. 

The Rossburg church, in its existence up to 1915, perhaps had its palm- 
iest days in the period from 1860 to 1890. It was during this period that 
George Washington Bower, who served the Rossburg church as |)astor much 
of the time from 1864 mitil 1913, was in the \igor of life and action and the 
church in its youth and power. .Since t8qo, or thereabouts, a miticeafile 
decrease in the activity of the church has come about due to the removal of 
man\- members and families from the church community and the age and 
feebleness of older memliers. 

Since 1890, howexer, much excellent work has been done periodically 
at Rossburg and, continuing through this later period, many souls have been 
converted, under the ministry of Reverend Bower and others, to the Christian 
life; so that faithful hearts and hands have kept sacred to ser\-ice the meeting 
house where once the pioneer pastor of the earh' da}^ proclaimed the Gospel 
of truth, and where, at the memorable little pulpit, many an erring, though 
good and precious soul, was led forward, born again, into the new and true 
life of the Redeemer. 

One of the older members of this church, writing of it in 1915, said : "In 
the period from 1860 to 1890 many a time, aufl man\' a time, ha\'e I seen such 
large crowds attend church ser\-ices at Rossburg that all could not get in the 




ItKV. (!. W. r.DWF.U AND WIl'K. 



Kevereinl Bciwer \v;is. fm- luMi'Iy forty yt-Mi's. iiMstor of the Itossbiir.L; r'.,i|itist 

Cluurli. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



H3 



cinirch. That was especially so when Bower preached regularly there." But 
in the later period, when Bower continued to minister at Rossburg. the con- 
gregation had become scattered and many old familiar faces he had known, 
were absent. On one occasion when he preached there, not long liefore his 
death, in 191 3, he remarked in the course of his sermon, looking like the 
pictures of \\'hittier, "^ifost of my congregation are out here," as he ])ninted 
to the "silent city," with its "windowless palaces" there on the hill. 

.\nd so it was that tn a large extent the life of George W. Bower 
became the life and history of the Rossburg Baptist church through a long 
period of time. His life in his period with the church was an embodiment of 
the character and life of the church. By his sturdy, powerful preaching and 
honest exam|)le. man}- a person was led through baptism into the new and true 
life. He had much to dcj with the religious integrity of eastern Decatur 
county for half a century. 

George W. Bower was born in .\dams township, Ripley countv, Indiana, 
September 29, 1836, and died on February 19, 1913. He received what 
education he had in the commop schools and taught during eleven terms of 
common school. He married Nancy ^tliller, March 17, 1861, who was always 
a faithful helpmate in her husband's work at Rossburg. Mr. Bower was 
"born again" in February, 7864, and united with the Pipe Creek Baptist church. 
He was baptized by Rev. James M. Smith, March 16, of the same }-ear. He 
was chosen su]ierintendent of the Sunday school in March, 1864, and served 
in that position for three }-ears. On July 2"/, 1867, the church licensed him to 
preach. He preached his first sermon on Sunday, December 16, 1866, at his 
home church, his text being John 3:14-15. He was ordained on December 
27, 1868, by his home church, at the request of the Franklin church, at 
Pierce\ille, Indiana, which had called him as pastor for one-fourth time. His 
longest pastorate was at Rossburg and Pipe Creek churches. He preached at 
Elkhart for twenty years; at Hogan Hill, thirteen years;, at Hopewell, seven 
years; Tngar Creek, six years: Washington, six years: and at other churches 
from one to four years. He was a mem1)er of the Baptist state con\-ention 
board for several years, when the members were elected by the associations. 

.\ summary of his work follows: Regular sermons preached, 5,675; 
funeral sermons, 478: whole number of sermons preached, 6,153: marriages 
solemnized, 204: number l)aptized, 588. He gave UK.ire time to Rossburg 
than to any other one church, .\nyone who met him never failed to be 
impressed by his lofty, though kind and simple, puritan character : b\- his 
honest}-, bis integritv, his strength of will and his moral and spiritual power. 
His works li\e on and on in this church he ser\-ed. 



244 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The officers of the cliurch in 1915 were: Trustees, .\lfred yi. Hooten, 
Forest Higdon, David Aiartin: clerk, Mrs. Emma Gwinn: treasurer, Forest 
Higdon. 

MT. AERIE (LETTS) B.A.PTIST CHURCH. 

Mt. Aerie churcli was organized in the latter part of 1872, as an arm of 
Dry Fork, the organization following the establishment and successful 
career of a Sunday school at that point. A revival was held in the early part 
of 1874, during, which forty-three members were added to the church. This 
meeting was under the direction of John W. Potter, who was then pastor of 
the Dry Fork church, and aroused so much interest that a request was made 
for an independent organization. This was granted, and, on Thursday, 
April 23, 1874, the Mt. Aerie church formally began its career. At the time 
of its recognition by the council, August 29, 1874, it enrolled sixty-si.x mem- 
bers, among whom may be mentioned Allen W. and Sarah R. Lett, James 
Fowler, G. T. and IMary J. Davis, Rachel Davis, John and Ruth Holmes, 
Chesley Holmes, John S. and Sarah J. Adams, S. H. and Nancy Tiiompson, 
J. H. Stout, John W. Stout, Andrew Alexander, Emaline Brunton and John 
Hunter. The pastors of this church have been John W. Potter, .-\lbert Carter, 
John E. McCoy, W. W. Smith, J. O. Burroughs, E. Sanford. H. W. Da\-is, 
Chesley Holmes, J. F. Huckleberry, J. E. Smith, A. D. Berry, W. F. Roberts, 
W. F. Wagner, B. R. Robinson and W. C. Marshall, the present pastor. A 
substantial brick building a half mile from Letts, was built the same year the 
church was organized and was surmounted by one of the largest bells e\'er 
brought into the county. This is one of the strongest rural Baptist churches 
in Indiana, and now has a memljership of three hundred and twenty-five. 
An active Sunday school, with an average attendance of one hundred and 
fifty, is maintained. The parsonage is in the town of Letts and is valued at 
two thousand dollars, the value of the church building and grounds being 
estimated at ten thousand dollars. The pastor is paid a yearly salary of nine 
hundred dollars. A well-kept cemetery adjoins the church and there lie hun- 
dreds of the members of the church who ha\e helped to make it one of the 
strongest influences for good in the community. 

The present ofiicers of the Mt. Aerie church are as follow : Pastor, 
W. C. Marshall; deacons, Albert Holmes, Albert Rowland, Charles Bridges, 
William Feur, Kenneth Levering and Alfred Beagle; trustees, M. B. Tay- 
lor, Urso McCorkle, N. E. Moore, John Jackson and Charles Bridges. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 245 

UNION BAPT[ST CHURCH. 

The history of the Union church dates back ninety years, since it was 
established in 1825. It was brought into existence through the labors of 
Elder Matthew Elder, who succeeded in getting it organized on June 18, 
1825, at the old Ross school house, three and one-half miles east of 
Greensburg". It appears that this church was not exactly an orthodox Baptist 
church; at least, it was started out as the "Separate Baptist church," but just 
what is meant by the unusual iirefix is not known. Although it was organ- 
ized in 1825, it was more than a cjuarter of a century before a building was 
erected for a house of worship, services being held in school houses and pri- 
vate homes previous to 1854. The first building of 1854 was torn down in 
i8^8, and rel)uilt four and one-half miles southwest of Greensburg. The 
church was recognized as a Missionary Baptist church on August 10, 1876, 
under the name of Union Baptist church. Matthew Elder was pastor of 
the church for more than forty years, and since the church has been recog- 
nized by the regular Baptists, the following ha\e served : J. W. Hammock, 
J. \V. Potter, \\'. T. Jolly, Ephraim Bond, John E. McCoy, W. W. Smith, F. 
M. Huckleberry, T. A. and Lotus Aspy, J. E. Smith, O. L. Powers, J. G. 
Colter, D. C. Smith, C. E. Odell, and J. C. Nicholson, the present incumbent. 
The church has one hundred and sixty members at present and has ninety 
enrolled in the Sunday school. 

ROCK CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH. 

The Rock Creek Baptist church, also known as Lower Union, was estab- 
lished in September, 1825, with the following constituent members: Jacob, 
Sarah. Daniel, Ann. Robert and Clara Van Dusen and Ephraim,' Anna and 
Cornelia Althiser — a total of nine, representing only two families. The 
records of the first twenty-one years have long since disappeared and little is 
known of the early struggles of this congregation. The church was first 
organized in a school house near Zenas, Jennings county, Indiana. Some 
of the members lived there, but the majority living on Rock Creek, four miles 
northwest, in Decatur county, it was the intention to build a church at the 
latter place. The meetings were held in Jacob Van Dusen's home most of 
the time up to 1850, in which year the congregation built a log meeting house 
on Rock creek, three miles southeast of Westport. In 1859 they sold their 
building for fifty dollars and for the next two years met in a school house 



246 DECATl'R COUNTY, INDIANA. 

three miles suuthwest t)f Alillhuusen. In 1862 tlie churcli, with (itlier denom- 
inations whose names have not been ascertained, buik a union meeting house 
on the present site. "This same church is now used alternately by both the 
Baptists and the United Brethren in Christ. 

When this church was first (organized tliere was no association within 
reach, so this church, with others, formed the "Baptist Liberty Council." 
John Pavy, the first pastor, and other ministers of the denomination living 
in [•ventucky. were Ijitterh- opposed to slavery, and, accordingly, moved to 
Indiana. They formed this council and maintained it for several years. In 
1843 the Rock Creek church was attached to the Madison association, but a 
few years later it became a part of the Sand Creek association, with which it 
has been affiliated down to the in'esent time. Inability to find the records has 
made it impossible to give a complete list of the pastors wdio have served this 
congregation, but the following are known to have preached there at one time 
or another : John Pavy, John Bush, William Tyner, John \\'arren. Chesley 
Woodward, Benjanun Tucker, Hiram Pond. Christian Burkman, Xathan 
Frazy, Jacob Martin, George Herron, D. O. Sites (1866-69). John \\'aters 
(1869-71), Jonathan .-\llee and John Waters (called a second time). This 
list brings the pastors up to sometime in the seventies, but no list has been 
furnished of those down to the present pastor, P. A. Bryant. 

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES. 

Founders of the Kingston Presbyterian church, parent of other churches 
of this denomination in Decatur county, were descendants of Covenanters, 
and so, by ancestry, Presbyterian as far back as there is any record. Their 
parents emigrated from western Pennsylvania to Kentucky, where they 
founded the Concord Presbyterian church in 1792. 

In 18 1 7 this church had two hundred members, l.nit one of whom was 
a slave owner. Many were active abolitionists. Such a band could have 
no true home in a slave state. In 1821-1823 a number of families from this 
church settled in the Kingston neighborhood and organized the church there, 
presumably on December 18, 1823. 

The entr}- on the did luinute Ixiok reads: "This day ... a num- 
ber of persons . . . came forward after sermon by the Re\'. John 
Moreland, and associated themsehes together as a Presbvterian church, to 
be denominated Sand Creek church, and proceeded to chose Samuel Donnell, 
John Hopkins, John C. ]\IcCoy and William O. Ross to the office of ruling 
elder." 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 24/ 

A year later, Rev. John Dickey, an able pioneer preacher, visited the 
church, installed the elders, received fifty persons who presented letters into 
membership, baptized eleven children and conducted a two-day meeting. 
Preaching' ser\'ices were held but once a year until iS^Cj, when a new church 
was established with twelve nieniljers at Greensburg, and the Rew S. G. 
Lowry, who was selected as minister for the Sand Creek church. He was 
succeeded in 1833 b}- the Re\". Jnhn Weaver. 

Presbyterian ministers of the early days received very modest remu- 
nerations. The follnwing is quoted from the old minute book of the Sand 
Creek church : 

"On settlement with Robert 15. Donnell and James Thomson, collectors 
for the Sand Creek congregation, the sum of $572.93 ;;4 has been received in 
discharge of the pecuniary obligation of the call which I hold from said 
congregation up to the beginning of the year January, 1829. The deficit of 
$27.0634 is hereby relinquished to the credit of said congregation, so that this 
instrument shall be considered a clear receipt for three years up to January i, 
1829. 

"\\'itness my hand, this oth day of January, 1830. 

"Samuel G. Lowry." 

It is probably not an uncharitable reflection upon the benevolence of the 
minister, considering the meagerness of his salary, to credit the ]3elief that 
probably the reason he relinquished the deficit was because the resources 
of the collectors were exhausted. 

Two years later, political differences, destined later to rend the nation, 
begin to make their presence felt in the Sand Creek church. Refractory mem- 
l)ers were frequentlv admonished, and frequent complaints for slander show 
that there was a great deal of heated controversy going on. The "irre- 
pressible conflict" was rising in the church. In 1837 matters reached a crisis, 
and the church split, thirty-seven members withdrawing March 13, to found 
what is now the Kingston Presbyterian church. The insurgents were 
abolitionists, opposed to the course of the general assembly upon the slavery 
question. Although the weaker body in numbers, the new church li\-ed and 
the old one died. After the war, the few remaining members of the Sand 
Creek church united with the Kingston congregation. 

Upon their withdrawal, finding themselves outside the Presbyterian fold, 
the thirty-se\-en insurgents sought shelter in a Congregational church until 
1840, when the}' built a small frame structure, which was later transformed 
into a school house. Later the Congregational congregation was absorbed. 



248 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Tlie third edifice to be erected by the denomination was a frame build- 
ing and stood in front of what is now the school yard. It was not so large 
as the brick building erected by the congregation in 1836, but the ceiling 
was higher and the windows larger. After lieing used as a church for tweh'e 
years, it was turned over to the township for use as a school. 

Two of the largest subscriptions made for construction of the old brick 
church were by Samuel and James Hamilton. Contracts for building it 
were let bv competitive bidding, the contractors starting at a sufficiently high 
sum and bidding down. The lirick-making contract was bid in for a sum 
close to five hundred dollars. 

Until the coming of Rev. Benjamin Franklin, in 1S47, the church was 
supplied by the following ministers: Benjamin Xyce, M. H. Wilder, Charles 
Chamberlain, Boram, Campbell and Jonathan Cable. The Rev. Franklin 
was an English missionary who had lieen stationed in the \\'est Indies. 
The reverend gentleman found some of the customs of the male members 
of his congregation decidedl\- new, especially toljacco chewing. During his 
pastorate the Clarksburg church was organized. 

Re\-. Benjamin Nyce again became the pastor of the church in 1850. 
During his ministry the Free Presbyterian church, which excluded slave 
owners and was opposed to secret societies, was formed. As this bodv repre- 
sented the most extreme anti-sla\'ery element, the Kingston church gladly 
united with it. 

"We cannot resist the conviction that this \\-orth_\- bod}- of reformers 
contained a good many cranks, and Kingston had its full share both of min- 
isters and members," says Cammilla Donnell, in writing of the church at 
that place. "But our fathers were happily unconscious of the word. They 
went on their way regardless of the ridicule and the prejudice of the outside 
world, with temperance and abolition written on their door posts, reading 
and circulating abolition books and papers, running with great success their 
Iiranch of the 'underground railroad,' voting the most extreme reform tickets, 
and doing their humlile best to turn the w^rld upside down." 

Rev. Daniel Gilmer became the church's minister in 1854, serving for 
three years. He was succeeded by Rev. William Gilmer, of Cincinnati, said 
to have been a brilliant talker and a most persuasive borrower. Many good 
stories are told concerning him. 

Erection of a fourth church building was started in 1854. ^Vhile the 
frame of the structure was lieing raised, there was an accident caused by the 
carelessness of the builder, the timbers collapsed and several members of 
the congregation were batll_\' injured, two of them being cripjiled for life. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 249 

Funds for the construction of this building were raised by direct assess- 
ment, each member being taxed according to the amount of property he pos- 
sessed as set forth in the records of the county treasurer. Only a few. it is 
said, objected to paying the full amount of their assessments. 

The next minister was Rev. A. T. Rankin, who served the church from 
i860 to 1890. During his long pastorate the parsonage was built, land was 
added to the original tract, large bequests were received, a cemetery fund 
was raised, and, finally, the present beautiful building was erected. Suc- 
ceeding pastors have been as follows : J. A. Liggett, Harry Nyce, R. A. 
Bartlett, C. R. Adams, W. F. Scoular, W. E. Hogg, and H. M. Campbell, 
who has been the pastor of the church since November 20, 19 13. 

The Kingston church has given for furtherance of the Gospel the follow- 
ing missionaries : Thomas Ware, Andrew Jack, Edward Adams, Annie 
Adams Baird, Hamilton Henry, Eva Rankin, Rose Rankin, Jean Rankin and 
Hannah Evans. It has also furnished the following ministers : Harrison 
Thomson, Wallace Thomson, John Harney, S. H. Darvin, Austin Thomson, 
Eberle Thomson, Theophilis Lowry, George 'D. Parker, T. D. Bartholomew, 
E. A. Allen, Harry Nyce, Benjamin Nyce, Edward Adams, H. B. Hamilton, 
Emmett Robison, with three colored ministers, A. J. Davis, Thomas Ware 
and Peter Prim. 

Today the Kingston church occupies a proud place in the annals of 
Decatur county Presbyterianism. Seed planted by the descendants of the 
Covenanters has multiplied beyond their utmost expectations, and strong con- 
gregations have sprung from the loins of the parent church. Its influence 
has grown wider in extent with each succeeding year. 

Hanover College was organized in the old log meeting house, and its 
pastor was made a trustee of the institution ; Harrison Thomson became a 
member of its faculty, one Donnell finished and furnished the college chapel 
and another endowed a professorship. Dr. A. T. Rankin, the grand old 
man of this church, dedicated the chapel. 

Said Doctor Rankin, on the thirtieth anniversary of his pastorate : 
"AVhat would Indiana, or the United States, or the world have been, with- 
out Hanover? .Vnd what would Hanover have been without Kingston? 

"Kingston furnished Bloomington a professor and the Louisville Courier 
Journal its greatest editor (John Harney). The first pastor of this church 
held the stake Carnahan drove to mark the place where Wabash College was 
built, and that Thomson who managed its finances so admirably for so many 
years, professed faith in Christ here. How far-reaching and great the 
influence of the church organized in a log cabin seventy-five years ago!" 



250 DECATUR COUNTY, IXDIAXA. 

THE GREEXSBURG PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

As previously stated, the Greensburg clmrch was organized, Xovember 
20, 1826, following- the dismissal of twel\-e members from the Sand Creek 
church, who were charged with the responsibility of starting a second Pres- 
byterian church in Decatur county. All of them li\ed in the neighborhood 
of Greensburg. The charter members of this church were Thomas Hen- 
dricks, Robert Thorne, Lydia Thorne, Martha L. Mars, James Loomis. 
Phoebe Loomis, Benjamin Antrobus, Polly Antrobus, David Gageby, William 
O. Ross and Elizaljeth R. Ross. The last three men named were the first 
elders. The first new memlier received was Mrs. Jane Warriner. 

Family names of these pioneers no longer appear upon the church 
records, but in a few instances female descendants of some of these original 
meml.)ers are now holding meml)ership in the Greensl)urg church. Re\'. 
Samuel Lowry was the first minister, gi\'ing one-fourth of his time for more 
than four years to the infant church. The next pastor was the Rev. James 
R. \Vheelock, a missionary of the American Home Missionary Society. He 
served from 1830 to 1833, an<l in that period added forty-fi\e memliers to 
the church. 

Revs. Samuel Hunl, A\'ells Bushnell and John S. Weaver ministered 
in succession for short [jerinds each until 1838, when Rev. Josepli G. Monfort 
became pastor of the Sand Creek and Greensburg churches. The latter now 
numbered sixty-three members. During his ministrv the schism which rent 
the church into the Old and New Schools extended to Greensburg and 
eighteen meml)ers withdrew to form a new church. During his Umr vears" 
stay one hundred and twenty-four new members were received. 

Upon his departure, fifty-two members of the Greensburg church were 
dismissed to found a new church at Forest Hill. His successor for a two- 
year period was the Re\-. Joseph B. Adams. During his pastorate, memlier- 
ship in the church dwindled to fifty-two and the Rev. Monfort was again, 
in 1844, called to the pulpit. His acceptance was conditioned upon the 
reunion of the Old and New School churches, which was happily accom- 
plished. His second term of ser\-ice lasted fen' ten years, after which he left 
to become editor of the church publication at Cincinnati. 

Doctor Monfort was succeeded by his father, Rev. Francis Monfort. 
Rev. Charles Axtell, Dr. Josej^h Warren and then liy Rev.- David Monfort. 
His pastorate commenced in 1858 and lasted until 1867. It was liroken for 
two years, when the Reverend IMonfort left his church to serve as chaplain 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 25 1 

in the Union Arnu". I )urin,L;' tliis period the ]nil])it was fiUed b\' Rev. Ben- 
jamin Nyce. Re\'erend Alonfort was a learned man, Ijut extremely absent- 
minded. He would often ride for miles upon a country road, meeting many 
of his friends without recognizing any of them. 

In 1868, RcA'. J- C. Irwin accepted a call and remained until 1874. He 
was considered by many to be one of the most instructive preachers of his 
day. During his pastorate, the parsonage was built. The pulpit was \acant 
until 1876, when Rey. G. R. Alden began his pastorate. It was marked by 
two impnrtant e\ents, a highl}- successful re\'ival and a fire which destroyed 
the church ])uilding. During his pastorate, for the first time the voice of a 
woman was heartl in prayer meeting. Before this, the Greensburg Presby- 
terians had given strict heed to the Pauline injunction regarding the silence 
of women in churches, deeming it of perpetual force. Today, without their 
assistance, Presbyterian prayer meetings might often relapse into the cjuiet 
of a Quaker meeting. 

Dr. Robert Sloss became pastor of the church in November, 1879, and 
during his stay the present church building was crjmpleted. He continued 
as pastor until his death in 1895. He was followed by Rev. William Tor- 
rence ( 1886-1891 ), Rev. R. G. Roscamp ( 1892-1894), Rev. J. V,'. Parker, 
Rev. Robert Bartlett. Rev. Robert Dunaway and Dr. W'alter H. Reynolds, 
whose pastorate commenced in 1908. 

From its very beginning, almost, the church has enjoved a steady and 
healthy growth. Organized with twehe memlaers, it had risen in the lapse 
of a quarter century to about two hundred. After fifty years there were two 
hundred communicants. In its se\'enty-fifth year it had four hundred and 
fifty-three members. 

The church has erected three houses of worship. The first was upon 
the site of the present Baptist church .and was sold to that congregation. The 
second was upon the site of the present building. It burned down in 1876, 
the fire starting by accident while a social gathering was being held. After 
a year of discussion, it was decided to erect a new liuilding rather than 
rel)uild the old. The new church was dedicated ]\Iarch 30, 1878, free of 
debt. In 1896 extensi\e alterations were made, a debt lifted and a pipe 
organ installed. 

The congregation has ne\er recei\ed large gifts or legacies, l)ut has 
been dependent u|)on itself. Thomas Montgomery bequeathed the church 
one thousand dollars in 1874, to Jje invested for a permanent income, and 
in 1S83 Misses lumice and Elizabeth Hendricks ga\'e their homestead to 
the church for an "Old Ladies Home." This use of the building not pro\- 



252 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ing practical, its rental was applied to poor relief until, with consent of the 
donors, the building was sold in 1894. 

Harrison House bequeathed the church six hundred and sixty-one 
dollars in 1893, and two years earlier George Carson left the church one 
thousand, four hundred dollars, the interest of which could be used in con- 
ducting a mission Sunday school in Greensburg. The Carson Memorial 
mission was opened a year later and the church supplements, as may be neces- 
sar\', the income from the legacy. An industrial school for girls, a history 
class for boys and a sewing circle for women are maintained b_\- this mission. 

Besides an active Sunday school, there are a number of other church 
organizations. There is a Christian Endeavor Society, a \\'omen's Home 
and Foreign Missionary Society and a Ladies' Aid Society. 

No passing creeds and isms have found expression in the pulpit uf this 
church. The church has resolutely stood for the whole Bible and for Pres- 
byterian standards, when understood as its correct interpretation. For many 
years it has ranked second or third in the Whitewater presbytery in numer- 
ical strength. 

On July 3, 1907, a violent windstorm toppled over part of the heavy 
tower, which crashed through the auditorium, almost wrecking the build- 
ing. For a time it was thought that it would be necessary to construct a new 
church, as architects and structural engineers declared that the structure 
was damaged beyond all hope of repair. It was later found that the founda- 
tions and portions of the walls were intact and the building was partially 
reconstructed. A new heating plant was installed, new walks laid and other 
improvements made, which, with the reconstruction of the building, cost the 
congregation eighteen thousand dollars. The rebuilt church was dedicated 
with appropriate ceremonies, May 9, 1909. While the building was being 
repaired, the congregation met in the G. A. R. hall and later in the church 
basement. 

The old church, built in 1845, which burned down, was at various times 
used in part as a school and postoffice, and later Doctor Cook had his office 
in it. While the postcjffice was located in the church, yeggmen blew the safe 
and made away with a small amount in stamps and coin. 

Dr. \Valter Hunter Reynolds, the present pastor, is the son of A. J. 
Re_\-nulds, a Presbyterian minister. He was born in Cincinnati, educated 
in Wooster College and received his theological training in IMcCormick 
Seminary, Chicago. He was given the pulpit of the River Forest church of 
Chicago upon completing his theological course and later became assistant 
pastor of the Third Presbyterian church of Chicago, which has a large con- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 253 

gregation. Before coming to Greensburg, he had charges at Marion, Iowa, 
and Omaha, Nebraska. 

CLARKSBURG PRESBYTKRIAN CHURCH. 

The minute book of the Clarksburg Presljyterian church gives the fol- 
luwing account of the organization of that church : 

"Clarksliurg, Indiana, May 20th, 1848. 

"At the time and place above written. Rev. James McCoy, acting as a 
committee of the presbytery of Indianapolis, organized into a church of 
Christ at their own request and as such set apart by prayer the following 
brethren and sisters, all of whom were recommended as members in good 
standing of the Presli^'terian church, viz — 

"Robert Mitchell and Barbary Mitchell, his wife; Robert M. Stout and 
Polly Ann Stout, his wife; Jackson G. Lowe and Polly Jane Lowe, his wife; 
James Donnell, Thomas Donnell and Mary Donnell, his wife; Euphemia 
Donnell. Euphemia Braden, Angeline Donnell, Cassender Donnell, Susan 
Donnell and Ruth Jane Braden. 

"On motion the church agreed to be known by the name of the Clarks- 
burg Presbyterian church and the church proceeded to elect two ruling 
elders. Luther .\. Donnell and Robert Mitchell were chosen. After appro- 
priate counsel given to the church by the Rev. James McCoy, the meeting 
closed with prayer by the Rev. Benjamin Franklin." 

Rev. A. I. Rankin was probably the best known minister of this church, 
filling its pulpit for a period of thirty years. He was followed by the fol- 
lowing ministers: Harry Nyce, R. A. Bartlett, C. R. Adams, W. F. Scon- 
lad and the present pastor, Homer M. Campbell. The church now has a 
membership of one hundred and twenty. 

SARDINIA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Sardinia church was established in 1851 l)y the Rev. Joseph Mon- 
fort and, until it was closed in 191 5 and sold to the United Brethren de- 
nomination, exerted a wide influence in that section of the county. The 
church was built upon land donated by John McCormick. B. F. Gaston, 
who is still li\ing, attended the first Sunday school held there. 

Among its charter members were John G. McCormick, Matilda ?klc- 
Cormick, William McCormick, Elizabeth McCormick, James Risley, Sarah 
Risley, Eliza Hankins, James Gregg and Angeline Gregg. C. J. Moore and 



_>54 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIAKA. 

Dver Aloore were later elders in this church. A frame cluirch was built in 
1852 at a cost of eighteen hundred dollars. With the passing years the 
church gradually grew weaker and on February 22, 191 5, sold their building 
to the newly organized United Brethren congregation. At that time there 
were onlv eight memljers left. 

SPRING HILL UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The Spring Hill United Presbyterian church is the only one of this 
denomination in Decatur county and dates back to the early twenties. It 
was not known by this name when it was organized in this county in 1825. 
the present name n(_)t coming into general use until ]May 26, 1858. It was 
formed by the union of the Associate Presbyterian (or Seceder church) 
with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church at the City of Pittsburgh 
on the date above mentioned. This denomination differs from other Pres- 
byterian churches in that their songs of praise to God in pul)Iic and pri\ate 
worship are the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, dictated Ijy the spirit of 
God, known in the Bible as the Book of Psalms. 

When this branch of Presbyterianism was organized at Spring Hill the 
church was named New Zion, in honor of the congregation in Lexington, 
Kentucky, from whence many of the first members came. Their old church 
in Kentucky was known as Zion and by prefixing New to their church in 
Decatur county thev felt that thc\" were honoring their old church. This 
name was retained until 1872 when it was thought advisable to chani^e it 
to Spring Hill. 

The first preaching which the infant society enjoyed was in 182 1 or 
1822, when an associate minister. Reverend Armstrong, stopped over for a 
day while making an overland trip from Illinois to Ohio. The next preach- 
ing was 1)\' Rev. Alexander Porter, then pastor of the Hopewell church, in 
Preble county, Ohio. Among other ministers who preached to the few mem- 
bers of the church pre\-ious to its formal organization in 1825 were Revs. 
John Steel, Hugh Mayne, John Reynolds and S. P. Alagaw. The church 
began its career as an independent congregation on Jul}' 30, 1825, when it 
was established by a committee representing the First presbytery of Ohio. 
Tiiis delegation was composed of Rev. David AIcDill. Sr., Elders John 
Foster and William Caldwell, and Thomas FIenr\'. Sr., who had recently 
settled near Spring Hill. 

At this first meeting William Hood and Nathaniel F'atton, Sr., having 
Ijeen pre\iousIy elected elders, were ordained to the ministry. Jijhn 1^. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIAXA. 255 

Mitchell and his wife, Peggy, who were received on certificate, were the 
first memhers of New Zion church. The first memljers received on examina- 
tion were William Henderson and his wife, Martha, and Nathaniel Lewis. 
When the first communion was celelirated, in 1827, hy Rev. Joseph Clay- 
baugh, the church had a membership of forty. 

The first church building was of hewed logs, was thirty feet square, 
and was thrown up in the fall and winter of 1824. James McCracken and 
Adam and Andrew Rankin ]irepared the logs and these men, assisted by 
Janies R. Patton and William Anderson, "carried up the corners." The 
house was not co\ered until the summer of 1825, at which time a roof of 
poles and split shingles was tied on with that skill which our good fore- 
fathers hajipily possessed. The shingles were rived on the farm of Samuel 
Lewis, near Clarksburg. The roof was -put on under the direction of Will- 
iam Penny. The seats were such as those occupying them chose to make, 
everyone supplying their own, some better and some worse. On these seats 
the patient worshippers could and <lid sit through a two-lmur service in the 
morning antl i.ne nf e(|ual length in the afternoon. 

The lot ( one acre ) on which this first church was erected was deeded 
by Samuel Donnell on January i, 1825, to the trustees of New Zion congre- 
gation, nanielv ; William Hendersnn, Ailam Rankin and James McCracken, 
for the sum of six dollars and fifty cents. The second lot ( two acres) was 
deeded by William and George A. Anderson, on May 11, 1841, to trustees 
William B. Lewis, A. J. Dale and W'illiam Duncan, for a consideration of 
one dollar. 

In 1832 the congregation had increased to such an extent that it was 
deemed necessary to enlarge the builfling. Accordingly, a frame addition 
of twenty feet was added to the nld building by Samuel Henry. In 1837 
a frame church took the place of the old log building. In 1S62 many trees 
were planted around the church b\' W'illiam Anderson and future genera- 
tions have had cause to be grateful for this labor of love on the part of this 
sterling old pioneers. As the _\'ears went 1j\', the congregation became able 
to build a still more substantial church and in 1892 the present beautiful 
brick house of worship was erected at a cost of sixteen thousand dollars. -\ 
parsonage was built in 1871. 

Many of the ablest men of the denominati(jn have served the church 
as pastor and the following list is as complete as the records disclose: 
James Worth, 1830-52; Rev. Walker, 1852-67: Samuel Taggart, 1868 (five 
months); William John.ston, 1871-77; William Ritchie, 1877-79: Alvin 
\'incent, 1880-88; T. H. McMichael, 1890-93; Harry Crawford, 1S93-94; 



256 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Paul Stewart. 1896-1900; Neil Ferguson, 1901-05; W. W. JNIcCall, 
1906-12; Fred Elliott, since 1914. The first settled minister, James Worth, 
severed his connection with the church in 1852 to go with a colony oi set- 
tlers to Oregon. He was a man of unusual attainments, well-grounded in 
doctrine, a good organizer, faithful in the discharge of his duties, a jjatron 
of honesty and uprightness, and to his judicious management and careful 
training the congregation owes much of its success in later years. No 
other minister ever ser\ed the congregation as long and no other left such 
an impress on the church. 

The present ideal of the church is to be in every sense a community 
chiu'ch and the church is now styled the "Spring Hill Community church."' 
The officers are men alive to their responsibilities to the entire community, 
and every organization of the church seeks to minister, rather than to be 
ministered unto. The session is honored by the service of two men who 
have represented Decatur county in the halls of the state Legislature, Jethro 
C. Meek and William J. Kinkaid. The Sabbath school is under the able 
and enthusiastic management of Ezra Kirby and is doing very efficient 
work. The Spring Hill church has furnished to the church at large two col- 
lege presidents, the Re\-. William Johnston, former president of Amity Col- 
lege, of College Springs, Iowa, and the Rev. T. H. McAIichael, of Mon- 
mouth College, Monmouth, Illinois. This congregattion is justly famous 
for its loyalty, its liberality, its sociability, its high ideals of community 
life, and the beautiful location of its meeting house. Its broad Christian 
spirit is well expressed in the public invitation issued l)v the church, "To all 
who mourn and need comfort — to all who are weary and need rest — to all 
who are friendless and want friendship — to all who are homeless and want 
sheltering love — to all who pray and to all who do not, but ought — to ail 
who sin and need a saviour, and to whomsoe\'er will — this church opens 
wide the door and makes a free place, and in the name of Jesus Christ the 
Lord, says 'Welcome.' " 

The present officers of the church are as follow : Alinister, Frederick 
Ellii;)tt; session, William Kinkaid (clerk), Theodore Humphrey. Nathan 
Logan, Robert Donnell, Jethro Meek and Hugh Sparks; treasurer, William 
Kinkaid ; superintendent of the Sunday school, Ezra Kirby ; trusteees, 
Edward Sefton (chairman), Thomas J. Kitchin and Elbert C. Meek. 




Sri:iXi;iIILI, I'KKSBVTKiaAN CHURCH. 




ni.ii sruixciiii.i, I'i;i:shyti:rian cht-i;ch. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 257 



CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. 



The Christian churcli, founded by Thomas Campbell, near Pittsburgh, 
in 1809, and continued by Alexander Campbell, did not take root in Decatur 
county until 183 1, about a year after the movement had taken strength and 
started to spread to all parts of the countr}^ The first church of this 
denomination to be established in this county was at Clarksburg. It was 
organized on November 16, 1831, about ten months before the first Christian 
church at Greensburg was established. 

The history of this denomination in Decatur county was prepared in 
1912 by L. D. Braden, of Greensburg", and is made the authority for most 
of the facts in regard to the church set forth in this volume. The booklet 
was issued on September 29, 1912, in honor of the eightieth anniversary of 
the Greensburg church. 

Madison Evans, in his "Pioneer Preachers of Indiana," gives the fol- 
lowing account of the founding of the church in Greensburg: 

"In the fall of 1832 John O'Kane first visited Rush county, where he 
was employed to evangelize for one year. He and John P. Thompson, of 
Rush county, traveled together over the counties of Rush, Fayette and De- 
catur, being the first at almost every point to publish the doctrine of the 
reformation. When they arrived at Greensliurg, O'Kane rang the court 
house bell and a small audience collected. Thompson preached and one came 
forward to confess the Lord. This was the first evangelistic sermon and the 
first disciple at that place, which is now the center of a powerful influence in 
favor of primitive Christianity. O'Kane followed and three others made 
the good confession. 

"The previous night they preached at a point four miles northwest of ' 
Greensburg and two were added to the saved, one of them, a daughter of 
North Parker, is l)elie\'ed to have ])een the first person who embraced the 
ancient gospel in eastern Indiana. 

"From that point they continued their journey, the people everywhere 
gladly receiving the Word. Though sectarian opposition was strong, and 
there was much ill-feeling toward O'Kane, growing out of his active par- 
ticipation in the presidential campaign, still the disciples were multiplied, 
new churches established, prejudices eradicated and Bible principles incul- 
cated." 

(17) 



258 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

GREENSBURG CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

The date of the sermons preached b\- Thompson and OTCane in Greens- 
burg was proljaljly Sunday, September i. 1832. The First Christian church 
was organized twenty-nine days later in the county seminary, which is still 
standing on South hVanklin street. For two or three years services were 
held at this place and the county court house. For a long time there was no 
resident minister, Init the church was edified by discourses from visiting 
clergymen. In 1836 a permanent meeting place was established in a log 
dwelling on East Alain street, owned Ijy Hugh Sidwell. 

Four years later the congregation had increased in numbers to such an 
extent that a more modern structure was needed. Accordingly a comfort- 
able brick church was erected near the railroad. The church was provided 
with a liell which Cen. James B. Foley had secured from an Ohio river 
steamboat. This ijell was later installed in the spire of the present ciiurch. 

The old building was torn down in 1870, after the present church was 
dedicated. Measured by present-day architectural standards the old church 
left se\-eral things to be desired, but when erected it was considered the last 
word in such structures. 

It was forty feet wide, sixty feet long and designed to accommodate 
two huntlred i)eople. Instead of the conventional spire it had a scjuare three- 
decker steeple which looked as though the buiklers had exhausted their 
supply of material before completing their work. This steeple surmounted 
an o\erhanging roof, supported by four square pillars. 

In these early days a minister schooled in theology was a decided rarity. 
Most of them were men who made a li\-ing for their families following the 
plow ; standing behind the counter or working at the forge. They took their 
pay in articles of wearing apparel and other necessities, promulgating, in 
return, di_)ctrines of faith and salvation. Such a man was Carey Smith, a 
blacksmith, who had been converted through reading "The Christian Bap- 
tist," published by Alexander Campbell. Smith moved to Greensburg from 
Indianapolis in 1833 and preached for three or four years in churches in 
this part of the state. In 1840 he made a tour of the south under the patron- 
age of Alexander Campbell and died in Mississippi the following year. 

The first regular pastor of this denomination at Greensburg was John 
B. New, father of John C. New, who later owned the Indianapolis Journal 
and was appointed consul general to Liverpool in 1889. New moved to 
Greensburg from A'ernon in 1839. At his first meeting his congregation 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 259 

numbered Init thirteen, three of whom were small boys. Undaunted by the 
gloomy outlook, he and his wife remained valiantly at the post and organ- 
ized churches at Antioch, Napoleon, Alilroy, Shelbyville and Alilford within 
the next three years. 

New possessed a wiinderful capacity for work of this nature. In 
groves, barns, dwellings and school houses within a radius of ten miles from 
Greensburg, he preached and e.xhorted daily; often conducting fourteen 
services a week. At the end of his first year he had added seventy-five 
members to the b'irst Christian church of Greensburg and erected a new 
church building at a cost of three thousand dollars. At the end of his pas- 
torate, in 1845, the church had one hundred and fifty members. 

His successor was Jacob Wright, a rough-and-ready minister, who 
preached at Greensliurg, Clarksburg, Milford and Clifty for two years. He 
was the first Christian minister in Decatur county to receive a salary, his 
stipend being three hundred dollars a year. He was an able debater and 
frequently shared the rostrum with other ministers who differed with him in 
matters appertaining to Sunday schools and baptism. 

During Wright's pastorate John O'lvane came back to Greensburg. A 
great concourse was assembled to hear him preach. The aisles were filled 
and crowds were gathered outside at every window. The evangelist was 
warming to his theme of regeneration and repentance when a rotten sleeper 
in front of the pulpit ga\'c way under the unusual weight and the floor 
dropped three feet to the ground. 

The doors swung inward, and in their mad rush for the outside the 
people jammed the doors fast shut. People were tramjaled under foot and 
rolled beneath the seats. Some walked upon seatbacks and jumped through 
windows to security. At last the doors were opened and a grand rush fol- 
lowed, people tearing the clothes off their neighljors' backs in the mad 
scramble. No one was seriously injured. 

BEGINNING OF BUTLER COLLEGE. 

A movement which resulted in the foundation of Butler College was 
started in Greensburg in 1847. -^^ a state convention of the denomination 
held there in that year a resolution was adopted for the establishment of an 
institution of learning of the highest grade. A committee was named to 
make a later report which resulted in the founding of Northwestern Chris- 
tian University at Indianapolis. Later the name of the institution was 
changed to Butler College. 



260 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Other ministers who filled the Greensburg pulpit between 1846 and the 
outbreak of the Civil \Var were Richard Roberts, B. F. Sallee, Thomas 
Conley and Joseph R. Lucas. Rev. D. R. Van Buskirk, who occupied the 
pulpit during war times, was a man of marked ability, serving Decatur 
count}' during this period in the state Legislature, both in the upper and 
lower houses of the General Assembly. He was appointed chaplain of the 
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Lidiana Volunteer Lifantry, 
in 1864. It was during the second year of Van Buskirk's ministry that 
Alexander Campbell came to Greensburg and preached two sermons in the 
old church near the railroad. Campbell was then near the close of his life, 
which he had given to the restoration movement. He was then seventy-four 
years old and his hair was as white as snow. He delivered a notable dis- 
course on "The Great Commission," and charmed the great congregation 
with his affable and engaging manner. 

The Rev. D. R. Van Buskirk was followed in the Greensburg pulpit 
by three other ministers, Carl Starks, John Shackleford and Dr. L. L. 
Pinkerton; then, in 1868, the church decided that a new building was an 
imperative necessity. The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis 
Railroad Company had secured a right of way through Decatur county, in 
1853, and was running its trains just past the old church, the noise of trains 
seriously interfering with the solemnity of the services. 

Some man of exceptional ability was needed as pastor of the church 
for this work and the Rev. D. R. Van Buskirk was once more secured. The 
site of the present church, North Broadway and Hendricks streets, was pur- 
chased from W. H. Hazelrigg and B. W. Wilson and work was started upon 
the erection of an eighteen thousand dollar church, which was dedicated on 
February 20, 1870, by Rev. Isaac Errett. A revival service was held imme- 
diately after the deilication of the church and one hundred members were 
added to the congregation. 

When the Reverend \'an Buskirk left for the second time he was fol- 
lowed in the pulpit by the following ministers: W. P. Aylesworth, 1870-71; 
W. B. Hendryx, 1871-74: U. C. Brewer, 1874-77; S. M. Conner, 1879; 
G. P. Peale. 1880-82; William Bryan, 1883; W. T. McGowan, 1884; M. W. 
Flarkins, 1885-88: W. C. Payne, 1889-91; C, H. Trout, 1891 ; T. M. Wiles, 
1892-94, and U. M. Browder, 1895-96. 

In 1896 the church extended its third call to Reverend A'an Buskirk, 
Avho filled the pul])it until 1901. During this pastorate he repaired the church, 
installed ornamental wooden beams and some beautiful memorial windows. 
His funeral services were held in this church on April 5, 1908. Since this 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 261 

time the church has been ably served by the following ministers : W. D. 
Starr, 1902-04; Thomas B. Howe, 1904; Frank W. Summer, 1905; James 
Mailley, 1905-08; W. G. Johnston, 1908-11; W. J. Cocke, 191 1, and A. 
Homer Jordan, 1912-15. 

The first Sunday school was organized in 1850 and was divided into 
two classes, one for the adult members of the church and one for the chil- 
dren. In the class for men and women considerable stress was laid by the 
teacher, usuallv the minister, upon doctrinal tenets of the church, while the 
younger pupils were likewise given as much instruction in such matters as 
they could well assimilate. 

Modem Sunday-school organization and the international system of 
lessons came in 1872. Now there are departmental superintendents and 
adult, intermediate and primary classes, with large enrollments. The Ladies' 
Aid Society was organized in 1890 with forty members. It conducts a lec- 
ture course each year and makes liberal contributions to the church. Other 
church organizations are the auxiliary of the Christian Women's Board of 
Missions and the Christian Endeavor Society. 

This last named organization had .its inception in 1889 when Dr. A. M. 
Kirkpatrick formed a young people's society. The present society was 
organized in the following year. The following, among others, have served 
the society as president : Grace Dille, Kate Rogers, Brazier Kirby, Nell 
McCune, W. H. Milner, W. E. Kirby, Ruth Robinson, Rosa Davis, Jessie 
Elder and William Stolz. 

CLARKSBURG CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

Antedating the Greensburg church by ten months, the Clarksburg 
church has the oldest congregation of Disciples in Decatur county. It was 
organized on November 16, 1831, with a goodly list of charter members by 
William Goudge at a place two miles east of Clarksburg and named the Salt 
Creek Church of Christ. 

Among the original members of this church were : Absalom Blackburn, 
Samuel McClary, George Parish, Joseph Parish, Elisha Cregan, Samuel 
Githens, John H. Davis, James Davis, William Snelling, Hugh Smothers, 
Joseph York, William Brown, Thomas Anderson, H. Cartmell, Thomas A. 
Bryant, Robert N. Higgins, James Higgins, Samuel Blackburn, Abraham 
Myers, Jesse Barns, Daniel Lewis, John Lowery and Benjamin Goodwin. 

McClary and Davis assisted Goudge in the administration of church 
affairs until 1837, in which year James Conner commenced to preach there. 



262 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Conner left in 1S4J and the chnrch declined until 1849, when it was reor- 
ganized and revived by Jacob Wright as the Clarksburg Christian church. 
For a time services were held in the Clarksburg school house and in 1850 
the congregation built a church of its own. 

^VilliaIn Patterson, Joseph Lucas, Daniel Franklin and uthers filled 
the pulpit until the beginning of the Civil War, after which the pulpit was 
vacant until the war closed. The Sunday school was organized in 1868 and 
nuw has an enrollment of more than one hundred. 

Since the war ended the church has been served by the following min- 
isters : David iMatthews, John S. Campbell, Milton T. Hough, L. D. j\lc- 
Gowan, J. E. Taylor, R. L. Noel, Z. M. Kenady, Charles Salisbury, D. W. 
Campbell, W. L. Folks. C. R. Miller, H. H. Nesslage, John McKee, W. E. 
Payne, E. W. Stairs, H. W. Edwards, T. J. Burke and D. J. Thornton. 
Deaths and removals have worked heavy injury to the old church in the last 
score of years and the congregation now ntimbers less than sevent3'-five 
members. 

WESTPORT CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

The thirtl oldest Christian church now existing in the county is located 
at W'estport. It was organized about 1850 by L. S. Giddings, L. C. Scott, 
their wives and, perhaps, some others. For a time services were held in an 
old log school house in Westport. In the early sixties a frame meeting- 
house was erected, which was used by the congregation until the present 
church was finished in 1912. As late as 1867 the seats used were the old- 
fashioned benches w'ith no backs. The congregation now has a membership 
of one hundred and seventy-five. 

Among the ministers who have filled the pulpit of this church are Will- 
iam Patterson, John A. Campbell, W. M. Gard, H. B. Sherman, Alphonso 
Burns, W. E. Payne, R. B. Givens, M. O. Jarvis and M. R. Scott, the pres- 
ent pastor. 

The church has a flourishing Sunday school, and a Ladies' Aid Society, 
which takes an active interest in the affairs of the church. 

MOWREY CHAPEL. 

The Mil ford Christian church was organized in 1842, flourishing for a 
time and passed out of existence in 1884. Nineteen years later the few 
members left decided to reorganize the church and continue its work. Con- 
tributions were soliciteil for a new church, the old one having been torn 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 263 

down, and the new edifice, built at a cost of two thousand five hundred dol- 
lars, was dedicated in 1904. 

Nelson Mowrey. Decatur countj-'s leading philanthropist, although not 
a member of the church, gave the congregation a substantial sum of money 
and the new building was named in his honor. Rev. Fred R. Davies, of 
Charlestown, was the pastor for a number of years, the church experienced 
a substantial growth and now has a membership of about one hundred. 

This church's predecessor was founded by Milton B. Hopkins, who was 
just then beginning his ministerial career. George King, McClure P^lliott, 
Robert Braden and John H. Braden were some of its charter members. The 
first meetings were held at the home of Mr. Iving. A month later a church 
was built, all laljor and material being donated by members. 

During the period before the Civil War, John B. New, Jacob Wright, 
Richard Roberts and others preached at this place. Following the war J. S. 
Young, William Patterson, James Land, James O. Cutts, John Brazelton 
and I'>ank Talmage occupied the pulpit. In 1874 and 1876 Ivnowles Shane 
and Alfred Elmore held two very successful re\ivals and the membership of 
the church rose past the two hundred mark. 

A few years later interest began to wane and finally in 1884 the church 
was abandoned. The old church, which the early members had Iniilt with 
clumsy axes, was neglected and at last torn down. 

ADAMS CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

The Christian church at Adaius was organized by Jacob Wright in 
1859, with the following charter members: William, Sarah and Elizabeth 
Colwell, Mary Woodward, Joseph and Martha Pleak, Willet and Nancy 
Stark, Jane Johnson, Mary. Clara, William, Parish, Lavina and Belle 
Aldrich, Phoebe and Ephraim Wagner, Thomas Whitaker, Martha Inman. 
Charley Aloor, Elizabeth Bennet, Thomas Johnson and Eliza Pearce. 

Until 1 87 J the congregation met in dwellings and in the old school 
house. In that year a comfortable brick building was erected, which is still 
in use. The church now has seventy members. Ministers during the past 
two decades have been : C. L. Riley, I. B. Grisso, G. H. Brewer, C. G. Can- 
trell, H. B. Sherman, D. R. A'an Buskirk, S. J. Tomlinson, H. M. Hall, 
C. S. Johnson, W. T. McGowan and D. T. Thornton. 



264 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

WAYNESCUKG CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

Elder William Patterson is supposed to have been the hrst minister for 
the W'aynesburg church, which was probably founded in 1855. The church 
occupied a small building until 1877, in which year a better building was 
erected. This building was struck by lightning and burned in 1898. Since 
that time another structure has been erected on the same site. The church 
has a membership of eighty. Among its recent pastors are John A. Camp- 
bell, W. M. Gard, Alphonso Burns, Z. AI. Kenady and Henry Ashley. 

NEWPOINT CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

James Young of Kentucky organized the Newpoint church in the winter 
of 1862 in the old school house at that place. For a time the church flourished 
and then lapsed into inacti\'ity for about seven years. Then interest in the 
church was again aroused and a new building was erected. This edifice was 
dedicated on Christmas Day, 1870, and a revival followed, which resulted 
in ninety-nine additions to the church. Some of the active members at that 
time were Eph W'agoner and wife. Thomas Brown and wife, W. E. Barkley 
and wife; Elizabeth Barkley, Mrs. M. E. Main, William Higdon and wife; 
Airs. J. L. Hilliard, Joel Pennington and wife; Mrs. Thomas Hart,. Mrs. 
Samuel Thomas. Mrs. Rosetta Starks and Mrs. Phillip Lawrence. 

The church udw has mure than one hundred members and has a good 
Sunday school. The following Butler College men have occupied the pulpit 
there: S. R. Wilson, M. T. HofY, J. H. Gavin and C. Goodnight. In 1912 
Rev. William Chappie, of Columbus, conducted a revival which added thirty- 
eight to the church, the second largest number received in its history. 

ST. PAUL CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

Although the youngest church of the denomination in the county, the 
St. Paul Christian church is one of the most active and ranks second numer- 
ically. It was organized on March 2, 1874, at the Union church, with sixty- 
one charter mem])ers. Milton Copeland, James Eishback and ^\'illiam Hann 
were ordained as elders and A. H. Tlrompson, W. H. Walters. O. J. Grubb, 
Henry Lefller, James Hanger, C. A. Pearse, M. A. Leffler and L. A. \"an 
Scyoc were ordained as deacons. 

Ten }-ears later the church building was surrendered to the Lutherans, 
the Christian congregation taking the seats and fixtures. Services and Sun- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 265 

day school were held for a time in the school house and then the congre- 
gation disbanded for lack of a meeting-place. 

In 1888 the church was reorganized and the congregation rented the 
former meeting-place. In 1893 this building was purchased outright from 
the Lutherans. Two years later the old church was rebuilt and was dedi- 
cated with appropriate ceremonies on August 25, 1895. 

Since its organization the church has received more than four hundred 
persons into membership and now has a congregation of two hundred. It 
has an excellent Sunday school and a flourishing Ladies' Aid Society. 

Following are ministers who have been regularly installed by the con- 
gregation of this church : N. A. Walker, Isaac Tomlinson. Charles Salis- 
bury, ^^'alter S. Smith. Charles Riley, Z. M. Kenady, V. G. Carmichael, 
Alphonso Burns, Cloyd Goodnight, James Conner, J. L. Roberts, Perry 
Case, E. W. Stairs, R. H. Webb, A. Burns, Clarence Reidenbach, Stanley 
Selleck and George E. Beatty. The latter took charge of the church in 
February, 1914, but was compelled to resign in December of the same year, 
on account of ill health. The Sunday school, under the superintendency of 
Ora Pearce, has an average attendance of forty-five. Mrs. Courtney 
Kanouse is president of the Ladies" Aid Society. 

DISCONTINUED CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. 

Four churches of this denomination, founded in Decatur county during 
the past four decades, have passed out of existence. Antioch church, founded 
by John B. New in 1840, disbanded in 1875. Union Chapel, ten miles south 
of Greensburg, went down in 1880 after an existence of thirty years. A 
church started at Mechanicsburg in 1865 lasted fifteen years. The Clifty 
church, founded about 1840, ended its career in 1875. 

UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 

The United Brethren in Christ came into existence at Lancaster, Penn- 
sylvania, in the year Washington was inaugurated President. In that year 
William Otterbein and Martin Boehm, German nunisters of the Reformed 
and Mennonite churches, respectively, first used the term United Brethren 
in Christ and the church may be said to have started that year. In this event- 
ful year there was a great religious awakening in Pennsylvania and large 
union services were held at various places. One night, in the barn of one 
Thomas Newcomer, in Lancaster, Martin Boehm preached a powerful 



266 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

sermon aiifl, as soon as he was through. William Otterbein, who had never 
heard him preach before, and, in fact, had never seen him before this par- 
ticular night, walked up to him and greeted him thus : "W'e ought to be 
'United Brethren in Christ," for the doctrine which you have just preached 
is also my firm belief." Thus did the church come into existence. The first 
annual conference was held in 1800 and from that day forward the church 
has enjoyed a steady growth. The stronghold of the church is in the state 
of Ohio. There are five churches of the denomination in Decatur county at 
the present time : St. Omer, l*"redonia, Alapleton, Lower Union and Sardinia. 

FREDONIA CHURCH. 

The Fredonia church is located a mile and a half south of Westport 
and dates its beginning from the earl_\- forties. The early records of the 
church are not available, but from one of the oldest residents of the com- 
munity the following facts have been gleaned. Felix Boicourt and his two 
children, Catherine and Absalom, started the church and for many years the 
meetings were held in their home. A school house later was used until such 
a time as the little congregation was able to liuild a log church. Later a 
frame house of worship was erected, which, with improvements from time 
to time, is still in use. H. W. White is the present pastor and has a flour- 
ishing congregation of one hundretl and thirty members. The Sunday 
school, under the superintendency of R. E. Mattix, has an average attend- 
ance of forty. Mrs. Elsie JMattix is president of the Christian Endeavor; 
Mrs. Iveuben Ford is at the head of the Ladies' Aid Society, while Mrs. 
H. W. White is the directing spirit of the Woman's Missionary Society. 

MAPLETON CHURCH. 

The Mapleton United Brethren church, which dates from about 1850, 
is situated two and a half miles northeast of Westport. The Boicourt family 
— David Boicourt and wife and George Boicourt and wife — were chapter 
members. Like its sister church at Fredonia, it first worshipped in private 
homes until such a time as it was in a position to erect a separate house of 
worship, b'or many years the church was locally known as the Horse Shoe 
Bend church. The present pastor is H. W. White. The heads of the differ- 
ent auxiliaries of the church are as follow: Sunday school, L. E. Jessup; 
Ladies' Aid Society, ]Mrs. Emma Skinner. There are now one hundred and 
ten active members. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 26/ 



LOWER UNION CHURCH. 



The United Brethren church known as Lower Union is located alwut 
three and three- fourths miles southeast of Westport. The congregation 
existed for many years before the present church was erected, in 1862, and 
had for some time worshipped in a log liuilding across the road from the 
present church. The church of 1862 was built by the united efforts of the 
Baptists and United Brethren, and probably other denominations, and is 
still a union church. The two denominations use it alternately and both 
ha\'e their separate Sunda}^ schools. The only auxiliary organization main- 
tained ijy the United Brethren is the Sunday school, which, under the lead- 
ership of Elmer Smith, is doing good work with the fort}' who attend regu- 
larly. Rev. H. W. White is the pastor. 

SARDINIA CHURCH. 

The United Brethren church at SarcHnia is less than a year old, being 
organized November 19, 1914, and owes its existence to the faithful efforts 
of Rev. S. S. Turley, who established it and still remains as its pastor. Dur- 
ing the winter of 1914-15 lie held a revival in Sardinia and when he proposed 
the establishment of a United Brethren church he found sixty-two people 
who were ready to become charter members. Among the charter members 
were John and Goldie Gross, Mrs. Lizzie Ammerman, Mrs. Bertha Von- 
blaricum and I\lrs. Jennie Foist. On February 22, 191 5, the congregation 
bought the Presbyterian church and are now expending five hundred dollars 
in improving it, the original cost being two hundred dollars. Services are 
held by the pastor every Sunday evening and a mid-week prayer meeting has 
been attended with most gratifying results. The class leader is Thomas 
Talkington; James Cann is superintendent of the Sunday school; Miss E. 
Rose Meredith is president of the Christian Endeavor Union. Reverend 
White also serves charges at Grammer and Mt. Calvary in Bartholomew 
county. 

PENTECOST CHUCH, GREENSBURG. 

In 1902 Greensburg was visited by several persons of the Pentecost 
faith. They were unable to hnd a place of worship according to their own 
faith, and held services in an old house on East North street. These meet- 
ings were well attended and the house in which they were holding their serv- 
ices at that time did not furnish ample room to accommodate the worship- 



268 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

pers. George Little, seeing the disadvantage under wiiich tliey labored, came 
forward with this proposition: That if fifty of the members would con- 
tribute five cents per week, making a guarantee of ten dollars per month, he 
would provide them with a house of worship. In addition to this, a contract 
must be made to keep the house for three years, at which time he would turn 
it over to them as the rent for this length of time would \)ay for the building. 
Mr. Littell also agreed to donate the lot and give one hundred dollars in cash 
on the completion of such building. 

This proposition was immediately accepted and Mr. Littell began mak- 
ing plans for their house of worship. He purchased the old Antioch church, 
located on the Madison road, from Alexander Hillis, who had been one of 
the deacons in that church. Mr. Hillis asked permission to keep the old 
church Bible. Mr. Littell immediately complied with this recjuest and asked 
Mr. Hillis to bring it to the dedication of the new church and also give some 
public utterance at the services, all of which he did. 

The old church building, which was in a good state of preservation, 
was moved to a beautiful lot in the eastern part of Greensburg and fitted up 
for services. But before the building had reached completion there arose a 
turmoil among the Pentecost brothers and the)' failed to comply with their 
part of the agreement. Consequently, Mr. Littell was left with the house of 
worship on his hands, as no one came to worship. 

This state of affairs lasted until April lo, 1902, when it was dedicated 
by a Mr. Mounts under the Pentecost leadership. This lasted for some time 
and finally the interest began to wane. This church at present is the property 
of the trustees of the Second Christians, but the historian, with his present 
knowledge of theology, is unable to distinguish this faith. The services are 
now conducted by Rev. Jacob Cruiser. 

GERMAN LUTHER.\N CHURCH. 

German Lutherans held services for a time in the cit_\- hall, Greensburg, 
lieginning aljout 1870, but never mustered sufficient strength to erect a 
church of their own. Never more than twenty families attended the serv- 
ices, which were discontinued after a few years. One of the ministers who 
preached to this congregation was Karl Jacobs. 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

For thirteen years (1898-1911) Episcopalians held regular services in 
their own church in Greensburg, and then the denomination, weakened by 






DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 269 

the death of a prominent member, closed the doors of the huiUHng, which is 
still stantling on Hendricks street. For two years prior to the erection of 
the church in 1900 services were held in the city hall. When the church 
was erected there were twenty-one persons in the parish. The following 
rectors, among others, conducted services in Greensburg until the church 
was closed in 1911 : Revs. W^illis D. Engle, John Nead}-. James \V. Com- 
fort and George Gallup. 

CHURCH OF GOD. 

There is another abandoned church in Greensburg and it stands at 
West North and Anderson streets. It is the Church of God and was built 
in 1887, following a wonderful revival and evangelistic service held in the 
opera house by Mrs. Maria Woodworth, evangelist of the cult. 

Mammoth crowds attended the services. People went into trances and 
walked the floor in a frenzy or seemingly lost consciousness and became stiff 
and rigid. The utmost excitement prevailed. Before conducting services in 
Greensburg', Mrs. ^^'oodworth had preached at ]\[uncie, Indiana, with simi- 
lar results. 

Following the meeting in the opera house, a church was organized and 
meetings were held for a time in a tent. Then the church building was 
erected, at a cost of about one thousand dollars. Then interest in the move- 
ment seemed to die, and, save only when Mrs. Woodworth made periodical 
visits to the city, the attendance was very small. At last the doors were 
locked and the church stands empty, vacant reminder of an emotional storm 
that once shook a city. 

CHRISTIAN (new LIGHT) CHURCH. 

While there have been many members of the New Light division of 
the Christian church, there has been, as far as has been discovered, only 
one church built by this denomination. Strictly speaking, it was erected by 
one man of the denomination. Several }'ears before the Cix'il War, a Ken- 
tuckian by the name of Jacob Sidner, a stanch member of the New Lights, 
built on one corner of his farm a substantial brick house of worship for his 
church. It was in Washington township on the Moscow road, about two and 
a half miles northwest of Greenslnirg. The building, which was later used 
for a school house, is still standing, a tril)ute to the religious zeal of this one 
man. Before he built his church, Sidner used to send to Kentucky once a 
year for the best New Light pfeacher he could get and have him conduct a 



270 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

sort of a camp meeting in a grove near his home in Washington township. 
He prepared seats in the grove, paid all the expenses and reveled in one good 
New Light service annually. Eventually, he felt justified in erecting a church 
for his people, but there does not appear to have been a very flourishing con- 
gregation at any time during its career. Who the preachers were, who the 
members were, or the date when the church was abandoned have been lost 
in the flight of time. The only person who has a definite recollection of the 
man and his church is the Rev. J. B. Lathrop, of Greensburg, who gave the 
above facts. 

GERMAN METHODI.ST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 

The only German Methodist church in Decatur county is located in 
Salt Creek townshii), a mile and a half south of Smith's Crossing. The 
church dates its beginning from the time the first Germans of this denomi- 
nation located in this part of the county. They worshipped in private houses 
and school houses for a time and in 1864-65 Iniilt the church, which is still 
in use. In the summer of 1915 extensive improvements were made in the 
way of new roof and painting on the exterior and redecorating the interior. 
Sunday school is maintained and regular preaching services are held every 
two weeks by the pastor. Rev. William Wiegen, of Batesville. A well-kept 
cemeterv adjoins the church. 

GERMAN LUTHERAN CHURCH. 

The German Lutherans have one congregation in the county. This is 
situated in Salt Creek township, two miles west of New Pennington and 
only one mile south of the one German Methodist church in the county. 
This church, known as St. I^aul's, was established shortly before the opening 
of the Civil War and the present building was erected in 1861. The pastor 
in 191 5 is Rev. William Schirmer, who lives in the parsonage adjoining 
the church. 

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SOCIETY OF GREENSBURG. 

The beginning of all societies and churches of the Christian Science 
denomination may often be traced to some knowledge of the healing of ills 
"that flesh is heir to." 

The Christian Science Society of Greensburg, Indiana, is not an ex- 
ception to this nile. Mrs. i\Iary J. G. Griswold and Edith S. Griswold, mother 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 27I 

and daughter, are the first known people in the CDunty seat to benefit by 
Christian Science treatment. As a resuU they opened their home, at No. 128 
West Hendricks street, for services in 1902. 

In 191 1, lo3-al students of Indianapohs and Chicago presented the httle 
band with a pubhc meeting place in the WoodfiU building, at the northwest 
corner of the public square, maintaining the gift for a period of twelve 
months. Services are still held in this building on every Sunday morning 
and W'ednesday evening. 

The Sunday services of this denomination, the world over, are con- 
ducted by a first and second reader, who read the same lesson-sermon from 
the Christian Science quarterl}' Bible lessons, prepared by an authorized com- 
mittee of the mother church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, 
Massachusetts. The scriptural texts are from the King James" version; their 
correlative passages are from the denominational text-book "Science and 
Health, With Key to the Scriptures," by Mrs. Mary Baker G. Eddy, dis- 
coverer and founder of Christian Science. 

The reading for the Wednesday evening meetings is from these two 
books, which are the only preachers of the denomination. This is followed 
with testimonies, experiences, and remarks on Christian Science. The 
democratic form of government obtains in the society, the majority rule 
being recognized. The customary reading room is open in Greensburg on 
Tuesday and on Saturday afternoon of each week. The present membership 
of the Greensburg Christian Science Society numbers twelve. 

UNITED BRETHREN. 

The first United Brethren preaching in the county was at the house of 
John Khorer, who came from Clermont county, Ohio, in 1824, and settled 
on the banks of Clifty. Ivhorer was one of the wealthiest citizens in the 
county and built one of the most elegant houses in this part of the state. 
His house was open to all preachers for many years, and here was organ- 
ized the first United Brethren class, some time before the forties. About 
1840 a frame house of worship was built on Khorer's farm in Jackson 
township. 

There were three so-called "war churches"' built in Jackson township 
during the war, which were to eschew all mention of politics, and, so some 
said, they not only had no politics, but also no religion. Be that as it may, 
they died soon after the war closed. They were strictly a war by-product 
and, with the struggle over, there was no further excuse for their existence. 



272 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

J. A. Dillman, in the Standard of Ma_v 28, 1897, says of these three 
churches, "One has stood idle for many years, another was sold for a barn, 
and the third, after many changes, is still used as a church house." 

CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

Greensburg Catholics, few in number before the Civil W'nv, held servi- 
ces for a number of years in resiflences of members of that denomination. 
In 1855 Father E. Martinovic, who hatl charge of the mission, erected a 
small brick church and Rev. . John Gilling became the first resident priest, 
ministering to the parish from 1863 to 1871. He was succeeded by Rev. 
John L. Brassard, who remained for a year or more. Then, save for an 
occasional mass, celebrated by a visiting priest, the parish was without 
guidance until 1874, in which year Rev. Daniel Curran came. .\t this time 
there were no more than twenty-five families residing in the parish. 

The coming of Rev. Father Curran marked the beginning of a new 
epoch in the history of St. Mary's. During his three years of ministration 
in Greensburg, he l)uilt a new parish house, a parochial school with room 
for a hundred pupils and a teachers' residence. His iiealth broke under 
the arduous laljor and he was compelled to give up his work, dying a short 
time afterward. Rev. Henry Kessing was placed in charge in 1877 and 
remained until his death in 1882, l:)y which time there were about seventy- 
five families in the parish, which was fast outgrowing the old brick church. 
Then came Rev. George Steigerwald, at that time one of the ablest men in the 
diocese. He took charge in 1883 and at once laid plans for the present 
church, which was completed a short time later at a cost of thirty-five thousand 
dollars. 

Rev. George Steigerwald was a graduate of Fleidelberg University and 
besides his scholarly attainments possessed imusual personal endowments. 
He was genial and afi^alile in his relations with those outside his church and 
did much to break down prejudices existent before his coming. Upon his 
departure in 1897, he presented the parish with the present parish home, his 
personal property. 

For the next se\enteen vears Rev. Fawrence bichter was in charge of 
St. Mary's parish. This was a period of unusual growth, as Reverend 
Fichter induced a large number of substantial German Catholic families to 
settle in the vicinity of Greensburg. 

The present priest. Rev. Father Fein, came to St. Mary's in 1913, from 
St. Josejjh's parish in \'ander])urg county. He has placed a new organ in 



I 




ST. .MAI ItlCKS C.VITIDI.K (111 lull. 




ST. OMIOU r. I!. IIUKCII. ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 273 

the church and plans the erection of a fifteen thousand-dollar parochial 
school. The present parish membership is more than eight hundred. 

ST. MAURICES PARISH. 

The \-illage of St. ^Maurice was laid out in 1S58 and was named in 
honor of Bishop Maurice De St. Oakaus. The Christian Brothers started 
a school the same year; but upon the death of their leader, Brother John 
Mary Weitnian, the teachers returned to France. The Brothers had laid 
out the town upon forty acres of ground, of which nine and thirty-five hun- 
dredths acres belonged to the parish. A chapel was built in connection with 
the schoi^l which later served as a church for the parish. It was a frame 
structure, later converted into a school building, and is now a residence, 
owned by Frank Nienaber. 

Among the first settlers in the village were : Martin Mauer, Stephan 
Brigler, Leonard Hemmerle, Magdalena Hemmerle, Herman Schroeder, John 
Altenan, Henry Oesterling, Edward Hellmich, Henr}' Groene and Henry 
Hopster. 

The first mass was celebrated at St. Maurice by the Franciscan priest 
from Enochsburg. There were at that time sixteen families in the parish. 
The ten acres of ground and the first Imilding cost the Brothers two thousand 
dollars. They raised one thousand dollars and borrowed the remainder. 
The first resident priest was Rev. Ferdinand Hundt, who was appointed in 
1884. He was succeeded, in 1886, by Rew Francis X. Seegmuller, who re- 
mained until 1891, when Rev. John B. Unverzagt took charge of the parish. 

The present church was built in 1881-82 at a cost of ten thousand dol- 
lars. The interior was remodeled and redecorated in 1912, during the pas- 
torate of the Rev. Michael Wagner. St. ^Maurice is justly proud of its 
beautiful church. The rectory was built in 1S55, at a cost of two thousand 
two hundred dollars, and the present school building, which cost appro.xi- 
mately four thousand dollars, in addition to donated labor, was erected in 
1907. 

Since the departure of the Rev. Father Unverzagt the following clergy- 
men have had charge of the parish. Rev. Charles Schoeppner, O. F. M. ; Rev. 
Alexander Koesters, Rev. Michael Wagner and the present pastor. Rev. 
Herman J. Gadlage. The church now has an enrollment of sixty-five fami- 
lies and an enrollment of three hundred and twenty-five souls. 

The parish societies are the following: St. Martin's Men's Society; St. 
fi8) 



274 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Aloysius's Young Men's Society; St. Elizabeth's ^ilarried Ladies' Society | 
and the Bles.sed Virgin Mary's Young Ladies' Society. 

OLDEST PARISH IN COUNTY. 

The church of the Immaculate Conception, at Millhousen, Rev. J. P. 
Gillig, pastor, was the first Catholic parish organized in the county of Decatur. 

On June 20. 1840, Maximilian Schneider donated forty acres of land, 
in trust, to Rt. Rev. Celestine de la Hailandiere, bishop of Vincennes, for the 
benefit of the Catholics of Millhousen, and in the same year the congregation, 
consisting of thirteen families, decided to erect a house of worship. This 
was a plain log building, twenty by twenty-four feet, with a rough exterior, 
chinked and daubed with mud, and was constructed under the auspices of 
Rev. Joseph Ferneding. The Hock was comprised of Germans, and among 
the foremost of these in promoting the interests of the congregation, as well 
as of the town, was Bernard Hardebeck. The first missionary priests, fol- 
lowing blather Ferneding, were Revs. Conrad Schneiderjans, M. O'Rourke 
and Ramon Weinzoepfel, who labored until 1843. From 1843 i-intil 1854, 
Rev. Alphonse J^Iunschina and Rev. Joseph Rudolf were the only two labor- 
ers in this field, and of these Father Rudolf, whose residence was at Olden- 
burg, performed prodigious labors, visiting Franklin, Dearborn, Ripley and 
Decatur counties. 

The increase of Catholics at Millhousen was surprising; wherefore they 
determined to build, instead of the wooden church, a good-sized brick church, 
thirty-eight by si.xty feet . This was completed in 1850, and dedicated as St. 
Boniface's church. As the Rev. Alphonse Munschina, who had charge of the 
church, resided at St. .Vnn's, in Jennings count}-, it was deemed expedient by 
the people to have a priest residing in their midst; at their recjuest, Rev. 
Peter Kreusch built, in 1856, the present parish house, which at the time 
was the finest in the diocese. In 1857 he erected a large school house and 
now the congregation has two siilendid l)rick school buildings, the schools 
being attended by one hundred and seventy pupils. The schools are in charge 
of the Franciscan Sisters of Oldenburg, assisted by a lay teacher for boys. 

The erection of the church of the Immaculate Conception, fifty-five by 
one hundred and forty feet, forty-six and one-half feet in height, was com- 
menced under Rev. F. Hundt, the ceremonies of laying the corner stone oc- 
curring on May 24, 1867: and the building was completed under the pastorate 
of Rev. Dr. Hueser and dedicated on August 4, 1869. In 1893 a spire was 
built which reaches one hundred and seventv-five feet above the ground. On 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 275 

November 7, 1870, Rev. F. W. Pepersack took charge and was succeeded, on 
July 2, 1885, by Rev. Joseph Schuck, and he, in October, 1891, by the Rev. 
John P. GilHg. Father Gillig remained with the church until June 15, 1904, 
when he was succeeded by Rev. J. A. Urich, the present pastor. The con- 
gregation is now estimated to be at least two hundred and fifty families, or 
nearly two thousand souls. The great majority of these live in Decatur 
county, although there are several living in Ripley and Jennings counties. 

ST. Paul's church at st. paul. 

St. Paul's church dates its formal organization from September 21, 
1858, when twelve Catholic families were given permission to build a church 
in the village of St. Paul. However, previous to that date services had been 
held irregularly in the homes of the members of the church. The lot for 
the new church was donated by John Paul and E. L. P^'loyd, non-Catholics, 
living in St. Paul. Immediately after permission had jjeeu granted for the 
erection of a church, steps were taken for the construction of the same and 
the work was pushed with loyal vigor by the devoted members of the con- 
gregation. The dedication of the church took place on July 31, 1859, and 
the same building, with many extensive improvements, is still in use today. 
Owing to the small number of memljers it has never been able to maintain a 
resident priest. For several }'ears the church was attached to St. Mary's, at 
Greensburg, and was served by the pastors from that place. Since 1885 it 
has been a mission of St. Vincent's at Shelbyville. Among the priests from 
Greensburg who served St. Paul were Fathers John P. Gillig. J. L. Bras- 
scart, Daniel Curran, Henry Kessing and George Stiegerwald. The follow- 
ing priests from Shelby\-ille have ministered to the congregation : Revs. M. 
L. Guthneck, G. M. Ginnsz, F. Hundt, A. Danenhofer, Charles Strickler, 
Joseph T. Bauer and F. Ketter, the present pastor. The church now has 
a membership of seventy. 

ST. John's at enochsburg. 

The early history of the Catholic churcli at Enochsburg, a pleasant 
village on the Decatur-Franklin county line, is rather obscure, although it 
is known that Father Rudolph was serving a small congregation of Catholics 
in that neighborhood at as early a date as October, 1844. From accounts 
handed down, it is known that a log chapel in the woods surrounding Enochs- 
burg was dedicated by P^ather Rudolph on December 22, 1844. This mission 



276 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was attached to the Oldenburg parish and continued to be served from the 
Oldenburg church until 1862, in which year Rev. Lawrence Oesterling, a 
Franciscan priest, became the first resident pastor. In 1853 the parish erected 
a small stone school building, thirty l)y thirty-five feet in size; shortly there- 
after beginning the erection of a stone church, which was dedicated in 1856. 
This church, which is still serving the needs of the parish, was built of 
dressed gra_\- limestone and is fifty by one hundred and five feet in di- 
mension, the height of the spire being one hundred and thirty-five feet; 
three bells being hung in tlie tower. .Since the church was erected numer- 
ous improvements have been added thereto ; notably during the pastorate of 
Father Pfeifer (1882-99), who frescoed the church, installed new altars, pur- 
chased new statues, put a slate roof on the church, installed an organ and 
made extensive improvements in the grounds surrounding the church prop- 
erty. 

In 1868 Rev. Michael Heck succeeded Father Oesterling as pastor, 
remaining until 1879. During his pastorate a brick residence of eight 
rooms was erected, and in 1872 he had the satisfaction of dedicating a sub- 
stantial school building for the children of the parish. He secured the servi- 
ces of the Venerable Sisters of Oldenburg as teachers and from that time 
down to the present a flourishing school has been maintained, more than 
seventy-five children Ijeing enrolled during the current term. In 1879 Father 
Heck was transferred to St. Wendel's parish, in Posey county, this state, 
where he spent the rest of his life in faithful ministration, his death occurring 
in 1899. 

Following Father Heck, Rev. John Stolz was placed in charge at St. 
John's, but he remained only a few months. In 1879 Rev. J. W. Kemper 
was installed as pastor, his service continuing until 1882, in which year 
Rev. James Pfeifl:'er entered upon his notably successful pastorate, con- 
tinuing in charge until 1899, when he was transferred to St. W'endel's to 
fill the vacancy created by the death of Father Heck. Rev. Joseph Haas 
then was sent to St. John's and for ten years faithfully served that parish; 
he being succeeded in 1909 by Rev. Henry Verst, who continued in charge 
until July, 1914, when the present pastor, Rev. Mathias Schmitz, was in- 
stalled. St. John's parish has a membership of more than three hundred 
and seventy souls. \\'hile the church usually is associated with Franklin 
county, it really stands in this county, being on this side of the county line. 
■ The parochial residence stands on the Franklin-Decatur line, while the school 
house stands in Franklin county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



CATHOLIC CHAPEL OF WESTPORT. 



277 



Several years ago the Catholics in Westport held services in the build- 
ing now occupied by Harry Reidenbach as a jewelry store. There were 
not a sufficient number of Catholics to establish a church, and the bishop 
granted them permission to establish a chapel where they might worship 
under the protection of St. Denis, the nearest Catholic church in Jennings 
count}'. The chapel has now been discontinued many years and the few 
Catholics in Westport and immediate vicinity are attached to the St. Denis 
parish. 



I 



CHAPTER IX. 



BENCH AND BAR. 



The judicial history of Decatur county faUs into two periods, namely, 
the period of the old constitution, 1822-1853, and the period following. The 
constitution of 1852 made a marked change in the judiciary of the state and 
subsequent amendments to the constitution ( 1881 ) and statutory legislation 
ha\'e made still further changes. Under the Constitution of 1816 the supreme 
court of Indiana and the president judges were elected by the state Legisla- 
ture : where as the present Constitution provides for the election of all judges 
by the people. The old Constitution divided the state into judicial circuits 
and placed over each circuit what was known as the president judge. At 
first there were only three circuits for the fifteen counties of the state then 
in existence. Each county elected two judges, known as associate judges, 
and these, with the president judge, had jurisdiction over all the civil and 
criminal business of the respecti\e counties. 

The president judges, as well as the associate judges, were elected for a 
term of seven years. The clerk of the common-pleas court was elected for a 
like term. These judges served both as common-pleas and circuit judges, 
and, in the case of Decatur county, had charge of most of the probate work, 
as well. The records disclose only two probate judges, these serving during 
the decade following 1839. These two probate judges were Angus C. 
McCoy, 1839-43, and John Thomson, 1843-49. 

The president judges who held court in Decatur countv- from 1822 to 
1853 were as follow: W. W. Wick, B. F. Morris, IMiles C. Eggleston, 
Samuel Bigger, James Perry, Jehu P. Elliott, George A. Dunn, W'illiam M. 
McCarty, Reuben D. Logan, Jeremiah M. Wilson, William A. Cullen and 
Samuel A. Bonner. Associate judges during this period were : Martin 
Adkins, John Fugit. John Bryson, Zachariah Carton, John Thomson, John 
Hopkins, Samuel Ellis, Richard C. Talbott and George Cable. 

Beginning in 1853, there were separate common-pleas and circuit judges 
until 1873, '" which year the common-pleas court was abolished by the Leg- 
islature. As near as can be ascertained from the record, the following judges 
served on the common-pleas bench during these twenty 3'ears : Ro\-al P. 



I 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 279 

Cobb, Samuel A. Bonner, John Davis, David S. Gooding and William A. 
Moore, the latter of whom was serving when the office was abolished. 

The jurisdiction of the circuit judges of the district including Decatur 
countv has been changed a numlier of times by the Legislature and has at 
various times covered h'ranklin, Henry, Rush, Shelby and Bartholomew 
counties in the nintli judicial circuit. Since 1899 Decatur lias been united 
with Bartholomew county fur judicial purposes. The following circuit judges 
ha\e presided over the district, including Decatur county: William M. j\'Ic- 
Carty, 1853: R. D. Logan, 1860-65; Jeremiah Wilson, 1865-71; William A. 
Cullen, 1871-77: Samuel A. Bonner, 1877-89: John W. Study, 1889-93 
(Study died in office and his unexpired term was lilled l)y James K. Rwing) ; 
James K. Ewing, 1893-95; John D. Miller, 1895-98 (died in office) ; David 
A. Myers, 1898; Douglas Morris, 1898-1901 ; Francis T. Hord, 1901-04; 
Marshal Hacker, 1904-10: Hugh D. Wickens, 1910-1916. 

Of the above, Bonner, Study, Ewing. Miller, Myers and Wickens were 
residents of Decatur count}'. 

A MYSTERY OF THE OLDEN DAY.S. 

Considerable mystery lurks about the cause of the death of Judge Martin 
Adkins, one of the first two associate judges of the county. Adkins died in 
1841, at Cincinnati, where he had gone with a drove of hogs. .Vt the time 
he was under indictment for shooting "Dick" Stewart, his son-in-law, with 
intent to kill. He had been tried once and the jury disagreed, one juror, it 
is said, holding out for his acquittal. 

His emplo}'ees brought home a coffin, which was interred, without Ijeing 
opened, in the old Mt. Moriah cemetery. This rather peculiar circumstance 
gave rise to two rumors, one that he had committed suicide in order to evade 
the ends of justice and the other that his reported death was untrue and that 
he had left for parts unknown. The exact truth, which might have been 
in a measure ascertained, by exhuming the coffin, was never known. 

Enemies of Free Masonry charged at the time the juiy disagreed that 
Adkins, being a IMason, had been saved from the penitentiary by a member 
of the organization, who was on the jury. There was at that time no 
Masonic lodge in Greensburg, Ijut Levi A. McOuithy, who was a juror, was 
a Mason. 

John Fugit, the other member of the original court of associate judges, 
was a nati\e of Virginia. He was tall and thin, with broad shoulders and an 
eye as bright as an eagle's. When his si.x years on the bench were o\'er he 



28o DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

served one or two terms as a justice of the peace in Clay township. He had 
three sons who attained local eminence. Hngli was an attorne}- at Alilford; 
James L. was a justice of the peace and later deputy sheriff and Isaac \V. 
was also an attorney, and served for a time as postmaster at St. Paul, this 
county. 

Hopkins, one of the associate judges at the time the office was abolished, 
was foreman of the first grand jury which convened in the county, was first 
county treasurer and was a charter meml)er of the Kingston Presbyterian 
church. His parents wished to prepare him for the ministry, declaring that 
he was a born theologian. He was a Democrat of the Jackson-Benton school 
and believed in hard money. He cared little for popularity and had he 
played politics, might ha\'e reached a high place in the affairs of Indiana. 

EARLY MURDER TRIALS. 

One of the most famous murder trials ever held in Decatur county was 
that of James Wiley, who was convicted in June, 1869, of the murder of 
Joseph Woodward, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was pardoned 
after serving ten years and died soon after his release from the penitentiary. 

\Yiley killed Woodward in a fight at Milford, in November, 1868, when 
Republicans were celebrating the election of Grant. Hiram Alley received 
a two years" sentence for complicity in the crime. Judge George H. Chap- 
man, of Indianapolis, occupied the bench at the trial. The verdict was 
returned after an hour's deliljeration. 

One of the most famous murder trials that e\er came before the Decatur 
county bench was that of Jacob Block and Elsa Block. Ijrought here from 
Rush county upon a change of venue. The Blocks, father and son, were 
Hebrews and were charged with the nnu'iler of Eli Block, a Hebrew merch- 
ant and a business competitor. The Blocks spent large sums of money in pro- 
viding for their defense and an imposing array of legal talent was gathered 
at the Decatur county court house when the case was tried. 

The case was tried before Judge James C. Hiller, of Indianapolis. 
Jacob Block, the father, had been previously tried at Rush county and had 
been found guilty of murder in the first degree, but the higher courts had 
sustained a motion in error and ordered a new trial. He was represented by 
Daniel W. Voorhees, while the son was defended by Charles H. Blackburn, 
a famous Cincinnati criminal lawyer. Both were sentenced to two years in 
the penitentiary. 



DICCATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 281 

STEPPING-STONE TO CONGRESS. 

One of the early cases tried in Decatur county courts is related by Oliver 
H. Smith in a series of articles in the old Indianapolis Juiirnal on "Early 
Indiana Trials." The case was tried before Associate Judges Fngit and 
Adkins, in 1823. The case was against a man who had refused to work two 
days on a school house, as provided by law. James T. Brown defended the 
man and Mr. Smith appeared for the school commissioner. 

Brown facetiously raised the point that his client was not ablcbodied, 
although he was over si.x feet tall and proportionately broad. Judge Fugit 
ruled thus : 

"Yes, Mr. Brown, that is the point — you jilead well on that, but it is 
nothing but the jilea of a lawyer; you admitted that the man who stood 
before us was your client, and the court will take notice, 'fishio,' as the law 
books say, that he is an alile-bodied man and no mistake; judgment for two 
dollars." 

Smith says that he received his fee of five dollars and always after had 
Decatur county's undivided support \\\\t\\ he was a candidate for Congress. 

EARLY BAR HISTORY. 

When counties in southern Indiana were organized and for many years 
thereafter, members of the legal profession were few in number, but were 
usually men of striking personality and great force of character. There were 
two terms of circuit court a year and lawyers followed the presiding judge 
on his rounds, taking whatever business came their way. 

Conseciuently, it is not surprising that when the first meeting of the 
Decatur county circuit court was held, April 9, 1822, several attorneys were 
on hand to ask for permission to practice their profession in this court. The 
old county records show that three lawyers were admitted to the Decatur 
county bar on this date. They were Thomas Douglass, Joseph A. Hopkins 
and Seth Tucker. Beyond swearing in a county clerk and the appointment 
of Joseph Hopkins as prosecuting attorney, the court transacted no business. 
When the October term began, October 7, two more attorneys sought and 
received admission to the bar. They were James T. Brown and Charles H. 
Test. 

Nothing is known of Douglass, beyond the original entry, showing 
that the first court held in the county gave him permission to practice his 



282 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

profession in Decatur county. Tucker's record has also been lost, but it is 
presumed that he sulisequently located permanently in some other county. 

Hopkins, the first prosecuting attorney, soon fell into disrepute and left 
the county. He was a native of Kentucky and had practiced law there before 
coming to Indiana. He left the Blue Grass state "under a cloud," and appar- 
ently did not mend his ways when he settled in the new state. He died in 
Illinois. He is said to have been a brilliant man and an excellent lawyer. 

James T. Brown was the first Greensburg lawyer to attain prominence. 
He was quite eccentric, but possessed a very saving sense of humor. His 
jokes and anecdotes made him a very interesting character. After practicing 
in Decatur county for a good many years he located at Lawrenceburg, where 
he died soon after the war. Brown was a bachelor and lived to a ripe old 
age. It is said that he was retained in almost every case of importance that 
was tried during his residence in this county. He was without political 
ambitions and gave his whole heart to his practice. 

Andrew Davison, third resident member of the bar, came from Penn- 
sylvania and was admitted to practice in 1825. He was a learned, technical 
lawyer ; and it is said that as a pleader, in the professional sense, his superior 
never appeared at the Decatur county bar. His efforts were brief and direct 
and delivered in a most forceful manner. 

Chance played a large part in Davison's selection of Greensburg as a 
location. He was educated for the ministry, but after his graduation from 
Franklin College. Pennsylvania, he decided that he would study law. Upon 
being admitted to the Pennsylvania laar, he departed for a liorseback trip 
through Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, seeking restoration of his health. 
While upon his return trip his jaded steed dropped, completely exhausted, at 
Greensburg. Finding a considerable colony of Presbyterians there he cast 
his lot with them and soon rose to eminence in his profession. 

Davison was elected a member of the su])reme court in 1852 and was 
re-elected in 1858. He was defeated for a third term in 1864 and never re- 
sumed active practice. The only other public office he ever held was the post- 
mastershi]) at Greensburg, gi\en to him when Andrew Jackson made his 
famous shake-up in federal postoffices and established a precedent that was 
folio w'ed by all succeeding Presidents. In 1839 Davison married a daughter 
of Judge Test. His death occurred in 1871. He was in his day one of the 
foremost lawyers in the state ; possessed a fine character in public and private 
life and left a large estate. He left one son, Joseph, who died a few years 
later. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



OTHER EARLY FIGURES AT THE BAR. 



Other attorneys who practiced in the Decatur county court in those early 
days were OHver H. Smith, afterwards United States senator from Indiana, 
and John Test, who was admitted in 1830. This John Test was the second 
son of John Test, Sr., w ho represented this district in Congress from 1829 to 
1835. Young Test died of tuberculosis in 1839 and his widow some time 
later married Judge Davison. 

Martin Jamison, wIkj had studied law under James Brown, was admitted 
to the bar in 1827. He served in the state Legislature in 1839 and died of 
lung trouble in 1841. In his short career he built up a very lucrative practice. 

Following Jamison, Joseph Robison was the next to be admitted to the 
bar. He was not well versed in legal procedure, and his knowledge of the 
fundamentals of the law left something to be desired; but as an advocate he 
stood head and shoulders above the other lawyers of those early days. He 
was a candidate for Congress on the Whig ticket in 1851, but was defeated 
l)y John L. Roljinson, the Democratic incumbent. The latter was the father 
of Joseph Robinson, of Anderson, who represented that district in the Legis- 
lature for a number of terms. 

Before his admission to the Ijar, Robinson ser\'ed as sheritT for two 
terms, during which time he read law. He had Init little education, and when 
he was married was unable to read and write. He represented Decatur 
county several times in the state Legislature and was a delegate to the con- 
stitutional convention of 1850. 

The next citizen of Decatur county to be admitted to the practice of law 
was John D. Haynes. a natix'e of New York. He completed a pre\-iouslv 
begun course of study in the office of Judge Da\'ison, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1839. He moved to Dearborn county in 1843 ?-"d was later elected 
judge of the court of common ])leas of Dearborn and Ohio counties. 

Philander Hamilton and Henry Spottswood Christian located in Greens- 
burg next. Hamilton gave promise of a brilliant career, but died young and 
before he had attained the summit of his powers. Christian was a native of 
Virginia, and claimed relation.ship with some of the first colonial families of 
that .state. The path of the young law}-er was no more strewn with roses in 
those days than it is at present, so he <|uit his office for a year to teach in the 
old seminary and then returned to practice, with better results. He later 
located at Versailles and died there, of tuberculosis, in 1859. 

At the first session of the Decatur county court after the adoption of 



284 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the new Constitution, which convened on April 25, 1853, James Gavin, Daniel 
Patterson and Archibald ]\IcKee were admitted to the bar. 

Lawyers from other counties, who have had cases in the local court, 
have frecjuently been admitted to practice upon motion, as a courtesy, and 
many names appear upon the records of men who ha\e ne\er practiced regu- 
larlv in the local courts. In 1842 A. A. Hammond was thus admitted on 
motion. j\Ir. Hammond was later elected lieutenant-governor of the state. 

Seven lawyers were admitted in 1S44. They were Edward Sanders, 
S. E. Perkins, who later was elevated to the supreme bench ; Scpiire W. 
Robinson, Samuel Seabaugh, Silas Overturf, J. S. Scobey and Hugh F. 
Fugit. 

PROMINENT FIGURES AT THE BAR. 

Col. John S. Scobey, one of the most famous members of the Decatur 
count}' bar, was born near Cincinnati in 181 8, and was educated in the Frank- 
lin county schools. He was a student for two years at Miami University, 
cpiitting his collegiate studies to read law in the office of Governor Bebb at 
Hamilton. Later, intending to practice in Indiana, he left Hamilton and 
resumed his studies at Brookville, where he was admitted to the bar in 1844. 
He settled at Greensburg the same year. 

Scobey was circuit prosecutor from 1847 to 1850, and in 1852 was 
elected state senator from this county. At the outbreak of the Civil \\'ar. 
Governor Morton, who was his classmate at ]Miami, telegraphed him to come 
to Indianapolis at once. As a result of the interview, Scobey returned to 
Decatur county and raised Company A, of the Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indi- 
ana Infantry. He performed valorous service throughout the war and his 
rise was rapid. He soon rose from captain to major and in 1863 became 
lieutenant-colonel of the Sixty-eighth Regiment. When Colonel King fell at 
Chickamauga, Scobey was assigned to command of the regiment. 

Upon his return to civil life he engaged for a time in business affairs, 
before resuming the practice of law. He was three times a presidential 
elector. The first time was in 1852, on the Whig ticket; the second time, in 
1872, on the Democratic ticket, and again in 1876 on the Democratic ticket. 

Barton W. W'ilson, who was the next to be admitted to the bar, was a 
graduate of Indiana University and located in Greensburg in 1848. He was 
a candidate for the state Senate in 1852, but was defeated by William J. 
Robinson. His defeat was largely due to his endorsement of the compromise 
measures of 1850. ^Vilson was a public-spirited man. willing and able at 
any time to help forward any enterprise which had for its aim the betterment 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 285 

of his city. It is said that, throughout his active career, there was no pubHc 
undertaking that did not draw largely upon his purse and personal services. 
The first fire engine owned by the city of Greensburg was named for him. 

Not only was Barton W". Wilson a well-read elementary lawyer, 1)ut he 
kept well up with the rulings of the courts of his day and was most pains- 
taking in preparation of his cases. He held many posts of honor in local 
affairs, for which he was indebted to political foes as well as to the members 
of his own party. 

TOOK PART IN THE CIVIL WAR. 

Col. James Gavin, another leader at the bar in that day, was a man of 
unusual ability. He had acquired an education, married and was practicing 
law before he had attained his majority. He taught school in Union county 
for a time and then moved to Greensburg, where he was admitted to the bar 
in 1853. I'"^ '^ short time he had built up a large practice. He was born in 
1830 and died in 1873. 

At the outbreak of the war, James Gavin was made adjutant of the 
Seventh Regiment and when it was reorganized, at the end of its three- 
months enlistment, he became its lieutenant-colonel. He was given command 
of this regiment in 1862 and served until the spring of 1863, at which time 
he resigned on account of a wound received during the second battle of Bull 
Run. In 1864 he was made colonel of one of the hundred-day regiments sent 
to Tennessee to relieve the veterans of Sherman's army. 

Colonel Gavin was originally a Democrat, but was a candidate in i86j 
for Congress on the Union ticket, being defeated by William S. Holman. 
After the war he was elected county clerk upon the Republican ticket. He 
resigned this office to accept an appointment as internal revenue collector, 
which had been proffered him by President Johnson. He did not secure this 
office, however, as the Senate refused to confirm the appointment; so he 
retired from official life and returned to the Democratic party. 

One of Colonel Gavin's contemporaries was Oscar B. Hord, who later 
attained national recognition as a legal authority. Hord came from Ken- 
tucky, a memi)er of a family of lawyers. He was a member of the bar at 
Maysville, Kentucky, until 1851, in which year he located in Greensburg. He 
was very young and rather diffident, but the time not needed liy clients he 
devoted to study and so became one of the most thorough lawyers in Indiana. 
He associated himself with James Gavin and wrote "Gavin and Hord's Indi- 
ana Statutes," with full annotations, which was greatly appreciated by the 
profession in this state. 



286 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Hord was elected attorney-general in 1862 and moved to Indianapolis. 
After his term expired he went into the firm of Hendricks, Hord & Hen- 
dricks, of Indianapolis, one of the leading law firms of the state. He was 
one of the most highly trained members of the profession that the Decatur 
county bar has ever given to the state. 

Charles F. Parrish and James Coverdill came to Greensburg from Ohio, 
in 1 85 1, and established the firm of Coverdill & Parrish, which continued for 
two years, at the end of A\hich time Parrish left the county and Coverdill 
joined with James Gavin in the formation of a new firm. Parrish won high 
honors during the Civil War and retired as colonel of the One Hundred and 
Thirtieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Coverdill made a poor 
soldier; quit the service and died in Cincinnati shortly after the war. 

Gen. Ira G. Gro\er, Decatur county's most illustrious soldier, was born 
in Union county, Indiana, in 1832. His parents moved to Greensburg and 
he enjoyed the best educational advantages that could be obtained there, after 
which he was sent to Asbury Academy, now DePauw University, where he 
was graduated in 1856, with first honors. Grover taught school until i860, in 
which year he was elected to the state Legislature, where he served during 
the regular session and through part of the special session called at the out- 
break of the Civil War. Having been elected a lieutenant in Company B, 
Seventh Regiment, Indiana \'olunteer Infantry, he quit his seat in the Legis- 
lature and served through the war. On the return of the "three-months 
men," he organized a new company and was chosen its captain. He was 
with the Seventh in every fight in which it took part, until he was captured 
during the first day of the Battle of the Wilderness, in May, 1864. 

General Grover was wounded three times during the war, at Ft. 
Republic, second Bull Run and in the Wilderness, during which latter engage- 
ment he was taken prisoner and placed in prison at Cliarlestown, where, with 
a number of other Union officers, he was placed under fire of their own bat- 
teries. After some time he was exchanged and after a short visit in Greens- 
burg, returned to his regiment in time to be mustered out. At the close of 
the war he held the rank of colonel of the Seventh and was later, for his 
gallant services, breveted brigadier-general by President Lincoln. 

Before the outbreak of the war General Grover had studied law and he 
resumed his studies upon his return to Greensburg. He was admitted to the 
bar in 1866, but on account of his political activities never engaged in the 
practice of the legal profession. He was the Republican nominee for Con- 
gress in 1866, but was defeated by William S. Holman. He was twice 
elected clerk of the Decatur countv circuit court. Near the close of his second 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



287 



term, he showed signs of a mental affliction, due to wounds received in the 
service, and was placed for care and treatment in a state institution. He 
died on May 30, 1873. 

Judge Samuel z\. Bonner, for twelve years judge of the eighth judicial 
circuit, was born on an Alabama plantation, in 1826. His father abh(jrred 
slavery and came to Greensburg to educate his children, out of reach of its 
baneful influence. He was educated at Richland Academy, Miami University 
and Center College, Danville, Kentucky, from which he was graduated in 
1849. For '1 time he read law in the office of Andrew Davison and then 
entered the Indiana University law school. Upon his graduation, in 1852, 
Bonner was admitted to the Decatur county bar. He formed a partnership 
with Barton W. Wilson, which continued until he was elected to the Legisla- 
ture, in 1854. Two years later he was elected judge of the common-pleas 
court of Rush and Decatur counties, serving for four years. When he 
retired from i)ublic life, in 1S60, he formed a partnership with William Cum- 
back, which lasted until Cumback retired from practice. 

In 1877 Judge Bonner was called by election to the bench of the circuit 
court where he served for twelve years. He then became senior partner of 
the firm of Bonner, Tackett & Bennet, with which he remained until his death, 
on April 5, IQ04. 

ENTERED PUBLIC LIFE EARLY. 

Cortez Ewing, elder brother of James K. Ewing, dean of the Decatur 
county bar, was born in 1837 and entered public life at the early age of thir- 
teen ; filling, at that tender stage of his career, the office of deputy clerk and 
recorder under Henry H. Talbott, prominent office holder of the early days. 
In 1857 Cortez Ewing was given a position in the general land office at 
Washington, D. C, under Thomas A. Hendricks, who was then commis- 
sioner of the general land office. Ewing was admitted to the l)ar in 1858, 
and began tlie practice of law in i860. For the next two years he was in the 
office of Ga\'in & Hord, and assisted Hord in his work of revision of the laws 
of Indiana. He became a partner of Hord, but later entered practice alone. 
He served, from 1874 to 1878, as trustee of the state institute for the educa- 
tion of the blind. Later in life he quit the law to become cashier of the Third 
National Bank of Greensburg. ]\Iuch of the early success of this institution 
is due to the respect in which Mr. Ewing was held throughout the county. 
He died in 1887. 

Judge John D. Miller, who also served upon the bench of the eighth 



288 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

judicial circuit, was Ijorn near Clarksburg, this county, in 1840. and thus 
was one uf the first nati\e-born attorneys to achieve eminence in the legal 
profession. He entered Hanover College in 1859, but in 1861 left college 
and enlisted in Company G, Se\-enth Regiment, Indiana N'olunteer Infantrv, 
and served as a private throughout the Civil War. Uijon the close of the 
war, he studied law with Overstreet & Hunter, at Franklin, and was admitted 
to the bar in 1866, after which he mo\'ed to Greensburg. In 1872 he was 
elected tii the Legislature from Decatur and Rush counties. Prior to his 
election to the Legislature, he had served Greensburg as city clerk and- city 
attorney. From 1868 until 1873 he was the law partner of Colonel Gavin. 
In i8gi Judge Miller, was appointed to. the supreme Ijench of the state to 
fill a \acancy and served until 18Q3. He was the Repul)lican candidate for 
the same high office in 1892, but was defeated. He then resumed the practice 
of law and in 1894 was elected circuit judge. He died on March 20, 1898. 

ELEVATED TO APPELLATE 'BENCH. 

Frank E. Gavin, of the tirm of Ga\"in, Gavin & Da\'is, of Indianapolis, 
is the son of James Gavin and was for many years a leading member of the 
Decatur county bar. He was born on February 20, 1854, and entered Har- 
vard College, graduating from that institution with the class of 1873. He 
studied law with Judge John D. Miller and was admitted to the bar on 
February 19, 1875, the day before he attained his majority. He served for 
several years as county attorney and in 1892 was elected judge of the appel- 
late court. for the second district. LIpon leaving the bench, Judge Gavin 
formed business associations in Indianapolis and has since continued the 
practice of law in that city. He was married in 1876 to Ella B. Lathrop, 
daughter of James B. Lathrop. He is a prominent IMason and was at one 
time grand master of that order in Indiana. 

John L. Bracken, who served one term as prosecuting attorney of 
Decatur county, was admitted to the 1)ar in 1871. For a numljer of years he 
was associated with M. D. Tackett, in the firm of Bracken & Tackett. In 
1878 he was elected circuit prosecutor and served one term. He quit the law 
some time after and engaged in the monument business at Richmond. Indi- 
ana, later accepting appointment as deputy revenue collector luider his 
brother, ^^'illiam H. Bracken, of Brookville. A widow and one son survive 
him. 

Marine D. Tackett was born on a Decatur county farm, three and one- 
half miles from Greensburg, October 26, 1841, and moved to Greensburg 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 289 

with liis parents, at the age of ten. After completing his education in the city 
schools he learned the trade of cabinet maker, which he followed until the 
beginning of the Civil War, when he enlisted in the Third Indiana Artillery. 
He saw service with Fremont and Sherman and was mustered out with three 
years of honorable service to his credit, fie lost an arm by the premature 
discharge of a cannon, while celebrating the election of Governor Morton. 

Tackett was admitted to the bar in 1874 and three years later was 
appointed city attorney of Greensburg, ser\'ing in that office until 1S81, in 
which year he was appointed prosecuting attorney of the eighth judicial dis- 
trict b_v Governor Morton, to fill a vacancy caused bv the resignation of 
Richard i;)urnan, who had succeeded John L. Bracken. He then held the 
office for four years more by election. He was a member of the state central 
committee of the Republican party for four years and a delegate to the 
national convention in Chicago, in 1888; in which year he declined the 
Republican nomination for Congress". He was chief allotting agent of the 
Cheyenne and .\rapahoe Indians in 1S91. In iSgj he was elected clerk of 
the Decatur circuit court and was a candidate for re-election in 1896. Before 
he became prosecutor he was a member of the firm of Bonner, Tackett & Ben- 
nett, also had served for a time as postma.ster at Greensburg. .\t the time of 
his death he was associated w^ith Davison Wilson, under the firm name of 
Tackett & Wilson. 

William H. Goddard, who during his time, was Decatur county's lead- 
ing pension attorney, was born in Clinton township on February 22, 1837. 
He taught school until 1861. when he was appointed to a clerical position in 
the department of the interior. Later he was transferred to the treasury 
department, where he remained until his return to Greensburg, in 1876. 
While at the national capital he studied law at the Georgetown Law School 
and was admitted to the ])ar in 1872. At the request of James G. Blaine, he 
was appointed, in-iSSi, assistant superintendent of the railway mail service, 
with headquarters at St. Louis. 

Goddard's legal practice consisted almost entirely of the settlement of 
pension claims: and, on account of his knowledge of such matters and his 
personal acquaintance with the business of the pension bureau, he was re- 
markably successful. During the last ten years of his life he was associated 
in practice with his son, John F. Goddard. He died on June 21, 1901. 

John F. Goddard was born on October 22, 1858, in Clay township, this 
county, and was graduated from Indiana University in 1880. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1891, but did not commence active practice until 1896. 
(19) 



290 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

In 1905 he formed a law partnership with John \\'. Craig, and the firm of 
Goddard & Craig is the oldest law firm in Greensburg. John W. Craig was 
born in Greensburg in 1880, and was graduated from the Indiana Law 
School before attaining his majorit}-. He ser\-ed as deputy prosecutor before 
he was twenty-one; had a murder indictment returned, but being too young 
to be admitted to the bar, was compelled to secure another attorney to handle 
the case when it came to trial. 

Judge W. A. Aloore was born on a farm in i'^raiiklin count}-, ,\ugust 16, 
1838. When he had completed his preparatory education he entered the 
office of Judge Bonner and read law there. He was admitted to practice in 
1866. The same year he was elected to the state Legislature, where he 
served one term. In 1870 he was elected common-pleas judge of the twenty- 
second judicial district and filled the office until it was aliolished by act of the 
Legislature. 

In 1876 Judge IMoore was elected to the state Senate upon the Repub- 
lican ticket and ser\-ed two terms. He then returned to private practice, con- 
tinuing the same until his death. 

Davison Wilson, a former prominent member of the Decatur county 
bar, was born in Greensburg, and was educated in the schools of that city 
and at Indiana LTniversit}-. He studied law for a time in the office of \\'. B. 
Wilson and was adnutted to the bar on September 6, 1881. He formed his 
first legal partnership with Judge David A. Myers, and some time later estab- 
lished his office with Cortez Ewing: then with M. D. Tackett. Later he 
engaged in the practice of his profession alone. Wilson was a man of small 
stature, but a most excellent lawyer. His education gave him a strong 
foundation for general practice. His speeches were models of brevity and 
conciseness and his diction was both pure and elegant. For many years he 
was the one of the leading representatives of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi- 
cago & St. Louis Railroad Company. He ne\er married. He diefl in 191 1. 

greensburg's foremost citizen. 

William Cumback, who, during his l<jng career of public usefulness, was 
Greensburg's foremost and most distinguished citizen, was admitted to the 
Decatur county bar in 1853, after a short preparatory course at the Cincinnati 
Law School. Sa\-e during the periods when he was in the service of the 
government in many a case before the Decatur county bar during more than 
forty years he appeared upon one side or the other. 

Congressman at twenty-five, defeating the seasoned politician, William 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 29I 

S. Holman, "the watchdog of the treasury," and on terms of intimate rela- 
tionship with the nation's great in the critical period during the sessions of 
the thirty-fourth Congress, young Cumback was a character that attracted 
national attention. 

Defeated for re-election in 1856 by an influx of foreign voters, 
he again came into prominence in i860, when he cast the electoral vote of 
Indiana for Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States. At the 
first call to arms he joined the^colors as a private in the Thirteenth Regi- 
ment, Indiana X'olunteer Infantry, rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. 
He later was appointed pa\niaster in the army and disbursed more than 
sixty million dollars without the loss of a penny. He was elected state 
senator in 1866, became president of the Senate in 1867 and lieutenant- 
gON'ernor in 1868. 

In 1 87 1 Governor Cumback declined the proffered appointment as min- 
ister to Portugal and in that year was made collector of internal revenue for 
his district, ser\'ing for twelve years. Until his death, in August, 1905, he 
spent much of his time on the lecture platform, being a very popular and 
entertaining speaker. Governor Cumback was an earnest member of the 
Methodist church and his voice for years was one of the most influential in 
the great councils of .\merican Methodism. 

Christopher Shane, a prominent member of the Decatur county bar many 
\-ears ago, was born in Shelby county on August 11, 1833. He first practiced 
law in iS'65 with Judge William A. Moore. For four years before he was ad- 
mitted to the bar he was a clerk in the pension bureau at Washington, D. C. 
Beginning in 1867, he served si.\ years as mayor of Greensburg and was later 
city and county attorney. Some 3'ears after he went into the insurance busi- 
ness in Washington and died in that state. 

Douglas Watts, stepson of Colonel Scobey, was born in Cincinnati on 
August 27. 1858. and in 1877 moved to Greensburg. where he was employed 
as clerk by an uncle. He was admitted to the bar in 1880 and died a few 
years after in the ^Vest, whither he had gone for his health. 

DEAN OF THE DEC.\TUR COUNTY BAR. 

Judge James K. I-lwing, dean of the Decatur county bar, son of Patrick 
Ewing, one of the pioneer settlers of Clay township and father of several 
distinguished sons, was born in Decatur county on Xo\'ember 27^, 1843. He 
studied law with his lirother, Cortez Ewing, and later forined a partnership 
with the latter, \\hich lasted until 1883. when the elder Ewing retired to 



292 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

become a banker. James K. Ewing then formed a partnership witli his 
nephew, Cortez Ewing, Jr., which lasted until 1893. I" that \ear, through 
the death of Judge John ^^^ Study, Mr. Ewing was appointed to the Viench 
of the eighth judicial circuit, serving in that capacity until 1895, when he 
retired to private practice, first in partnership with John D. Wallingford, 
then with G. L. Tremain, then with Frank Hamilton and now with Fred F. 
Smith. Mr. Ewing was a delegate to the Democratic national con\-ention in 
1888 and made races for the local circuit judgeship in 18S8 and 1896. but was 
both times defeated. He was then associated for a time with another 
nephew. Judge Ewing has a well-earned reputation as a lawyer and is held 
in the utmost esteem and respect: not only by members of the Decatur county 
bar. I)ut by his many clients, with \vhom his dealings have alwavs been most 
careful and just. 

SURMOUNTED GREAT HANDICAP. 

John Quincy Donnell, although not engaged in the practice of law, is a 
member of the Decatur county bar. He was educated at the Indiana state 
school for the blind and at Oberlin College. In 1878 he was elected to the 
Indiana Legislature and served one term. For a time he was a member of 
the firm of Boothe & Donnell and later edited the Greenshurg Revieiv and a 
paper at Anderson, Indiana. Although totally blind, Mr. Donnell has mar- 
velous ability in a number of fields and is reputed to be one of the ablest chess 
players in this part of the state. 

B. F. Bennett, who removed, in 1914, to California, was born on ]\larch 
31, 1854, in this county and was admitted to the bar in 1878. He served 
four terms as county attorney, was a member of the Greensburg school board 
and active in all movements for the good of the community. He was first 
associated with Judge Moore and upon his partner's death became a member 
of the firm of Bonner, Tackett & Bennett. When that firm was broken up, 
he formed a partnership with Thomas E. Davidson, under the firm name of 
Bennett & Davidson. 

Samuel B. Edward was born on November 29, 1852, in W'ashington 
township, studied at the Indianapolis Commercial College and was graduated 
in 1871. He studied two years at Butler College and then read law in the 
ofifice of Bonner & Bracken. He was admitted to the bar in 1875. In 1883 
he was elected mayor of Greensburg. When he retired from office he prac- 
ticed law again for a time and then turned his attention to a stone quarry at 
Harris, this county. In 1910 he represented Decatur county in the state Leg- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 293 

islature. His death occurred in the spring of 1815. He is survived by one 
son, Louis, who Hves at Harris. 

Barton Porter, brother of Alexander Porter, jjracticed law in Greens- 
burg one year before his death, in 1903. He was a graduate of Indiana 
University, completing his legal education at that institution in 1902. Upon 
leaving college he formed a partnership with George L. Tremain. He was a 
promising young attorney and would doubtless have risen high in his chosen 
profession, but for his untimely death. 

John L. Davis, who was elected prosecuting attorney in 1898, came to 
Decatur county from Rising Sun, Indiana, and formed a partnership with 
Judge Moore. His father was Rodney L. Davis, one of the leading attor- 
neys of Ohio county. Davis died in 1901. 

Thomas L. Creath, another outside lawyer, who became prosecutor, was 
born in Batesville, Indiana. He was elected to this office in 1900 and served 
one term. When his term expired he formed a partnership with John 
Parker, which lasted until he mo\'ed to Versailles in 1904. His death occurred 
in 1914. 

Elmer Roland, who served as prosecutor of the ninth judicial circuit 
from 1896 to 1898, was born in Columbus, Indiana, but came to Decatur 
county at an early age. Upon being admitted to the bar he commenced the 
practice of law in partnership with John Osborn. Roland married a daughter 
of Brutus Hamilton and now resides in Mississippi. 

George L. Tremain, of the firm of Tremain & Turner, was born in 
Bartholomew county, April 6, 1877, was graduated from Central Normal 
College, Danville, Indiana, in 1900, and was admitted to the bar the same 
year. He first practiced with Barton Porter, then with Judge Ewing until 
1906, and then with Charles Ewing until 1908, since which time he has been 
associated in practice with Rolin A. Turner. 

Oscar G. Miller, of the firm of Miller & Ryan, was born in Rush county, 
and came to Greensburg in 1882. Eor three years he taught school and 
studied law at the same time, being admitted to the bar in 1888. He then 
took the liberal arts course at DePauw University and was graduated in 1891. 
He was for a time associated with Judge Moore. Charles L. Ryan, the 
jimior partner of this firm, is engaged in the insurance business. He was 
born in Decatur county in 1884 and was admitted to the bar in 1910. 

Two Decatur county lawyers, who held the office of prosecuting attor- 
ney and later moved to other locations and have almost been forgotten, were 
Piatt Wicks and Creighton Dandy. Wicks was prosecuting attorney before 
the Civil War and after quitting the public service, moved to Harlan, Iowa, 



294 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

where he accumulated a fortune. He ha,s been dead for a number of years. 
Creighton Dandy was prosecutor from 1875 to 1880. When he H\ed in 
Greensburg he owned the property where the Espy liouse now is. He went 
from Greensburg to Lawrenceljurg, where he buih up a profitable practice. 
He also is dead. 

John H. Parker, who does a general abstracting business, was born in 
Rush county. January j6, 1866. and was admitted to the bar in 1892. He 
first formed a [jartnership with Myron C. Jenkins and later with T. L. Creath. 
Since the death of Creath he has lieen practicing alone. 

A. H. Fisher, father of Carl Fisher, president of the Indianapolis Motor 
Speedway Company, at one time practiced law in Greensburg, ijut moved to 
Indianap(/)lis when Carl was about twelve years old. The elder Fisher was 
l)()rn in Ross county, Ohio, in 1847, '"'^d ^^''is admitted to the Morgan county 
bar in 1871. He was at one time deputy prosecutor of Decatur county. 
Fisher was of a rather belligerent disposition, and besides whijjping the town 
marshal at one time, occasionally made things warm for other members of 
the bar. He once clashed with Judge Ewing. and the two were at swords' 
points for more than a year. Later, matters were amicably adjusted. 

Roy E. Glidewell. a younger member of the Decatur county bar, was 
l.iorn on a farm, six miles east of Greensl)urg, on November 26, 1891. He 
was educated in the common schools and later studied law. Ijeing admitted to 
practice in 19 14. He has his ofifice with Judge Ewing. 

Judge Hugh 13. ^Vickens was born, August 30, 1870, on a farm near 
North \'ernon, Indiana. He obtained a common and high school education 
in the North Vernon schools and afterward taught school in Jennings county. 
Indiana, in Tennessee, and at Vincennes, Indiana. He was graduated from 
the Indiana Law School of Indianapolis, May 29, 1895, and came to Greens- 
burg, July 1, 1895, 'i"*^! "'3S soon afterward admitted to the Decatur county 
bar. He practiced law by himself until November i, 1897, when he formed 
a partnership with John Osborn, continuing in the firm of ^Vickens & Osborn 
until he was elected judge of the ninth judicial circuit of Indiana in 1910. 
He served as count}- attorney during 1900 and 190T. He is a Democrat and 
a member of the lilks lodge. 

Mvron C. Jenkins was admitted to the bar of the Decatur circuit court 
before Judge Samuel A. Bonner in 1886. Beginning in that year, he was in 
partnership with John H. Parker for some time. He was elected clerk of 
Decatur county in 1904 and re-elected in 1908, serving eight years in that 
office. L^pon closing his last term of ofiice, he resumed the practice of law. 
He has sat as special judge at numerous times in the Decatur circuit court. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. . 295 

George Bruce served a short while as deputy prosecuting attorney in the 
time vvlien Wilham V. O'Donnell, now of St. Louis, was prosecuting attorney 
of tiie ninth judicial circuit in iqoq and igio. In 1911 and 1912 Horace C. 
Skillnian was dcput_\- prosecuting attorney for IDecatur county during the 
term of Ralph Spaugh. Mr. .Skillnian removed to Colorado Springs, Colo- 
rado, in 19 1 3. 

V. Gates Ketchum was admitted to the bar in 1909. He has Ijeen in the 
practice of the law since March, 191 3, having offices in the Citizens Bank 
building. Since his appearance at the bar he has been of counsel for one side 
or the other in several important cases. 

David A. Myers, of the Decatur county bar, was elected to the appellate 
court of Indiana for two terms. He was admitted to the l)ar at Greensburg 
before Judge Bonner, in September, 1881. In 1890 he was elected prosecut- 
ing attorney of the eighth judicial circuit of Indiana, then embracing Rush 
and Decatur counties, and was re-elected to that ofifice in 1892. In 1899 he 
succeeded Judge John D. Aliller on the bench for Rush and Decatur counties, 
serving as circuit judge from March, 1899, until January of the ensuing year. 
Judge Myers was elected to the appellate court in 1904, and re-elected in 
1908, serving as appellate judge until January i, 1913. Since that date he 
has been engaged in active practice at Greensburg. 

Rollin A. Turner, in the same year that he graduated from college, 
entered into the law partnership of Tremain & Turner. He is a graduate of 
the college of law of Harvard University in the class of 1907. In that year 
he came to Green.sburg and has continuously since been in active practice with 
G. L. Tremain. Mr. Turner was the Republican candidate for Congress in 
the fourth congressional district of Indiana in the campaign of 1912. 

After having served as deputy auditor of Decatur county, John E. 
Osborn was admitted to the l)ar in 1897. He formed a partnership at once 
with Elmer E. Roland, who was then prosecuting attorney. He continued in 
partnership with Mr. Roland until November, 1897, at which time Wickens 
& Osborn formed a ]iartnership. which continued until Mr. Wickens was 
elected to the bench in 19 10. In December, 19 10, Mr. Osborn and Lewis A. 
Harding formed a partnership. F'rank Hamilton became a member of the 
firm on January i, 19 12, and Mr. Harding entered the office of prosecuting 
attorney at the commencement of 1913. Mr. Osborn served as Democratic 
chairman of the sixth congressional district of Indiana. 

Frank Hamilton, before he began the study of law, attended Butler 
College in 1900 and 1901. He was a student in the law school of Indiana 
Lhiiversity from 1901 to 1904. He entered the Indiana Law School of 



296 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Indianapolis in 1905 and was graduated from that school in the same year. 
He then continued the study of law further, after his graduation, in the law 
office of Tackett & Wilson in Greensburg. He was admitted to the bar in 
Deceml)er, 1905. He practiced in partnership with James K. Ewing during 
the period of 1906 to 1912, and in 1912 joined in partnership with Osborn & 
Harding. Mr. Hamilton was deputy prosecuting attorney from 1907 to 
1909. He was county attorney during the year 1912. 

Lewis A. Harding is a son of James L. Harding, of Xewpoint. He 
obtained his elementary education in his home schools and at Greenst:)urg. 
He taught school four years in Decatur county and at Alexandria, and after- 
ward was graduated in law from the Indiana State University in 1909. He 
then spent a }'ear and a half in the west, serving as head of the department of 
English of the Wichita, Kansas, high school from 1909 to 191 1. Upon the 
election of Judge Wickens to the bench in 1910, Mr. Harding joined in part- 
nership with John E. Osborn. Frank Hamilton later joined the firm of 
Osborn & Harding, January i. 1912. Mr. Harding was elected prosecuting 
attorney of the ninth judicial circuit of Indiana in 1912 for the years 1913 
and 1914, and was re-elected in 1914. In addition to his other writings, he is 
the author of a work on international law, entitled "The Preliminary Diplo- 
macy of the Spanish-American War." 

Thomas E. Davidson was graduated in law from DePauw University 
in 1887. Prior to that time he had read law in the office of Col. Simeon 
Stansifer at Columbus. He was admitted to the bar in Columbus in 1891, 
where he served as deputy in the county clerk's office three years. ^Ir. 
Davidson came to Greensburg in the autumn of 1895 and practiced law in 
partnershi]) with Benjamin F. Bennett from February, 1896, until October, 
1914. \\hen ■Nlr. Bennett removed to California. Mr. Davidson was elected 
president of the State Bar Association of Indiana in July, 1914. At the 
annual meeting of the State Bar Association in Indianapolis in July, 1915, 
as president of the association, he delivered an address on "Respect for the 
Law," which has attracted wide attention in the state. 

Earl Hite attended Butler College in 1900 and 1901, after which he 
went to Indiana L?ni\ersity, where he was graduated from the school of law 
in 1905. He was admitted to the bar in 1904 and served as deputy prosecut- 
ing attorney for a time in 1909 and 1910. He has been city attorney of the 
citv of Greensburg since 19 10. 

William F. Robl^ins was admitted to the bar of the Decatur circuit 
court in June, 1913, at which time he was appointed deputy prosecuting attor- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



297 



ney for Decatur county by Prosecutor Harding. When Mr. Harding was 
re-elected in 1914 he again appointed Mr. Robbins as deputy. 

Cortez Ewing, Jr., was born in Clay township on September 14, 1862, 
and moved to Greensburg in 1875. He studied law with his uncles, Cortez 
and James K. Ewing, and was admitted to the Decatur county bar "ex gracia" 
while in his teens in 1883. He was a son of Abel Ewing and was one of the 
most brilliant and, at the same time, when he dealt with a contrary witness or 
attorney, one of the most adroit young lawyers that ever practiced at the 
Decatur county bar. These qualities, coupled with his impressive personality, 
his legal acumen and ready wit, made him advance rapidly as a lawyer. His 
first practice was in partnership with his uncle, James K. Ewing, which con- 
tinued until 1893. He later formed a partnership with Davisson Wilson in 
1895, which continued until his unfortunate death in 1902. In 1889 he was 
elected state senator for Decatur and Shelby counties. He married Mary 
Matthews, daughter of former Governor Claude Matthews, June 18, 1890. 
He was the author of the World's Fair bill that became a law in 1891. He 
was appointed a member of the world's law commission by former Governor 
Hovey. 

The junior member of the Decatur county bar is Fred F. Smith, from 
Bloomington, Indiana. He was admitted to the bar before Judge Wickens, 
July ID, 1915. He was graduated from the Indiana University Law School 
in 1915. 



CHAPTER X. 



BANKS AND BANKING. 



The Citizens Bank of Greensburg, a private institution, was estab- 
lished on i\Iarch i, iS66, by David Lo\ett, Levi P. Lathrop and Samuel 
Christy. As a private bank it did a good business and enjoyed the conti- 
dence of the public from the very beginning. In November, 1871, it was 
reorganized under the national bank law and took out a charter as a national 
bank, under the name of the Citizens National Bank, with a paid-in capital 
of $100,000. 

The tirst officers of the Citizens National Bank of Greensburg were, 
David Lovett, president: Le\-i P. Lathrop, \ice-president; Samuel Christy, 
cashier, and D. \\'. Lovett, teller, .\ffairs of the institution have been 
handled in a careful and business-like manner, from the start, by its effi- 
cient officers and directors, and its deposits have shown a steady and normal 
growth. 

Besides paying its regular dividends, the Citizens National Bank has 
accumulated a surplus fund of $45,000 and has undivided profits amounting 
to $7,6-1.4.52. The institution does a general banking business of discount 
and deposit and buys and sells United States bonds and other high-class se- 
curities. According to its latest statement, this bank's deposits amount to 
$265,000. 

The Citizens National Bank is the oldest existing institution in the 
county, and is in many respects a financial landmark. Some of the foremost 
citizens of Decatur county are numbered among its officers and directors, 
adding to its prestige of seniorit}' the powerful asset of safe and conserva- 
tive administration. 

The present officers of the bank are: James B. Lathrop, president; S. P. 
Minear, vice-president; C. W. Woodard, cashier, and G. G. Welsh, assistant 
cashier. Its board of directors consists of James B. Lathrop. S. P. Minear, 
John H. Christian, C. W. Woodward. John W. Lovett, Louis E. Lathrop and 
Frank D. Bird. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 299 



THE THIRD NATIONAL BANK. 



Among the highly successful business institutions of Decatur county, 
the Third Xational Bank of Greensburg occupies a leading place. Through 
the rare business discernment of its officials together with their willingness 
to extend accommodations in every possible manner the institution has en- 
joved a rapid growth and is now recognized as one of the most sturdy and 
substantial hnancial institutions of the county. 

The bank was organized on December 4, 1882, liy John E. Robbins. 
Samuel A. Bonner, Thomas M. Hamilton, Abraham Reiter, E. B. Swem, 
M. L. Miers, Charles Zoller, Seth Donnell, William Kennedy. E. F. Dyer, 
James DeArmond, James Hart, Walter W. Bonner and Louis Zoller. The 
first officers were John E. Robbins. president : Thomas Hamilton, vice- 
president ; Cortez Ewing, cashier, and Walter Bonner, bookkeeper. The 
original directorate was made up of the following: J. E. Robbins, Morgan 
L. Miers, James Hart, A Reiter, E. B. Swem and Charles Zoller. The 
bank was capitalized for $50,000. 

Cortez Ewing, who had taken an active part in the organization of the 
institution, served as cashier until his death, four years later; and later 
successes of the enterprise are largely due to its auspicious beginning under 
his active direction. Ewing had practiced law, but quit the bar to organize 
this bank. He is remembered by older citizens as a man of unusual frank- 
ness and candor, who despised sham and hated hypocrisy; who loved equity 
and was at all times an open and fair-minded citizen. 

Walter W. Bonner, who swejit out the liank on the day it was opened 
and has been identified with it ever since, succeeded Ewing at the cashier's 
window. Two years after its organization the business of the bank had so 
increased that $25,000 was added to its capital stock. This date, December 
16, 1884, marks the real beginning of the gr()\\'th of the institution — a growth 
as healthy as it has been unusual. 

For years the bank had been paying annual di\Mdends of twent\' per 
cent., but, in spite of the payment of such large returns, on July 8, 1898, the 
institution had piled up a surplus of $100,000 and had undivided proiits 
amounting to $24,000. On this date a stock dividend of $75,000 \^'as de- 
clared, and $75,000 worth of additional stock was sold, which brought the 
capitalization of the bank to its present figure, $150,000. 

Total resources of this institution, according to its latest statement, 
amount to $760,282.99. Its loans amount to $527,654.05 and its deposits 
to more than $461,000. 



300 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



Present officers of the bank are: Alorgan L. Miers, president; Louis 
Zoller, vice-president ; Walter Bonner, cashier, and George W. Adams, as- 
sistant cashier. The teher is Charles J. Dowden, and Cora C. Self, W. E. 
Koenigkramer and Ernest T. Erdmann are bookkeepers. 

Since its organization the Third National Bank has always enjoyed the 
careful attention of an active board of directors. With the exception of Mr. 
Miers, all memljers of the first board are dead. Eollowing are members of 
the present directorate : Charles Zoller, Frank R. Robbins, Morgan L. Miers, 
Louis Zoller, John T. Meek, George P. Shoemaker and Walter W. Bonner. 

Character, as well as the financial responsibility of borrowers, has al- 
wavs been considered by this institution in credit extensions, and as a result 
of judicious assistance rendered by this bank at proper times a large numjjer 
of highly successful Decatur county business organizations owe their present 



financial rating. 



GREENSBURG NATIONAL BANK. 



Although the youngest national bank in Greensburg, the Greensburg 
National Bank now ranks second in deposits and is growing at a rate that 
would indicate its assumption of a more commanding position at no distant 
date. The institution was organized under the national banking law on 
June i8, 1900, by the following stockholders: Webb Woodfill, Benjamin F. 
McCoy, J. M. Covert, Harry T. Woodfill, Charles P. Miller. Robert B. 
Whiteman, Isaac Sefton, George B. Davis, Nelson JNIowrey, Cal. Crew, Mar- 
shall Grover, John M. Bright, Oliver Deem, Joseph B. Kitchin, James M. 
Woodfill, Will H. Robins, Will C. Pulse, Elizabeth A. Hamilton, John W. 
Deem, David A. Myers, Max Dalmbert, Blanche McLaughlin and Mary 
McLaughlin. 

The bank's original capital stock was $50,000, but in 1906 its business 
had increased to such an extent that the capitalization was raised to $75,000. 
First officers of the institution were James I\L Woodfill, president; Will H. 
Robbins, vice-president; Joseph B. Kitchin, cashier, and Dan S. Perry, 
assistant cashier. 

Deposits of the Greensburg National Bank, according to its latest finan- 
cial statement, were $310,938.49 and its surplus and undivided profits 
amounted to $31,399.43. The present officers of the bank are James M. 
Woodfill, president ; Will H. Robbins, vice-president ; Dan S. Perry, cashier, 
and Robert Woodfill, assistant cashier, succeeding A. J. Lowe. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 3OI 



WESTPORT NATIONAL BANK. 



The First National Bank of Westport was incorporated on June i6, 
1908, under tlie federal bank law l)y John S. Morris, F. D. Armstrong, J. 
F. Hamilton, E. G. Davis and Dr. O. F. Welch. The first officers were : 
F. D. Armstrong, president; J. F. Hamilton, vice-president; John S. Morris, 
cashier, and M. E. Baker, assistant cashier. M. E. Tyner is the present 
assistant cashier, the other officials remaining unchanged. 

Incorporators of the Ijank capitalized it at $30,000. Its deposits amount 
to $150,000 and its surplus to more than $10,000. The bank is doing a 
flourishing business and filling a long-felt want in the \-icinity of Westport. 

CLARKSBURG STATE BANK. 

The Clarksburg State Bank, one of the youngest financial institutions of 
the county was organized in October, 1904, by W. G. Gemmill, Everett Ham- 
ilton, C. V. Spencer, J. N. Moore, C. "Si. Beall, S. McCay, E .S. Fee, Leroy 
Dobyns and W. J. Kincaid. The Ijank's capital stock was fixed at $25,000. 
Its first officers were Everett Hamilton, president; W. J. Kincaid, vice-presi- 
dent; W. J. Gemmill, cashier. Since its organization, it has paid fair di\'i- 
dends, laid by a surplus of $16,000 and its deposits have mounted to $96,000. 
The institution owns the building it occupies. Its present officers are : Charles 
V. Spencer, president; W. J. Kincaid, vice-president, and A. T. Brock, 
cashier. 

ALERT STATE BANK. 

The youngest bank of the county is the State Bank of -\lert, which came 
into being on November 13, 1914. Though still too j^oung to have a sur- 
plus, its deposits have reached the tidy sum of $35,000, and the outlook for 
the institution is most encouraging. Incorporators of the bank were : John 
W. Spears, Thomas J. Norton. John H. Deniston, George A. Beesley, James 
D. Anderson, Samuel Kelly and James W. Casson. John W. Spears is presi- 
dent of the institution; Thomas J. Norton, vice-president, and Claud F. 
Tyner, cashier. This bank owns the building it occupies. 

THE ST. PAUL BANK. 

The bank at St. Paul was organized under the Indiana banking laws 
on Decemlier 10, 1904, !)y Orlando Hungerford and \Valter Huiigerford. 



302 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The concern is capitalized at $10,000 and does a general banking business. 
According to its latest statement its deposits exceed $100,000 and its undi- 
vided profits are more than $1,000. The bank occupies its own building. 
Orlando Hungerford is president of the institution; Walter Hungerford, 
cashier, and Dora Hungerford, assistant cashier. 

NEWPOINT STATE BANK. 

Organization of the bank at Newpoint was effected on October 22, 1906, 
when it was incorporated with a capitalization of $25,000 and a building, 
costing $3,500, was purchased. The first officers were J. J. Puttman, presi- 
dent; John Hoff, vice-president, and E. H. Spellman, cashier. The de- 
posits of the institution exceed $100,000 and it has a surplus of $3,500. Its 
present officers are : John Hoff, president ; John A. IMeyer, vice-president, 
and George A. Redelman, cashier. 

BURNEY ST.\TE BANK. 

Recognizing the need of some sort of financial institution to care for 
tlie needs of farmers, business men and others in that part of Clay township, 
William Smiley and six other progressive citizens of the township incorpor- 
ated the Burney State Bank on December 22, 1913. Its original capital was 
$25,000. Since its incorporation the bank has increased its deposits to 
$80,000 and a surplus amounting to $200 has been laid aside. The first 
officers, who are still serving, are William G. Smiley, president ; John W. 
Corya, vice-president, and Hul)er C. Moore, cashier. These officers, John 
G. Gartin, W. F. McCullough, A. E. Howe, L. P. \'. Williams and others, 
were incorporators of the institution. 

GREENSBURG BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION. 

The Greensburg Building and Loan Association, organized for the en- 
couragement of money-saving and hi)me-]>uilding, in JNIarch, 1896, now has 
more than five hundred members and occupies a very important position in 
the improvement of the municipality. Stock of the institution, subscribed 
and in force, amounts to $416,700. The par value of each share, when ma- 
tured, is $100. 

Interest at the rate of six and one-half per cent, is charged borrowers, 
and the annual dividend of the association has never been less than six 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 3O3 

per cent. The plan of the institution is permanent. Dividends are paid semi- 
annually, in January and July. According to the latest statement of the 
association, deposits amount to $182,624.34, and there is a surplus of 
$5,117.22. 

The original capitalization of the association was $100,000, but this has 
since been increased to $500,000. The incorporators were : John F. Childs, 
H. J. Hamon, Frank E. Gavin. Walter W. Bonner, P. T. Lambert and 
Charles Zoller, Jr. Upon organization, Mr. Childs was made president, Mr. 
Gavin, vice-president; Mr. Zoller, secretary; J\Ir. Bonner, treasurer, and P. 
T. Lambert, solicitor. These officers, with T. H. Stevenson and George P. 
Shoemaker, comprised the original board of directors. 

Present officials of the association are: W. C. Woodfill, president; 
George P. Shoemaker, vice-president; Charles Zoller, secretary; Walter W. 
Bonner, treasurer, and P. T. Lambert, solicitor. Other members of the pres- 
ent board of directors are Robert Naegel and Louis Zoller. 

THE UNION TRUST COMPANY. 

The Lhiion Trust Compan\' of Greensburg, although one of the young- 
est, ranks second in amount of deposits among the financial institutions of the 
county. It secured its charter on Octo1)er 25, 1905, and opened for business 
on the north side of the [lublic square on January 30, of the following year. 

Its first officers and directors were as follow: John Christian, presi- 
dent ; Walter W. Bonner, vice-president ; Harrington Boyd, secretary-treas- 
urer, James Lathrop, Charles Zoller, Frank R. Robbins, James M. Woodfill, 
William H. Robbins and Daniel S. Perry. Other incorporators were : John 
W. Lovett, Sherman Minear, John H. Christian, Charles W. Woodward, 
John W. Spears, John H. Brown, D. Silberberg, W. Bracken, John H. Picker, 
Louis E. Lathrop, D. W. Hazelrigg, Morgan L. Miers, Louis Willey, Louis 
Zoller, George E. Erdman, C. J. Erdman, Abbie A. Bonner, Lizzie A. Ham- 
ilton, Walter W. Bonner, Isaac Sefton, Calvin Crews, John H. Deniston, 
J. M. Bright, Max Dalmbert, Oliver Deem, Hart & Woodfill, David A. Myers, 
Delia McLaughlin, J. M. Covert, B. F. McCoy, Martin Hill, Mary Mc- 
Laughlin and Blanche McLaughlin. 

The original capitalizatiDU of the company was $45,000, which has 
never been increased. Its total deposits, according to its latest statement, 
were $374,547.62, and its surplus was $33,750. The original stockholders 
were almost without exception owners of stock in other Greensburg l)anks. 
who saw the need of a trust compau}- in the city and preferred to organize 



304 DECATUR COUXTY, INDIANA. 

it themselves, rather than jiermit outsiders to do so. Like other organi- 
zations of this kind the company serves as guardian, trustee and administra- 
tor; but is not a depository for pubHc funds. It speciahzes in farm mort- 
gages, its latest statement showing more than $260,000, loaned upon this 
kind of real estate. 

Present officers of the institution are: John H. Christian, president; 
Louis Zoller, vice-president, and Harrington Boyd, secretarv-treasurer. 

workingmen's building and loan association. 

The Workingmen's Building and Loan Association, the oldest institution 
of this character in Decatur county, was founded in April, 1883, bv the 
following: I. F. Warriner, president; C. \V. Harvey, vice-president; F. P. 
Monfort, secretary; James E. Mendenhall, solicitor; O. P. Schriver, Tom 
Brown, Robert Naegel, D. C. Elder, John B. ^Montgomery, Adam Stegmaier 
and ¥. E. Gavin. Warriner, Harve}-, Brown, bolder, Montgomery and Steg- 
maier have since died. 

Founded for the purpose of assisting laboring men, and those working 
for small salaries, to secure comfortable homes for themselves, the associa- 
tion has been a strong factor in the development of Greensburg. More than 
three hundred homes, most of them on the west side of the city, have been 
erected with money borrowed of this institution. 

The organization is capitalized at a half milli(jn tlollars and more than 
$200,000 in stock already has been taken by depositors, looking forward to 
the time when they should be able to build their own homes. The association 
has more than two hundred depositors and half as many borrowers. 

Present officers and directors of the association are : A. C. Rupp, presi- 
dent; C. P. Corbett, vice-president; David A. Myers, secretary, J. B. Kitchin, 
Web Woodfill, Daniel S. Perrv, H. L. Wittenberg, Edward Dille, Aueust 
Goyert, Eugene Rankin and Charles S. Williams. 

ST. PAUL building ASSOCIATION. 

The St. Paul Building Association was incorporated on February 13, 
1886, and was capitalized for $50,000. It now has ninety-one investing 
members and fifty-three borrowing members. The amount of capital stock 
now subscribed and in force is $76,100. Par value of shares is $100. Bor- 
rowers are charged six and one-half per cent, interest, but no premium is 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 3O5 

exaeted. The annual dividend declared in 1914 was six per cent. Total re- 
ceipts for 1914, from all sources, according to the annual report, were $33,- 
goS.OJ. Assets, in cash and loans; amounted to the same. 

Present officers of the association are : C. F. Kappes, president ; George 
W. Boling, secretary ; Jacob Johannes, treasurer, and Harry Ballard, at- 
torney. The original incorporators were : J. J. Theobold, Julias Theobold, 
William Favors. Sarah E. Ellsberry, Abner Buell, J. H. Mason, Delmon L. 
Lee, George N. V^anostram, John Palmerton, James Ellsberry, Pat Mc- 
Aulliffe, Peter Johannes, Charles Earner, WiUiam L. Ford, Lewis Hinkle, 
John Evans, Jacob Johannes, William Favors, Jr., Michael Marren, John 
W. Jenkins, George Pittman, Maurice Doolan, John Cole, E. L. Floyd, 
Jonah Phillips, Mort Templeton, Jeremiah Evans, John B. Hohues, J. L. 
Scanlan, D. W. Avery, J. E. Stevens, Otto Lindner, J. M. Shortridge, Jacob 
Favors, C. H. Latham, John C. Scanlan, Elias Franks and Calvin Jolly. 

DECATUR county's ONLY BANK FAILURE. 

Not one dollar has ever been lost by depositors through failure of a 
Decatur county jjank. But one institution has ever closed its doors through 
failure ; and in this instance, stockholders paid off the obligations of the insti- 
tution within fifteen days. This bank closed its doors on September 2, 1897, 
and the money was ready with which to pay depositors in full on September 
17: the speediest liquidation ever known, according to the declarations of 
Federal lianking authorities at the time. 

The laank in question was the First National Bank, which was organ- 
ized as a private institution in 1857, under the name of the Greensburg Bank. 
In December, 1863, it was reorganized as a national bank with Antrim R. 
Forsythe as president. The capital stock was $50,000. This was later 
increased to $100,000, and then to $150,000. 

Upon the death of Antrim R. Forsythe, his son, E. R. Forsythe, suc- 
ceeded him in management of the institution. Not possessing the business 
acumen of his father, the son permitted the bank to back hazardous enterprises 
and its affairs became Ijadly ihx'olved. The concern had been Iiarcl hit some 
years before, through the disastrous failure of Armel & Company, packers, 
and was in no condition to withstand additional financial drains. 

Deposits of the institution in 1881 amounted to $205,126.80, according 
to the annual statement for that year. The last statement of the bank, made 
on Julv 2^. 1897, showed that deposits had dwindled to $84,000. \\'hen the 
■(20) 






306 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

bank suspended, four of its directors, as individuals, negotiated loans with 
the two other banks of Greensburg and paid off the depositors in full. These 
four directors who lost eighty-fi\'e per cent, of their capital stock, but who 
felt under obligation to make full and immediate settlements with the insti- 
tution's dospitors were : Nelson Mowrey, William Hamilton, Robert S. 
Aleek and Louis Willev. 



CHAPTER XI 

SECRET SOCIETIES AND FRATERNITIES. 



THE MASONIC ORDER. 

The first secret order to establish itself in Greensburg was the Free and 
Accepted Masons. Greensburg Lodge No. 36 was instituted here, May 29, 
1846, by Grand Master Johnson Watts and and Grand Secretary A. W. 
Morris. The first officers were : Israel T. Gibson, worshipful master ; Will- 
iam Buchanan, senior warden; W. W. Riley, junior warden; James Blair, 
treasurer; Philip Williams, senior deacon; W. P. Stevens, junior deacon; 
David Gageby, secretary; W. M. Finley, tyler. These, with Thomas E. 
Peters, were the charter members. At the first meeting, held June 6, 1846, 
seven petitions were received, as follows ; Philander Hamilton, James M. 
Talbott, Henry H. Talbott, Chatfield Howell, Joseph Robinson, William J. 
Likens, and Marine D. Ross. At the end of the first year there were thirty- 
five members and at the end of 1849 there were seventy-five. 

The following are the names of the brothers who have served as wor- 
shipful master and the years they served: Israel T. Gibson, 1846-54; Jacob 
E. Houser, 1855-57; J- ^^- Bemusdaffer, 1858; Daniel Stewart, 1859-62; 
John M. Watson, 1861 ; J. J. Menifee, 1863; Col. James Gavin, 1864; Dr. 
William Bracken, 1865-67, 1869, 1871, 1873-77; Dr. John L. Wooden, 
1868; Frank M. Weadon, 1870-72; Frank E. Gavin, 1878-80, 1882,92; J. N. 
Wallingford, 1881-85; Paschal T. Lambert, 1886-87; Joseph Drake, 1893; 
John F. Childs, 1894-95; Frank H. Drake, 1896-97; W. P. Skeen, 1898- 
1900; W. C. Pulse, 1901, 1912-13; C. T. Pleak, 1902-03; Ira Rigby, 1904: 
Dr. E. T. Riley, 1905-06, 1908, 191 1; William Bussell, 1907; Bruce Bishop, 
1909-10; Locke Bracken, 1914; Robert W. Pierce, 1915. 

The present officers are: Robert W. Pierce, worshipful master; Ji 
C. Barbs, senior warden ; T. P. Havens, junior warden ; F. B. McCoy, senior 
deacon; George Hillman, junior deacon; D. A. Batterton, secretary; Rob- 
ert C. Woodfill, trea.surer; O. P. Creath, tyler; J. C. Crews, E, E. Doles 
and L. D. Braden, trusteees. 



308 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The membership numbers two hundred and forty-five and is growing 
rapidly. The lodge has assets valued at fifteen thousand dollars and con- 
templates building a temple in the near future. 

CONCORDIA LODGE NO. 476. 

Concordia Lodge No. 476 was formed in 1873 Ij}- members from 
Greensburg Lodge No. 36 and kept up its existence until consolidated with 
the niDther lodge, on No\ember 5. 1901. 

The masters of Concordia were as follow: Dr. John L. ^\'ooden, 1873- 
80. 1883,1886; Frank AI. Weadon, 1881-82; Dr. J. C. French, 1884; James 
E. Caskey, 1885 ,1894-95; Cortez Ewing, 1887-89; Dr. J. V. Schofield, 1890; 
J. T. Cunningham, 1891 ; Dr. W. H. Wooden, 1892-93; Charles T. Powner, 
1896-97; David A. Myers, 1898; George B. Von Phul, 1899-1901. There 
were about one hundred niemliers in this lodge when it united with No. 36. 

GREENSBURG CHAPTER NO. 8, ROYAI, ARCH MASONS. 

Greensburg Chapter No. 8, Royal Arch Masons, was instituted on May 
23, 1848, by Grand High Priest Abel C. Pepper, assisted by William Hacker, 
king; I. T. Gibson, scribe, and J. W. Sullivan, secretary. The first convoca- 
tion was held on July 6, 1848. Charter members were: William Hacker, 
I. T. Gibson, J. W. Sullivan, Samuel Reed, J. McElroy, Isaac W. Fugit, D. 
Lindley, J. T. Wilkins and P. Williams. The first petitioners, elected July 
6, 1848, were: Philander Hamilton, Jacob C. Houser, George R. Todil, 
William Hanawa.v, O. P. Gilham, Sanniel Bryant, H. H. Talbott and B. W. 
Wilson. 

The designation of the chapter was No. 7 originally, but was changed to 
No. 8 on June 5, [849. The first officers were: William Hacker, high priest; 
L T. Gibson, king; J. W. Sullivan, scribe; Samuel Reed, captain of post; 
J. McElroy, principal sojourner; L W. Fugit, royal arch captain; D. Lindley, 
master of the first veil; J. T. Wilkinson, master of the second veil; P. Will- 
iams, master of the third veil; Philander Hamilton, secretary; Daniel Stew- 
art, guard ; B. W. Wilson, treasurer. The following companions have served 
as high priest: William Hacker, 1848-49; Jacob E. Houser, 1850-51, 1853; 
Barton W. Wilson, 1852; Daniel Stewart, 1854, 1860-61; I. T. Gibson, 
1855-56; J. V. Bemusdafi'or, 1857-58. 1865-66; Ira G. Grover, 1859, 1871 ; 
J. J. Monifee, 1862; John L. Wooden, 1867-68, 1870; George L. Curtis, 
1869; Isaac L. Fugit. 1872; l->ank M. Weaden. 1873-82; Joseph R. David- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 3O9 

son, 1883; Alexander Connolly, 1884-86, 1890-91; Paschal T. Lambert, 
1887-88; Frank E. Gavin, 1889; Joseph Drake, 1892, 1894, 1896-97, 1899- 
1902, 1904-05; A. P. Bone, 1895; J. E. Bajless, 1903; William L. Miller, 
1906; E. T. Riley, 1907; C. T. Pleak, 1908; Jesse W. Rucker, 1909; John 
\V. Rhodes, 1910-11 ; Hal T. Kitchin, 1912-14; L. D. Braden, 1915. 

The chapter has a membership of eight\'-h\'e and is in a flourishing con- 
dition. Fifteen were added during the first half of 1915. The chapter treas- 
ury has about se\'en hundred dollars surplus. The present officers of the 
chapter are: L. D. Braden. high priest; T. B. Havens, king; R. W. Pierce, 
scrilje; H. T. Kitchin, past scribe; J. H. Christian, captain of host; W. G. 
Bentley, royal arch captain; C. L Ryan, secretary; Robert Woodfill, treasurer; 
J. W. Rhodes, master of the third veil ; J. N. .Vnnis, master of the second 
veil; T. E. Da}', master of the first \eil ; O. P. Creath, guard. 

GREENSBURG COUNCIL NO. 74, ROYAL AND SELECT MASTERS. 

Greensburg Council No. 74, Royal and Select Masters, was instituted 
on August 2Ti, 1902, by John J. Richards, illustrious grand master of the 
grand council, with Jesse W. Rucker, thrice illustrious master; Fred Erd- 
mann, deputy thrice illustrious master ; W. H. Wooden, principal conductor of 
work. 

The first convocation was on September i, 1902, when the following 
officers were elected: J. W. Rucker, thrice illustrious master; Fred Erd- 
mann, deputy thrice illustrious master ; W. H. Wooden, principal conductor 
of work; J. T. Alexander, treasurer; C. T. Pleak, recorder; C. M. Woodfill, 
captain of the guard ; A. P. Bone, conductor of the council; D. A. Myers, 
stewartl. 

These brethren were elected at the first convocation : J. M. Towler, 
James W. Craig, J. N. Graham, J. E. Bayless, S. R. Glenn, J. H. Christian. 

There are fifty-nine members of the council at the present time. Nine 
have been admitted during the first half of 1915. The present officers are 
as follows: J. H. Christian, Jr., thrice illustrious master; R. W. Pierce, 
deputy thrice illustrious master ; T. B. Havens, principal conductor of work ; 
Robert Woodfill, treasurer; C. I. Ryan, recorder; \\\ C. Bentley, captain of 
guard ; J. \\'. Rhodes, conductor of the council ; S. F. Ridenour, steward ; 
J. N. Annis. sentinel. The first thrice illustrious master was Jesse ^^'. 
Rucker. He held the office until 191 1, when the present incumbent, J. H. 
Christian, Jr., was elected. 



3IO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

GREENSBURG COMMANDERY NO. 2, KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. 

It is a matter of pride among Greensljurg ^Masons that there once ex- 
isted here a commandery of Knights Templar. Greensburg Commandery No. 
2 was organized and set to work under a dispensation from ]\lost Eminent 
Wilham R. Hubbard, grand master of the United States, on March 25, 
1 85 1. The charter members were: James Mcllroy, WilHam Hacker, W. F. 
Pidgeon, Wilham Crawford, George Hibben, Jacob E. Houser, M. V. Simin- 
son, John W. Sullivan, Homer T. Hinman, Burriss Moore and John S. Sco- 
bey. A charter was issued on September 19, 1853. The eminent comman- 
ders were: Jacob E. Houser, 185 1 to 1836; J. V. Eemusdaffer acted as 
eminent commander between this time and i860, but there is no record of 
his election; Israel T. Gibson, i860. The other officers elected at the last 
election held June 30, i860, were B. W. Wilson, captain general; J. V. Be- 
musdaffer. generalissimo; J. E. Houser, prelate. There is no record of any 
meetings after i860. Sixty-six members were enrolled during the ten years 
the commandery was in operation. The Civil War called many of the mem- 
bers to the service of their country, causing interest to decline, until the 
following knights petitioned Grand Commander William Hacker to transfer 
the commandery to Shelbyville : Thomas Pattison, W^illiam Allen, Jacob 
Vernon, T. H. Lynch, Daniel Stewart, B. W. Wilson, James Gavin, Putnam 
Ewing, J. V. Bemusdaffer, Will Cumback, James Elliott, Robert Cones and 
John Elliott. The commandery was reorganized at Shelbyville on March 
18, 1865, as Baldwin Commandery No. 2. 

Greensburg Commandery was the second formed in Indiana and par- 
ticipated in the first grand commandery at Indianapolis, May 16, 1854. It 
then had thirty-four members: Indianapolis No. i had fifty-three; Lafayette 
No. 3, forty-six, and Fort Wayne No. 4, fifteen. \\'ith the prosperous con- 
dition of all branches of the order at the present time, Greensburg Masons 
are looking forward to the no-distant future when they shall have a new 
temple and again have a commandery. 

Among the early memliers of the craft who contril)uted to the establish- 
ing of the order here perhaps none wrought so effectively as I. T. Gibson, a 
prominent merchant and father of Mrs. Dr. E. B. Swem. Others who ably 
assisted were Jacob E. Houser, H. H. Talbott, J. Monroe Talbott, Samuel 
Bryan, B. W. Wilson, Daniel Stewart, Daniel Moss, J. V. Bemusdafifer, and 
Isaac L. Fugit. It has been said of I. T. Gibson, that he was "the father of 
Masonry in Greensburg," which is in a large measure true. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 3II 

One of the most noteworthy events in the early history of Greensburg 
Masonry was the observance of St. John's Day, June 24, 1859. It was the 
first elaborate ceremony attem])ted l)y the local lodge since its organization. 
Visitors were present from Brookxille. Shelbyville and many other towns in 
the state. 

Hon. Caleb B. Smith, one of the most famous of Indiana's United 
States senators, addressed a large assemblage in the forenoon at the court 
house. At noon several hundred visiting Masons sat down to a sumptuous 
repast in Stockman's elevator near the freight depot. After dinner they 
marched to the Masonic hall, where the formal program was given. 

Rev. Joseph Cotton responded to the toast, "This Day We Celebrate." 
"Masonry" was described b\- I. T. Gibson. Other toasts were as follow: 
"Our Newly Elected Worthy Ma.ster." Daniel Stewart; "Our Visiting 
Brethren," Rev. J. Brockway, Hartsville; "Our Bachelor Friends," R. C. 
Talbott and I. G. Grover. 

Another point of interest in connection with the local Masonic lodge is 
the fact that it is the only lodge in the world which has ever elected and 
initiated a negro. The lodge has received one large bequest, Aaron Howard 
leaving it three thousand dollars at the time of his death. 

MILFORD LODGE NO. 94. 

Milford Lodge No. 94, Free and Accepted Masons, was organized on 
May 28, 1850, with the following officers and charter members: Isaac 
Fugate, worshipful master; Samuel Todd, senior warden; John King, junior 
warden; Jacob ]\Iiller, James Mandlove, Henry B. Smally, Albert G. Hanks, 
William Sefton and Stamper Perry. The lodge now has ninety-seven mem- 
bers and during its existence has initiated more than three hundred candi- 
dates. 

The lodge owns its own hall, which is valued at two thousand dol- 
lars, and meets regularly. Its present officers are : Sherley Wasson, wor- 
shipful master; Charles Worland, senior warden; Lincoln Vandiver, junior 
warden; J. M. Luther, treasurer: Dal Neibert. secretary; Clarence Worland, 
senior deacon: Wallace Chamjj, junior deacon, and Nelson Henderson, tyler. 

CLARKSBURG LODGE NO. 1 24. 

Inquiry has not discovered the date of the founding of the Clarks- 
burg lodge or any of the earl\- history pertaining to this chapter. The pres- 



312 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ent beautiful brick building in which the lodge meetings are held is the prop- 
erty of this chapter. This lodge has a niembershii) at present of fifty. The 
present tifficers are as follows: Birney E. Hite, worshipful master; Ora .\. 
Hite, senior warden; Clifford A. Martz, junior warden; D. I*". Hite, secretary; 
James B. Clark, treasurer; George F. Rogers, tyler; H. C. Doles, senior 
deacon; Lon H. Kerrick, junior deacon; W. E. Thomas and P. E. Clark, 
stewards; Homer ^I. Campliell, chaplain. 

WESTPORT LODGE NO. 52. 

Westport Lodge No. 52 was organized in 1852, but the charter for the 
installation of this lodge was not granted until the following year. In i860 
the lodge suffered the loss of their hall by fire and the early records were de- 
stroyed. This makes it impossible to give the early histijry of the lodge in 
a complete and concise form. James McKelvey was the first candidate taken 
into this lodge after it was organized. Dr. William ' House is the oldest 
living member of this lodge, in which he has been active for fifty years. 
The following is a partial list of the charter members: Christopher Stott, 
Noah Re\'nokIs, Dr. Pottinger, W. T. Rex'nolds, Robert Armstrong and 
Hiram Bruce. 

The present building, which is valued at two thousand dollars, is the 
property of this lodge. The present membership totals one hundred and 
twenty-four. The officers who are serving the lodge at present are as fol- 
low: W. W. Ricketts, worshipful master; Clay demons, senior warden; 
Carl Keith, junior warden; Ray D. Patrick, senior deacon; Harry Tucker, 
junior deacon; James Raine\', t\der; Glen Gartin, secretary; H. \'. Co.x, 
treasurer. 

NEW POINT LODGE NO. 255. 

New Point Lodge No. 255, Free and Accepted Masons, was organized 
on May 29, i860. The records of this lodge fail to give the names of the 
charter members. The first officers were: Joel Pennington, worshipful mas- 
ter; Edward I'aremore, senior warden; Ezekiel R. Cook, junior warden. 
The present membership numbers forty-five. The lodge building was erected 
in 1 861 at a cost of one thousand dollars, and is a very substantial brick 
structure. The present officers are Edbert Starks, worshipful master; Dr. 
Harlev McKee, senior warden; \\'illiam Haas, junior warden. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



ADAMS LODGE NO. 269 



3 '3 



Adams Lodge No. 269, located at Adams, was organized in the year 
1856, with W. \V. Riley as worshipful master. Hiram C. Whitlow and John 
G. Guthrie were the two first master ]\Iasons of this lodge. This lodge sur- 
rendered its charter in 1877. 

ALERT LODGE NO. 395. 

The Alert Lodge No. 395 was organized on May 25, 1869, with the 
following members serving the lodge as the first officers : William T. Strict- 
land, worshipful master; Agnus J. RlcCloud, senior warden; James S. Ban- 
nister, junior warden. The following were also among the list of charter 
members : Jere Gant, John B. Seal, Frank Seal, Samuel Thomas, Louis 
Gant. Mulford Baird, ^^'illiam Keeley and A. B. Mims. This lodge is in 
a prosperous condition and owns its own ([uarters. which are \'alued at one 
thousand five hundred dollars. The present officers are: Clifford N. Fulton, 
worshipful master; Ray Fulton, senior warden; ClifYord Carter, junior war- 
den; J. Otis Beesley, treasurer; John C. Arnold, secretary; Ray Irwin, sen- 
ior deacon; George B. Blazer, junior deacon; John W. Hamilton, tyler; Ray 
Bannister and William Starks, stewards ; Thomas Norton, John W. Spears 
and Smith S. Thompson, trustees. 

ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR. 

The Order of the Eastern Star was organized for the purpose of creat- 
ing a social tie between Masons and their families and to give to the fra- 
ternity a helpmate in the beneficent work of the order in caring for widows 
and orphans and to assist in all deeds of mercy and love. Master Masons 
in good standing, their wives, daughters, mothers, widows and sisters who 
have attained the age of eighteen years are eligible to membership in this 
order. 

Lois Chapter No. 147 was instituted at Greensburg, February 15, 1894, 
by Past Grand Patron Martin H. Rice, of Indianapolis, with thirty charter 
members. The first officers were : Worthy matron, Mae Cliilds ; worth}' 
patron, Frank H. Drake ; associate matron, Rena J. Gilchrist ; secretary, Eliza 
H. Lambert; treasurer, Ella Childs; conductress, Eliza J. Crisler; associate 
conductress, Margaret Schultz ; chaplain, John W. Drake ; Adah, Carrie 
Meek; Ruth, Isabella F. Stout; Esther, Louisa M. Bone; Martha, Louisa 



314 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



Upjohn; Electa, Henrietta Bryan; warder, Pats\- J. St. John; sentinel, A, H. 
Christian. 

The office of worthy matron has since heen filled by Eliza J. Crisler, 
Ella M. Stont, Missouri Moberly, Esther Lockwood, Margaret Rigby, Liz- 
zie Styers, Lizzie Nordmeyer, Margaret Glenn, Ella Kirkpatrick, Jennie 
Shirk, Rena J. Gilchrist, Elizabeth Ehrhardt, Emma Creath and Ella M. 
Forkner. The office of worthy patron has since been filled by James C. 
Pulse, J. F. Childs, William P. Skeen, Coleman T. Pleak, Ira G. Rigby, Tay- 
lor F. Meek, George B. Von Phul, W. F. Gilchrist, Herschel Smiley, Owen 
Steadman, Bruce Bishop, Dr. E. T. Riley and Will Ehrhardt. Nannie L. 
Kofoid and Will Ehrhardt are the present (1915) holders, respectively, of 
these stations, with Candace Shepherd, associate matron; Eliza J. Crisler, 
secretary ; Anna P. Mowrer, treasurer ; Elizabeth Ehrhardt, conductress ; 
Louise Crews, associate conductress; Margaret Glenn, chaplain; Sallie House, 
marshal ; Clara Hamilton, pianist ; Carrie Meek, Adah ; Jessie Skeen, Ruth ; 
Jennie Ainsworth, Esther; Elizabeth Bennett, Martha; Alfaretta Havens, 




Electa ; Lizzie McConnell \Miite, warder, and Oliver P. Creath, sentinel. 
The membership now numljers one hundred and twenty-four; fifty-three 
have been lost by death and sixty-eight by dimit and suspension. 

The crowning feature of the work of the order in Indiana at present 
is the building of the Eastern Star and Masonic Home at Franklin. It was 
through the persistent efforts of the Eastern Star that this was made pos- 
sible. Two hundred and fifteen acres of land have been purchased near 
Franklin, on which the buildings will be erected. The cornerstone is to be 
laid in INIay, 1916. In this home, unfortunate Masons, their wives, widows 
and children may find a safe and pleasant retreat, surrounded with the com- 
forts and conveniences of a home in every sense of the word. The children 
will be carefully trained, educated, well clothed and fed, thus symbolizing 



charity, truth and loving kindness. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ' 315 



KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS. 



On August 24, 1886. Greensljurg Lodge No. 148, Knights of Pythias, 
was organized by Grand Chancellor Charles E. Shively, assisted by W. L. 
Heiskel, John H. Russe, Frank Bowers and other grand lodge officers. The 
Pythian "goat" was hard at work by three o'clock on that memorable after- 
noon, initiating thirty-two charter members, who were as follows : Past 
Chancellor, J. W. McRoberts ; Chancellor Commander, Marine D. Tackett ; 
Vice-Chancellor, Max Mergenheim; Prelate, J. Loraine Wright; Keeper of 
Records and Seal, P. H. Moulton ; Master of Exchequer, J. T. Cunningham; 
Master of Finance, S. F. Rogers; Inside Guard, Will Cumback, Jr.; Outside 
Guard, F. M. Bryan; D. A. Myers, C. C. Lowe, J. D. White, W. L Johnson, 
C. S. Williams, T. J. Magee, W. H. Buckley, A. B. Armington, C. M. 
Thomas, W. O. Elder, George L. Roberts, A. M. Elkins, C. E. Schobey. 
John O. Marshall, Charles F. Belser, D. L. Scobey, William A. Johnson, 
Phil Weymer, Henry Black, A. M. Willoughby, J. E. McKim, Frank Eu- 
bank. 

It was a hot day when Greensburg Lodge was instituted, and ever since 
its birth its members have been a warm, live set of fellows. This lodge nas 
always been progressive and now has over four hundred and sixty members. 
The business affairs of the lodge have been based upon a firm footing from 
the very inception of the organization. The officers who have been in charge 
of the lousiness affairs have at all times as jealously guarded the interests of 
this fraternity of Pythionism as they would their own homes. The best busi- 
ness transaction was made in June, 1891, when Frank Robinson, Ezra Guth- 
rie and George L. Roberts, then trustees, purchased the old Falconbury block 
and vacant lot adjoining. During the autumn of 1898 the trustees, Charles 
S. Williams, J. P. Thomson and Oscar G. Miller, let the contract to Ed 
Dille for the present useful and up-to-date business building- and lodge room, 
occupying the ground just south of the new Y. M. C. A. building on 
North Broadway. This fine Pythian building is now the home and resort of 
all loyal hearted Knights. Beautiful club rooms are also maintained, for 
the pleasure and recreation of members of the K. of P. Club. 

Almost seven years ago this lodge had the pleasure of being the means 
of providing a beautiful opera house for the city of Greensburg. This opera 
house is the pride of every Knight and is highly appreciated by all citizens 
of the city and county. Besides expending almost fifty thousand dollars 
for these buildings, equipment and furnishings, the lodge has been at all 



3l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

times liljeral and iK-nehcent, performing many deeds of charity and l)ene\-o- 
lence, which were an outgrowth of the sentiments inculcated in the minds and 
hearts of the members by the teaching of Pythian principles. Ft has paid 
out in benefits and benevolent contributions since its organization over thirty 
thousand dollars. 

Greensburg Lodge has also been high in the councils of the grand lodge 
of Indiana, ha\ing at this time two grand lodge officers. Brothers John W. 
Craig and Arthur J. Lowe, who is at present a member of the supreme 
lodge of the United States and Canada. 

The present officers of Greensljurg Lodge are: Past chancellor, E. E. 
Hite; chancellor commander, Ben Havens; vice-chancellor: Ira M. Ainsworth; 
prelate, Charles Howe; keeper of records and seal, Charles H. Dowden; 
master of exchequer, Robert McKay; master of finance, E. A. Rankin; 
master-at-arms, Stanton Guthrie; inside guard, Rollin A. Turner; outside 
guard, Erank Osting; trustees, Oscar G. Miller, Bert Morgan and David 
Blackmore. 

The cardinal principles of this lodge are founded upon the exercise of 
friendship, charit}- and jjcnevolence. Nothing of a sectarian or political 
character is permitted within its sacred precincts. Tolerance in religions, obe- 
dience to law and loyalty to government are fully emphasized. The Pythian 
order teaches its members to exercise charity toward offenders; to construe 
words and deeds in their least unfavorable light; grant honestv of purpose 
and good intentions to others and bring Ijack any thoughtless or wayward 
Knight who has forgotten the Pythian teachings given in the castle hall. 

LETTS CORNER LODGE NO. 375. 

Letts Corner Lodge Xo. ;^'/^, Knights of Pythias, was instituted on 
April 13, 1892. It owns a lodge building, valued at five thousand dollars 
and is in a flourishing condition, both financially and numerically. The first 
officials of this lodge were : W. A. Taggart, past chancellor ; H. H. King, 
chancellor commander; H. H. Boyd, vice-chancellor; J, H. Stout, prelate; 
John G. Evans, master of exchecjuer ; G. W. Fraley, master of finance ; K. L, 
Adams, keeper of records and seal; Silas Sweeney, master-at-arms; A. J. 
Adams, inside guard, and J. D. E. Elliott, outside guard. Other charter 
members of the organization were O. S. Mitchell, W. T. Morgan, W. F. 
Keisling, Edgar Whipple, P. M. Johnson, Edgar Samuels, C. J. Armstrong, 
M. S. Parker, John A. Jackson, Charles Stout, \\'. L. E\-ans, U. S. Parker, 
William Jordan, Albert Jordan, John Hill, George Gardner, C. J. Red, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 3I7 

Urso McCorkle, J. L. Davis, H. :\I. Mitchell, George Hodson, W. S. 
Whipple, J- W. Crise and John Armstrong. 

der; Oda J^'ear. vice-chancellor; Grover Williams, prelate; Walter Jackson, 
master-at-\vork ; ^V. G. Fraley, keeper ut records and seal; E. H. Jackson, 
masfer of finance; Urso Bentley, master-at-arms; Ora Thurston, inside guard; 
Morris Tudor, outside guard, and John A. Jackson, John L. Davis and Harry 
Black, trustees. Sardinia Lodge No. 146 is an auxiliary of this organiza- 
tion. 

ST. PAUL LODGE NO. 368. 

St. Paul Lodge Xo. 368, Knights of Pythias, was organized at St. 
Paul on August 29, 1892. The charter was granted on June 7, 1893. The 
charter members were, J. C. Leech, G. T. Lefifler, B. F. Trader, S. T. Hutson, 
H. C. Roberts, T. A. Kelley, F. H. Goff, E. L. Severs, W. J. Martin, E. W. 
Noah, Charles Allison, William Bush, W. A. Reed, O. A. Seward, J. L. 
Shelhorn, R. Hendrickson, J. A. Goff, L. E. Dixon, J. R. Kanouse, L. E. 
Lines, G. F. Bailey, C. M. Barnes, J. W. Jenkins, C. C. Fisher, F. M. Allison, 
F. P. Walton, F. M. Howard, Daniel Apple, Harry Hayes, J. M. Shortridge, 
J. P. Garrett, J. F. Strickfurd, John Doggett and Conrad JMinger. The 
first ofBcers were, past chancellor, L. E. Dixon ; chancellor commander, J. W. 
Jenkins; vice-chancellor, F. P. Walton; prelate, C. C. Fisher; master of 
exchequer, R. Hendrickson; master of finance, J. M. Shortridge; keeper of 
records and seal, L. E. Lines; master-at-arms, O. A. Seward; inner guard, 
J. E. Walton; outer guard, Frank Goff; and C. M. Barnes, James Goff and 
James Severs, trustees. 

The present membership consists of twenty past chancellors and sixty- 
two Knights. 

The present ofBcers are : Chancellor commander, Joseph Stotsenlnirg ; 
vice-chancellor, Manley Corwein; prelate, George W. Boling; master-at- 
work, E. H. Crosby; keeper of records and seal, J. T. Cuskaden; master 
of finance, Orla Cuskaden; master of exchequer, J. B. McKee; master-at- 
arms, W. J. Martin; inner guard, G. T. Leffler; outer guard, Jacob Johannes; 
trustees are W. J. Martin, D. J. Ballard and Jacob Johannes. 

The lodge property consists of a three-story brick building, constructed 
in 1903, at a cost of about five thousand dollars. Propert}' and improve- 
ments are estimated to be worth at least eight thousand dollars. 

The building is a monument to the enterprise of the Knights of Pythias 
in the town of St. Paul, and the rentals are a source of income which is (|uite 



3l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

a bolster to the finances of the lodge at this critical time, the lodge having 
considerable sickness among its members. 

The lodge is now taking on new life, after a long period of laxity, and 
bids fair to regain the place that it once held, as being one of the live lodges 
of the state. 

BURNEY LODGE NO. 34I. 

Burney Lodge No. 341, Knights of Pythias, was organized, June 8, 
1892, with the following charter members: Edwin Jackson, Morgan Miers, 
Ira Lewis, E. E. Mouse, O. B. Trimble, William G. ^liner, John G. Gartin, 
Levi M. Craig, John E. Miller, Charles T. Powner, T. T. Howell, James 
M. Hiner, William A. Gartin, John \V. Burney, G. S. Crawford, Harve 
Pumphrey, John Johnson, Felix Garten, G. W. Wiley, Charles Braden, John 
Hunter, G. W. Miner, Ed Stewart, Frank House, Francis Pumphrey, James 
Pumphrey, Julius Benson, Francis Galbraith, G. M. Miner, Jr., Hershell 
Miers and Ira Ballard. Charles L. Powner, past chancellor, installed this 
lodge. The first officers were L. T. Howell, chancellor commander; Morgan 
L. Miers, vice-chancellor; James Hiner, prelate; F. L. Galbraith, master of 
exchec|uer : Ed Jackson, master of finance ; W. E. Arnold, keeper of records 
and seal; Frank House, master-at-arms; William Garton, inner guard; G. M. 
Miner, outer guard ; J. W. Buniey, O. W. Trimble and Charles T. Powner, 
trustees ; Charles T. Powner representative. The present building was erected 
in 1895 ^'t' ^^'^^ memljership has almost reached the hundred mark. 

The present officers are as follows : Freman Sasser, chancellor com- 
mander; W. W. Barnes, vice-chancellor; Samuel Lawson, prelate; Carl Pavy, 
master-at-work ; J. H. Dean, keeper of records and seal; James Galbraith, 
master of finance; E. A. Porter, master of exchequer; Bert Oliphant, master- 
at-arms ; Emzee Elder, inner guard ; Herbert Stribling, outer guard ; Floyd 
Miner, host ; C. W. Pumphrey, Edward Jackson and Ira Carmen, trustees. 

This lodge has an auxiliary in the Rathbone Sisters, which was organ- 
ized on October 3, 1900. This chapter bears the local name of Triangle 
Temple No. 232. 

WESTPORT LODGE NO. 3 I 7. 

Westport Lodge No. 317, Knights of Pythias, was organized. May 8, 
1S91, with the following charter members: James M. Burke. William Hause, 
J. N. Keith, L. E. McCoy, E. G. Davis, J. T. McCullough, M. D. Harding, 
T. M. Durpree, S. R. Ames, J. E. Davis. William Martin, H. I. Fueston, S. C. 
Knarr, \A\ G. Updike, S. C. Scripture, T. Strout, T. E. F. Miller, W. R. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 319 

Barnes, G. T.' Alexander, William F. King, Silas Sweeny, E. G. Radley, 
B. B. Rogers. The first officers were as follows: James M. Burk, past 
chancellor ; William Hause, chancellor commander ; J. N. Keith, vice-chan- 
cellor; L. E. McCoy, prelate; E. G. Davis, master of e.xchecjuer; J. T. 
McCullough, master of finance; M. G. Harding, keeper of records and seal; 
T. M. Dupree, master-at-arms ; S. R. Adams, inner guard ; J. E. Davis, 
outer guard. 

The building which this lodge occupies at present is the property of the 
lodge and is valued at seven thousand dollars. The present officers are, 
George C. Nicholson, chancellor commander; J. M. Tucker, vice-chancellor; 
Edward Whalen, prelate ; Walter Watterman, master-at-work ; A. Boicourt, 
keeper of records and seal; E. L. Shaw, master of finance; M. D. Harding, 
master of exchequer ; \Veaver Elliott, master-at-arms ; J. E. Davis, inner 
guard; James H. Keith, outer guard. 

Miriam Temple No. 246, Pythian Sisters, was organized on October 2, 
1901, as an auxiliary of the Westport lodge. 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 

Newpoint Lodge No. 656, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was 
organized on January 22, 1890. The following men applied to the Greens- 
burg lodge for a chapter to be installed at Newpoint : William L. Has- 
brouck, William Cheek, Jet Boyd, A. E. Dorsey, Richard Christain and 
James Borden. The lodge was instituted on April 16, 1890, by E. S. Porter, 
who was appointed by the grand master to install this chapter. 

The charter members were as follow : Leander Starks, John L. Hilliard, 
George Hollinsbee, L. C. Jackson, John Dryer, Charles Marlin, H. P. Dan- 
forth, L. W. D. German, Benjamin I\etcham, John W. Snedeker, George 
\V. Foster, James E. Butler, and Herman Green. The following members 
ser\ed the lodge as the first officers : L. C. Jackson, noble grand ; Leander 
Starks, vice-grand; Charles Marlin, recording secretary; George Hollinsbee, 
permanent secretary ; John L. Hilliard, treasurer. 

The lodge purchased its present cjuarters for the consideration of 
one thousand dollars and has made improvements since that time. A piano 
was purchased in 1910. This lodge is in a prosperous condition and at 
present has eighty-five members enrolled. Benefits of four dollars per week 
are paid the sick members, and the resources at present amount to one thou- 
sand four hundred and eighty-five dollars and twenty-four cents. 

The present officers are : Lewis Bare, noble grand ; Frank Walker, 



320 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

vice-grand; R. F. Carr, recording secretary; F. M. Thackery, permanent 
secretary ; Ora Cheek, treasurer. 

D.\UGHTERS OF REBEKAH. 

Lodge No. 523, Daughters of Reljekah. which locally is known 
as White Dove lodge, was instituted on .\ugust 31, 1896. This is an au.x- 
iliary of Newpoint lodge. The following were charter members of White 
Dove lodge: John H. Hilliard, Ora Cheek, John ^1. Green. Ilattie Alarlin. 
Ollie ]\Iinning, Minnie Snedeker and Mrytle Jerman. 

SANDUSKY LODGE NO. 856. 

Sandusk}^ Lodge No. 856, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was organ- 
ized on ]May 21. 1908. with the f(jllowing charter memljers : John L. demons, 
Louis Ruddell, Lafayette Bowman, Benjamin T. I'iiley, Llewellyn Fleetwood, 
William H. Scott, Harve}- Townsend, William Maple, Otis Nation, George 
Smith, Albert Bowman and Wesley Bennett. The first officers were: Benjamin 
T. Riley. nol)le grand; J. \V. Bennett, vice-grand: Otis Nation, secretary; 
Louis Ruddell, treasurer. The lodge has had a prosperous growth and at 
present numbers sixty-fi\e members. The present officers are : Frank 
Maple, noble grand; Llewellyn I^Ieetwood, \ice-grand; Ed Ricketts, record- 
ing secretary; John W. Patterson, corresponding secretary; Orville Gar- 
rett, treasurer. 

CENTENARY LODGE NO. 535, MILFORD. 

Decatur Lodge No. 103, Independent Order of Odd Fellow's, jour- 
neyed down to Milford on June 6, 1876, and assisted in organizing Cen- 
tenary Lodge No. 535. \\\ D. Dailey, district deputy noble grand, had 
charge of the ceremonies. The following charter members were present : 
A. P. Bennett, Frank Getzendanner, Leonard Worcester, S. L. Jackson and 
E. S. Porter. The latter presided as noljle grand ; L. Worcester, vice-grand ; 
Z. T. Boicourt, treasurer; J. K. Ewing, secretary; Frank Getzendanner, 
conductor; G. W. Richey, warden; Sylvester Kendall, inner guard; .\dam 
Stegmaier, outer guard. Thirteen applications for memijership were favor- 
ably acted upon. No. 103 presented the new lodge with paraphernalia 
and the following new- officers were elected: \\'. T. Jackson, noble grand; 
John Braden, \-ice-grand ; Dr. J. H. Alexander, secretar}- ; James Braden, 
treasurer. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 32 1 

The Icxlge suffered the loss of its rooms on April 24, 1877. The 
present liuilding was completed in 1856 and the lodge hall, which is located 
in the second story, was purchased by the lodge in 1877 for the considera- 
tion of six hundred dollars. The present membership numbers eighty-five, 
benefits and resources amount to two thousand four hundred and eighty- 
seven dollars and five cents. The present officers of the lodge are as fol- 
low : Wallace Champ, noble grand; William Oliphant, vice-grand; Elmer 
Swift, secretary; Charles Braden, treasurer; O. B. Trimble, Marion Lane 
and James Conk, trustees. 

ADAMS LODGE NO. 79O. 

Adams Lodge No. 790, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was 
installed on November 13, 1902. Its first officers were: J. R. Turner, 
noble grand ; I. C. Glass, vice-grand ; Webster Rhoads, treasurer ; J. N. 
Cushman, financial secretary, and Walter Cory, secretary. Other charter 
members were : J. D. Walker, C. E. Shields, David Longstreet, M. M. Coy, 
J. A. Ford, R. G. Kirby, James Gay, William Van Ausdall, J. A. Shep- 
hard, M. R. Turner, T. R. Davis and A. G. Christ. 

Fire ccjmpletely destroyed th.e lodge building on November i, 1906, 
but a new hall was immediately erected and the lodge continues to make 
steady progress. Its present officers are : Roy Darby, noble grand ; Ed. 
Shaner, vice-grand ; John Inman, secretary ; Merritt Webb, financial secre- 
tary, and Walter Rhoades, treasurer. The lodge hall is valued at three 
thousand fi\'e hundred dollars. 

CLARKSBURG LODGE NO. 359. 

Clarksburg Lodge No. 559 was organized on May 23, 1878, and has 
a very strong membership. Its first officers and other charter members 
were: A. A. Chenoweth, noble grand; A. S. Creath, vice-grand; G. T. Bell, 
secretary; J. A. Miller, treasurer; W. D. McCracken, warden; W. W. 
Ewick, outer guard. It was organized by A. P. Bennett, Samuel J. Jackson, 
F. Getzendanner, Leonard Worcester, Joel W. Stites and A. Stegmaier, of 
Greensburg. The lodge owns a substantial Iniilding which cost more than five 
thousand dollars to erect. 
(21) 



322 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

WF.STPORT LODGE NO. 68 1. 

Westport Lodge No. 68i was installed on August 27, 1891, with the 
following officers and charter members : Thomas Bemish, noble grand ; 
P. M. Rhodes, vice-grand ; W. R. Tucker, secretary ; S. C. Cann, financial 
secretary: G. L). Little, treasurer; Thomas Bemish, Alorris W. Brewer, 
E. K. Hause and O. M. Ta}lor. The lodge owns its own Iniilding, which 
cost five thousand five hundred dollars to erect. Its ])resent officers are : 
P. F. Owens, noble grand: AI. G. Stewart, vice-grand: Garl Davis, secre- 
tary; J. \\'. Holcomlj, financial secretar}-, and George C. Nicholson, treas- 
urer. Westport lodge has one hundred and forty-four members. 

Shik)h Lodge No. 560, Daughters of Rebekah, is an au.xiliary of West- 
port lodge. This organization was efl^ected on January 18, 1898, by the 
following women : Annie Nicely, ]\Irs. George \\'heelwright, .Sarah Owens, 
Mollie Keith and Mary Sample. 

COVENANT LODGE NO. 163. 

Covenant Lodge No. 163, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at St. 
I'aul, was organized on July 11, 1855. The following comprise the list 
of charter members: Stejjhen Ridlen, Ji)nathan Kurr, George Reede, Will- 
iam Reede, Thomas Reede, Squire Van Kelt, jNIichael Halloren, Elisha H. 
Crosby, Milton Corwin, Charles J. Smith, Samuel McKee and William C. 
Lowden. 

The Odd Fellows' l)uilding was completely destroyed by fire and all the 
early records were destroyed, therefore it is impossible to ascertain the names 
of the first officers. The lodge owns a two-storv brick building, erected 
in 1 879, with two business rooms on the first floor. It also owns a three- 
story brick Iniilding. which has three stores on the first floor, while the 
other two stories -are occupied by the lodge. Total value of the lodge prop- 
erty is eight thousand six hundred forty-one dollars and fifty-five cents. 
The present membership numbers ninety. The present officers are: ^Varren 
Brook, noble grand; Thomas Woh'erton, vice-grand; H. F. Prill, recording 
secretary: J. V>. McKee, financial secretary; Fred Metzler, treasurer. 

MODERN WOODMEN OF AMERICA. 

Westport Camp No. 1487, Modern Woodmen of America, was organ- 
ized on December i, 1909, with the following officers: C. D. Owens, ven- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 323 

craljle consul; J. O. Ketcham, worthy adviser; E. I. Boicourt, l)anker: A. S. 
Boicourt, clerk ; C. A. Stott, escort ; George Fultz and W. H. Keith, sen- 
tries. The foHowing men were also numbered among the list of charter 
members: H. E. Clark, H. ^[. C'rowder, J. A. Elliott, Omer Givan. J. W. 
Evans, J. C. Hill, William Landis, J(jhn Morgan, AV. T. Stott and J. C. 
Talkington. 

The present membership numbers fort}-, with the following officers 
serving the camp at the present time : E. L. Shaw, venerable consul ; G. C. 
Nicholson, worthy adviser; E. R. Boicourt, banker; A. S. Boicourt, clerk; 
W. AV. Rickctts, escort; D. T. Surface, watchman; A. O. Taylor, sentry. 

NEWPOINT CAMP NO. 984O. 

Newpoint Camp No. 9840, Alodern Woodmen of America, was organ- 
ized on May 21, 1910. This camp was instituted by the Greensburg and 
Batesville degree teams and thirt_\--one members were initiated the first night, 
while three were added by transfer from other lodges at the time of the 
installation of the camp. S. G. Eitch served as head deputy for initiation. 
The following men were enrolled the first night : J. C. Barbe. John Brade- 
water, R. F. Carr, J. C. Colson, C. R. Dowden, Walter Harding, A. E. 
Huber, C. C. Barnard, C G. Brown, John H. Castor, William J. Colson, 
Holman Glidewell, B. A. Hilliard, Ira Martin, Chris. F. Myer, George M. 
Neimeyer, Charles Risinger, Howard F. Starks, William H. Swegman. 
Curtis H. AA'alker, John L. Wiecher. Harold J. Wolf, Willis R. Wolf, 
W. R. Castor, John Hart, George Price, AVard AVilliams, Charles Me}-er, 
O. P. Grove, A. L. Shazer, Harley McKee, J. E. Starks, AA'illiam C. Parmer 
and \'. FI. Minning. 

The first officers were as follow : A. T. Shazer, venerable consul ; 
George Neimeyer, worthy adviser; J. C. Barb, banker; R. F. Carr, clerk; 
A. E. Huber, escort ; John Hart, watchman ; C. C. . Barnard, sentry ; 
Harley S. McKee, physician. The present officers are as follow : Charles 
Reisinger, venerable consul; Charles Meyer, worthy adviser; AA^illiam Col- 
son, Ijanker; B. A. Hilliard, clerk; Glenn Gibberson, escort; AVilliani Gentry, 
watchman. The present membership is twenty-eight. The insurance of the 
meml)ers in 19 15 totaled thirty-two thousand five hundred dollars. 

LONE TREE CAMP NO. 7253. 

Lone Tree Camp No. 7253, Modern AA'oodmen of America, was organ- 
ized on November 24, 1899, with the following charter members: AA". H. 



324 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Black, W. K. Brazelton, Charles Clemens, C. M. Carter, E. E. Davis, J. B. 
DeArmond, Elmer Saunders, O. M. Elder, I. F. Springer, B. S. White, 
W. H. Hoffmeister, M. G. Harley, W. E. Jameson, Len Marsh, George 
Montgomery and H. F. Pottenger. The first officers were as follow : John 
W. Holcomb, venerable consul; Elmer Saunders, worthy adviser; J. B. 
DeArmond, banker; W. R. Brazelton, clerk. 

Several years previous to this a camp of the Alodern Woodmen had 
been installed in Greensburg, but this camp never experienced a great growth 
and aljout the year 1898 was moved to Shelby ville. The present camp has 
had a flourishing existence, with a total membership at present of one hun- 
dred and eighty. The insurance at this time amounts to two hundred and 
seventy-five thousand dollars. The lodge has suffered the loss of sixteen 
brothers, with insurance paid out amounting to twenty-four thousand dol- 
lars. The officers at present are : John H. Tresler, venerable consul ; Roy 
Styers. worthy adviser; M. S. Wamsley, banker; Will Ehrhardt, clerk. 

RED MEN. 

Omemee Tribe No. 394, Improved Order of Red Men, at Westport, was 
organized on August 27, 1904, with the following charter members: George 
Hollensbe, James Coupa, William Eddy, Dave Clark, E. H. Hensley, D. F. 
Surface, S. C. Knarr, Jacob Hensley, Joseph Stuart, John Eraser, Edgar 
Logan, Ruben Hensley, Frank Bowers, J. M. Wynn, David Bowers, J. L. 
Biddinger, ^^'illiam Seasme, Oliver Seasme, Grover Bowers, Isaac Earhart, 
James Fulton, Matthew Frazer, Lewis Bowers, William H. Biddinger, Albert 
Lawrence. Charles Atkins, San ford Lay ton, Carl E. Stone, Clite Seasme, 
Clarence Stewart, J. E. Lawrence, S. H. Biddinger. 

The first officers were as follow : Isaac Earhart, senior sagamore ; J. M. 
Hynn, junior sagamore; J. E. Lawrence, keeper of wampum; George Hol- 
lensbe, sachem; C. A. Stewart, prophet; S. H. Biddinger. chief of records. 

The tribe at present owns property valued at one thousand one hundred 
dollars. Three dollars per week are paid out for sick benefits. The present 
membership numbers eighty-four. The present officers are Joseph Childers, 
senior sagamore; Harry Tucker, junior sagamore; Ira T. Colson. sachem; 
Wesley Idlewine, keeper of wampum; Curtis Goble, chief of records; E. H. 
Pusenberger, prophet. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



YONAH TRIBE NO. 47O. 



32.5 



Yonah Tribe No. 470, Improved Order of Red Men, was organized on 
April 20, 1908, at Clarksburg. The charter members who assisted in the 
organization of this tribe were as follow : W. C. Buell, D. H. Bently, 
E. A. Lewis, W. A. Dorsey, F. Morgan, I. M. Linville, A. M. Hite, B. E. 
Farthing, C. L. Brown, William Ray, W. E. Tingle, R. Linville, H. Ter- 
hune, Ed, Lanpri, R. C. Ray, C. M. Morgan, P. Campie, G. E. Marford, 
C. Carrell, L. Lewis, M. Ray, S. F. Bentley, S. L. Dobbyns, C. E. Freeland, 
R. Parker, C. Humphry, L Humphry, William Winker and F. Springmire. 
The present membership numbers forty-eight. The benefits for this lodge 
are placed at four dollars per week. The value of the present quai-ters is 
placed at five hundred dollars. 

The present officers are D. C. Demaree, sachem; J. C. Deiwert, senior 
sagamore; E. E. Whiten, junior sagamore; D. D. Morgan, chief of records; 

C. E. Freeland, keeper of wampum; C. E. Freeland, prophet. 

BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS. 

Greensburg Lodge No. 475, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
was organized on April 26, 1899, with thirty-one charter members. The 
first exalted ruler was S. P. Minear. Others who have held this position 
since the installation of the lodge are : Charles Zoller, J. Van WoodfiU, 
William C. Pulse, Web WoodfiU, Fred L. Thomas, Hugh D. Wickens, Charles 
H. Ewing, Hal T. Kitchin, Will H. Lanham, Robert C. WoodfiU, Charles H. 
Dalmbert, John W. Craig, Frank Hamilton, Robert E. McKay and R. A. 
Turner. 

Since its installation the lodge has grown to a membership of one hun- 
dred and fifty-four and is now considered the leading social organization 
of the city. It is composed of representative business and professional men 
of Greensburg, occupies a fine suite of apartments on the north side of the 
square and is ever ready and willing to undertake acts of charity and kind- 
ness which have rendered the order distinct in all places where it has a lodge. 

Present officers of the order are: E. E. Hite, exalted ruler; A. E. 
Lemmon, esteemed leading knight; J. C. Hornung, esteemed loyal knight; 
James H. Lanham, esteemed lecturing knight; Hal T. Kitchin, secretary; 

D. A. Batterton, treasurer; Herbert Hunter, esquire; Will C. Monfort, chap- 
lain ; Ira Miller, inner guard, and John Crooks, tyler. Trustees are Harry 
Emmert, J. F. Russell and Loren L. Doles. 



326 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

IMPROVED ORDER OF RED MEN. 

Pequonnock Tribe No. 185. Improved Order of Red ^len, was organ- 
ized on May 13, 1894, with the followino- charter members: John F. Childs, 
A. P. Bone, W. L. Bennett. \\'illiam H. Rybolt. George S. Dickey. Wilham 
Bruner, George Keshng, Wilham Weathers, J. B. Conover, W. A. Lawson, 
T. J. Powell, Dan Styers, R. F. Thomas, Branson Beeson, John Riley, Smith 
Riicv, (jeorge Beeson. Perry Robbins, William A. Brooks, John Abbott, 
A. L. Dickey, William Folks, Brack Chance, J. R. Patton, Dr. L. W. D. 
Jerman, Taylor F. Meek, J. W. Roberts, Charles Reed. John I. Rodman, 
Frank Pickett, P. I. Clark, O. H. Rybolt, Harry Reniger, R. H. Look, D. 
E. Biddinger, J. W. Fletcher, Joseph Reingar, Charles Phillips, Cyrns Wat- 
ers, E, A. Cavett, Charles S. Short. 

The first officers were : John F. Childs, sachem ; W. L. Bennett, senior 
sagamore ; J. W. Roberts, junior sagamore ; A. L. Dickey, keeper of records ; 
T. J. Powell, keeper of wampum ; G. O. Barnard, conductor of work ; R. F. 
Thomas. Branson Beeson and Frank Smith, trustees. The present beautiful 
I.iuilding is the jjroperty of the lodge and is valued at eighteen thousand 
dollars. 

The present membership of the lodge numbers two hundred and ninety. 
The present officers are : John King, sachem ; N. S. Doles, senior saga- 
more : Frank Murdock, junior sagamore ; Joe Renigar, prophet : \\'illiam 
Snell, keeper of records; G. O. Barnard, conductor of work; J. L. Luchte, 
keeper of wampum ; Charles A. Dowdle, Link Beeson and W. S. Harvey, 
trustees. 

DEGREE OF POCAHONTAS. 

Pequonnock Council No. in. Degree of Pocahontas, is an auxiliary of 
the Red Men's tribe of Greensburg. The charter for this order was granted 
on October 20, 1898. The meetings are held in the Red Men's hall. The 
membership at present includes seventy persons. The officers serving the 
lodge at this time are : Sarah Robbins. Pocahontas ; Mary Robbins. \\'eno- 
nah; James B. Towler, Powhatan; Jacia Pool, prophet; Lottie Dowdle. 
keeper of records ; L3^dia IMcMillan, keeper of wampum. 

PEQUONNOCK HAYMAKERS. 

Pequonnock Haymakers' Association No. 185J4 was chartered on May 
^5' 1895. The meetings are held on Wednesday evenings in the Red Men's 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 327 

hall. The membership at present totals one hundred and five. The present 
officers are: Dola Robbins, chief haymaker; Frank Murdock, assistant chief 
haymaker ; Arthur Murdock, overseer ; Dallas Land, past chief haymaker ; 
William M. Snell, collector of straws ; Charles Dowdle, keeper of bundles ; 
William Best, R. C. West and James I\I. Duncan, trustees. 

LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE. 

The Loyal Order of Moose was organized at Louisville, Kentucky, on 
April 12, 1888. It is not an insurance order; there are no assessments of 
any character; it is not a rival uf any other fraternal organization; it is not a 
class organization, but is open to all good white citizens between the ages 
of twenty-one and fifty. At the end of 1914 the order had over one thousand 
four hundred and fifty lodges, with a total membership of more than half 
a million. The initiation fee for charter members is five dollars and after 
the charter is closed the initiation fee is increased to twenty-five dollars. 
The Moose i}ay benefits of seven dollars a week to sick or disabled members. 
The death benefit is one hundred dollars. 

Lone Tree Lodge No. 1005 at Greensburg, is the only one of this order 
in Decatur county. It was organized on November 12, 1913, with the fol- 
lowing charter members : Joseph Gentry, Fred Stiet, W. B. Brogan, Elijah 
Vanderdur, Clarence Stith, Benjamin Me}-er, L. J. Alexander, George Cos- 
mas, George A. Kurr, Sabe Perkins, C. F. Kercheval, Paul R. Tindall, \\'ill- 
iam McCormick, Lowe Bush, Lemuel J. Howard, Michael McCormack, Oscar 
F. Kuhn, Loren Hutcheson, William Weeks, Earl Martin, Ed Buchannan, 
Harry Vanderbur, Herschel Vanderbur, James Frances, Fred Tucker, John 
Muldoon, Charles Jackson, William Boyce, David Wiley, James Sparks, 
Morton Davis, Carl Suttles, George Richards, John A. Abbott, JefTerson 
Morris, D. C. Powner, Len Fischer, David Bower, Ed Bozzell, Joe Stier, 
Thomas Davis, William Littell, Frank Buckley, Fred Weber, William Fulks, 
Sherman Patton, William B. Lemasters, James Smith, David Welsh, W. T. 
Vanderbur, Ross Grimes, B. E. Baker, W. H. Scripture, Ace Dean, Ora 
Grimes, J. Dunn, Clifford English. 

The officers at present are as follow : Joseph Gentry, past dictator ; 
Paul R. Tindall, past dictator; Michael Gutting, dictator; Frank Murdoch, 
vice-director ; Blaine Hoin, prelate ; Sabe Perkins, secretary ; Earl Crooks, 
treasurer; Bernard Menzie, sergeant-at-arms ; Martin Sparks, inner guard; 
Ace Dean, outer guard ; Ben Meyer, James Ford and J. L. Alexander, trus- 
tees. The memljership at i)resent totals three hundred and seventy-five. 



328 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

KNIGHTS OF ST. JOHN. 

St. Boniface Comniandery No. 227, Knights of St. John, was organ- 
ized on October 9, 1914, with a total niembersiiip of thirty-six. The instal- 
lation of this chapter took place on Sunday, October 18th. The following 
comprises a list of the charter members : Rev. A. J. Urich, Dr. N. C. Bau- 
man, Edward Luken, John B. Rolfes, Bernard Blankman, Edward Kroeger, 
B. \\'. Zapfe, John Schoetmer, Lawrence Duerstock, Clem Duerstock, Joseph 
Duerstnck, George Frye, Ed Fr}-e, William Frye, Leo Frye, George Luken, 
Henry Luken, Louis Luken, Louis Schoetmer, Henry Meier, Clem Herbert, 
.\ndre\v Butz, Frank \'aske, Bernard Harping, Benjamin Harping, Charles 
Witkemper, John Witkemper, Louis Moorman, Joseph Moorman, Jr., Albert 
Goldschmidt, Louis Moenkedick, Joseph Kesterman, Joseph Redelman, 
Edward Feldnian, Lawrence Ruhl, John Wenning. 

The present officers are Rev. W. J. Urich, cha])lain ; Dr. N. C. Bauman, 
president; Ed Luken, first vice-president; John B. Rolfes, second vice-presi- 
dent; Bernard Blankman, recording and corresponding secretary; Edward 
Kroeger, financial secretary, B. W. Zapfe. treasurer; John Schoetmer, cap- 
tain; Ed Kroeger, first lieutenant; Lawrence Duerstock, second lieutenant; 
George Frye, William Frye, Lawrence Ruhl, Joseph Duerstock, Bernard 
Harping, trustees. The present memliership has reached forty-eight and 
the growth of this chapter has not reached its maximum. 

This lodge is divided into a military and social body. The military 
body consists of twenty-two members at present. The members dress in 
full uniform on certain church celebrations, making the ceremonies very 
impressive. They also meet for drill twice each month. The Knights have 
rented the Scheidler hall for their meetings, but expect to build a hall of 
their own in a short time. 

All sick members are taken care of and the lodge pays a certain benefit 
to all sick members. Each member is assessed five dollars annually, paid in 
quarterly installments. The members also give social entertainments and 
dances to help defray the lodge expenses. 



CHAPTER XII. 



SOCIAL AND LITERARY CLUBS. 



GREENSBURG DEPARTMENT CLUB. 

The liistory of the Greensburg Department Chib is unicjiie. Eight 
musical and Hterary chibs in 1913 testify to tlie interest Greensburg women 
have manifested in the purely cultural side of club life. But their member- 
ship was limited and their range of activity narrowed by tradition and the 
avowed purpose of the organization. There were many women outside of 
these circles who longed for cultural advantages, and many within them who 
longed for opportunities for greater service to the community. It was this 
growing impulse toward service rather than any spirit of restlessness or 
discontent, that inspired the new movement. 

It was especially appropriate that the Cycle, the pioneer among the 
women's clubs of the town, should take the initiative. A committee from 
this club, of which Mrs. J. F. Goddard was chairman, visited each club and 
presented a plan of organization. Seven of the clubs voted to assist in the 
enterprise and delegated their officers to be a general committee to discuss 
and decide the various cjuestions of organization. From this representative 
body the seven presidents were chosen to serve as a constitutional committee. 
This committee, Mrs. R. M. Thomas, chairman ; Mrs. W. C. Ehrhardt, Mrs. 
J. C. Meek, Mrs. Web Woodfill, Miss Camilla Donnell, Miss Mary Rankin 
and Miss Eula Christian, with Mrs. Goddard as an advisory member, had 
the wisdom to provide for a growth far beyond their expectation and their 
work has been subjected to but few minor changes. The constitution was 
accepted by the general committee and published. Mrs. Goddard, who had 
presided at all of the meetings of the general committee and whose interest 
and activity never failed, was elected president. The other officers were : 
First \-ice-president, Mrs. D. \V. Weaver; second vice-president. Miss Emma 
Donnell ; recording secretary, Mrs. Locke Bracken ; corresponding secretary, 
Miss Vessie Riley ; financial secretary, Mrs. W. C. Ehrhardt : treasurer. Miss 
Ethel Watson ; directors, Mrs. Marshall Grover, Mrs. C. R. Bird, Mrs. J. K. 
Ewing, Mrs. George Ewing, Mrs. R. M. Thomas, Mrs. O. G. Miller. 



330 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

In February and March of 1913 one hundred and twenty-five women, 
members of the original seven small clubs, signed the constitution and became 
charter members of the Greensburg Department Club. The motto for the 
club was, "United Progression," and time has proved that it was well chosen. 
For, th.ough each one gave up much that she valued in the old associations, 
she did it cheerfully with a vision before her of greater oportunities both for 
herself and others. The fir.st regular meeting was held on October 7, 1913. 

The ^'ear book provides for eight meetings during the year, two of a 
business and social nature and six which Ijring before the club lecturers and 
musicians of ability. But the real life of the club is found in the four 
departments, art, literature, music and social economics. The art depart- 
ment was formed nearly a year after the organization of the club, but brax'ely 
began its career with an art exhibition of great value. The plan is to make 
this an annual event in the life of the club and community. The members of 
the department carry on a study of the history and appreciation of art, with 
the aid of occasional lecturers. The literary department began with two 
lecture circles, but the number of these popular circles grows with time. The 
organization of the evening lecture circle opened the doors of the clulj to 
those who are Inisy during the day. The music department may lie charac- 
terized as the most generous, for it has opened its meetings to the general 
club a number of times and its choral organization adds greatly to the club 
meetings. It is hoped that the May festival may become a permanent feature 
of the year's work. In the social economics department the spirit of service 
finds its largest field of acti\'ity. The three circles. ci\"ic, e\'ening ci\'ic circle 
and mothers' circle, began at once to co-operate in various civic enterprises. 
Sanitation, fly extermination, "the city beautiful, " "shop early" campaigns, 
community Cln'istmas tree, and "clean up week." are a few of the activities 
which owe their origin to this department. The work accomplished during 
the first two years is noteworthy, and a continued educational campaign will 
finally win the hearty support of the whole communitv. A domestic science 
circle, under this department, will be popular with a nunilier of women. An 
unusual and very interesting feature of the club is the auxiliary young peo- 
ple's department. This circle follows somewhat the same line of work as 
the art department, thus developing appreciation and taste. 

The Greensburg Department Club lias been fortunate in many ways. 
The unselfish and unsparing devotion of its first president, Mrs. Goddard, 
inspired each member with something of her own spirit, and busy men and 
women have given generously of their time and strength to help her. Her 
tact won the respect and co-operation of business men and city officials. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 33 1 

While the thought of an adei|uate chib house lias been in the mind of many 
from the first, for some years the ckib must depend upon the continued 
generosity of the churches, the city hall and private homes. An important 
step was taken when the club accepted an invitation to join the Indiana 
Federation of Clubs, for in that organization it can Ijoth give and receive 
inspiration. The member.^hip at the end of two years was three times that 
of the charter enrollment. Sucli an enthusiastic beginning is seldom the 
fortune of new enterprises, but the hearty interest of each member will 
continue its inspiration through many years of influential activity. 

The last meeting of the Greensburg Department Club for 191 5 was held 
on May 4, in the Knights of Pythias lodge room. In order that future 
generations of the city ma}- know what their good forefathers did on this 
night, the full report of this meeting is here gi\-en as it appeared in the 
Grccnshiini Daily Rcz'icw of May 5, 191 5: 

"This being the annual business meeting, reports of the officers and 
chairmen of the various committees were heard and accepted. Two new 
members, Mrs. Bert Askren and Mrs. Dan Linegar, were voted into the club. 

"Mrs. Goddard. the president, being ill, the \ice-president, Mrs. D. W. 
\\'ea\er, had charge of the meeting. She read a note from Mrs. Goddard, 
who sent her regrets at ni)t being present and also sent words of cheer and 
encouragement to the club. A member of the club expressed the sentiments 
of the entire club in words of deepest praise for and appreciation of the 
president. Her words were voiced unanimously by the club members. After 
the business, a short program followed. Miss Gertrude Haas gave two piano 
numbers. -\ play, entitled "A Mouse Trap," by W. D. Howells, was given. 
Following was the cast of characters : Mr. Willis Campbell, Mr. Charles 
Ewing; Mrs. Somers (widow), Mrs. W". W. Bonner; Mrs. Carmen, ]Mrs. 
R. R. Hamilton ; Mrs. Roberts, Miss Marie Braden ; Mrs. Dennis, Mrs. A. M. 
Reed; Mrs. Miller, Miss Ethel Ewing; Jane (maid). Miss Florine Sefton. 

"Each character acted the part well, especially Mrs. Somers, the widow, 
and Mr. Camjjbell. The ])lay affurded much i)leasure and merriment for 
those present. A social time followed, when refreshments, consisting of ice 
cream, strawberries, cake, cofTee and mints, were served. Thus the second 
annual meeting passed, with business mixed with much pleasure." 

KAPPA KAPP.\ KAPPA. 

The Omega Chapter of Kappa Kappa Kappa was organized in Greens- 
burg in 1907, with Mary Littell Tremain, Lela Robbins Christian, Helen 



332 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Baker Lumbers, Ruth Bonner ]\Ieek, ]\Iary Isgrigg Hamilton and Anna Bird 
Thomas as charter members. The first officers of the chapter were Ruth 
Bonner Meek, president: Mary Littell Tremain, vice-president: Lela Robbins 
Christian, recording secretary; Mary Isgrigg HamiUoh, corresponding sec- 
retary, and Anna Bird Thomas, treasurer. 

It is afhhated with the general state society of Kappa Kappa Kappa, 
which was founded at Aliss Sewell's School for Girls in Indianapolis in 1904. 
Since that time it has grown in numbers so that now more than one thousand 
five hundred girls in the state of Indiana wear the skull and cross keys, the 
society badge. 

The object of the organization is "to bring girls into a close, unselfish 
relationship, which shall be beneficial to themselves as well as to others." 
Several kinds of charitable work are carried on by the chapter, as well as the 
general societ}', and at all times there is a willing response to any appeal for 
help. Its purposes are two-fold — charitable and social, and by both means 
girls are brought into the "unselfish relationship," which is the object of the 
organization. 

This chapter, aside from assisting the Associated Charities, has given 
aid to defective children from poor families: helped high school students 
with funds so that they might graduate : paid hospital and operation expenses 
and given material help in cases where, under other circumstances, help would 
not have been accepted. 

At present there is a membership of eighteen girls, all of whimi are 
active workers. The officers are: President, Mignum W'hite: \'ice-president. 
Bright Emmert ; treasurer, Mae Montgomery Harrison : recording secretary, 
Ruth White : corresponding secretary. ]\Iarie Braden. 

THE CYCLE. 

The Cycle claims the distinction of being the pioneer literary cIuIj of 
Greensburg. It was organized on March 5, i8'gi, by Mrs. S. H. Morris, and 
the following members were admitted during the first year of its history : 
Miss Hannah Baker, Miss Sadie Baker, Mrs. W. W. Bonner, Mrs. Sam 
Covert, Mrs. George Dunn, Jr., Mrs. J. K. Ewing, Mrs. J. F. Goddard, Miss 
Jessie Hart, Miss Margaret Lathrop, ^liss Clara Lambert, Mrs. Jessie F. 
Moore, Mrs. S. H. Morris, Mrs. Milton F. Parsons, Mrs. A. Prather, Miss 
Vessie Riley, Mrs. George B. Stockman, Miss Fannie Wooden, Mrs. A. M. 
Willoughby, Miss Mollie Zoller, Miss Lou Zoller, Mrs. Enos Porter, Mrs. 
R. M. Thomas. ]\Irs. T- V. Schofield. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 333 

The first president was Mrs. S. H. Morris. Its object was to promote 
social intercourse between unmarried and young married ladies of the city 
and for scientific and literary culture. Membership was limited to twenty- 
five. During the twenty-one years of the club's existence these two objects 
were ever kept foremost. Discovering and developing much latent talent, 
musicians, story writers, poets, dramatic readers and actors were secured, 
making it possible to present many rare and unique entertainments at its 
frequent open meetings. The Cycle was always noted for its hospitality and 
came to be a dominant factor in the social life of Greensburg. 

Being the mother of literary clubs here, it always sought to maintain a 
dignity of purpose and to set a good example to its numerous offspring. The 
club in every way fulfilled the mission for whicli it v^-as created, far exceed- 
ing the hopes and aspirations of its most sanguine founders. 

It was with much regret that the organization yielded to the call for a 
larger field of service and on January i6, 1913, founded the Department 
Club. At that time there were twenty-five active members, sixteen honorary 
members, representing nine states, and four who had gone to their final 
reward. 

On March 5, each year, the Cycle comes together in reunion. Those who 
cannot come in person respond by letter. 

The Cycle will live in the hearts of a devoted membership until time has 
so depleted its ranks that its useful career becomes a mere matter of history. 

Presidents of the organization were : Mrs. S. H. Morris, Miss Hannah 
Baker, Miss Sadie Baker, Mrs. Jessie Moore Serf¥, Mrs. W. W. Bonner. 
Mrs. Fannie Wooden Moss, Mrs. Mollie Zoller Lewis, Mrs. Jeessie Hart 
Woodfill, Mrs. J. K. Ewing, Mrs. Sam Covert. Mrs. Clara Lambert Miller, 
Miss Vessie Riley, Miss Pearl Williams, Mrs. J. F. Goodard. 

THE mothers' circle. 

The Mothers' Circle was organized about 1901 by Mrs. Cortez Ewing. 
It was first known as the Mothers' Prayer Circle. Its object was to discuss 
topics such as would be helpful to mothers with young children. A few of 
the charter members were: ]\Irs. Cortez Ewing, iMrs. Joe Alexander, Mrs. 
Alex. Porter, Mrs. Oscar Miller, Mrs. Dr. E. B. Crowell, Mrs. Edward 
Hizer, Mrs. John Hofer, Mrs. Wayne McCoy and Mrs. George W. Bird. 
The meetings were most informal, not having any regular program, Ijut many 
heart-to-heart talks, which all enjoyed thoroughly and did lasting good to 
those who participated in them. The meetings were held once each month in 



334 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the homes of the different meniliers. lixery meeting was opened witli 
Scriptin-e reading and sentence prayer, in wiiich almost e\ery member took 
part, also \'ery delicate refreshments were served. 

In igo6 the circle was reorganized and a constitution and hy-laws were 
adopted. Mrs. Rena Gilchrist was elected president, and Mrs. Xellie Bird, 
secretary. A program committee consisting of Mrs. Elsi Dunaway, Mrs. 
Olive Gilham and Mrs. Alice Welch, was also elected. Xeat programs were 
prepared and such subjects as "Family Loyalty to God," "Books for Chil- 
dren," "Patriotism," "The Ideal ^Mother, " "Temperance," and "Character 
Building," were among the many subjects discussed. These programs were 
continued, with tlie different members being elected to the dift'erent offices 
each year. 

In i\larch, 1913, after much hesitation, the circle \-oted to enter the 
Department Club. The meetings were continued in much the same manner, 
with additional members. 

The circle will continue their meetings in the same manner durmg the 
year 1915-1916, with IMrs. Ray Hamilton as chairman, Mrs. Bert Gilham, 
vice-chairman, and ]Mrs. E. M. Beck, secretary-treasurer. 

THE PROGRESS CLUB. 

The Progress Club was organized on October 2, 1863, according to 
its constitution, for "promotion of intellectual and social growth." Its first 
ofificers and other charter members were: Miss Edith Patten, president; 
Miss Delle IMcLaughlin, vice-president: Miss Edith Hamilton, secretary; 
Miss Ethel Bartholomew, treasurer: Misses Emma Donnell, Terressa 
Elmore, Clara Robison, Blanche McLaughlin, Myrta Patton, Bessie Donnell, 
Hannah Evans, Martha Evans, Ida Hollen.sbe, Helen Rankin and Jean Ran- 
kin. 

The organization now has twenty-fi\e members and ele\en honorarv 
members. It meets regularly on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each 
month and the program is always an interesting and important part of each 
session, although the social feature is prominent. The program is usually 
a part of some special course of study. 

Many social functions are given by the clul), delightful informal affairs, 
although occasionally there are more pretentious ones. Lasting benefits have 
been derived by its members from study and research work, and it has estab- 
lished a closer bond of friendship in the entire city. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 335 

Memliers are, man)- of them, high scliool grackiates and liave had the 
advantages of higher education and travel. The club's present officers are: 
Miss Cora Donnell, president; Miss Emma Donnell. vice-president: Miss 
Winifred Newhouse, secretary, and Miss Hazel Scott, treasurer. 

THE woman's club. 

The Woman's Club was organized on January 31, 1893, for "social and 
intellectual culture." By constitutional provisions, its membership was lim- 
ited to twenty. Its first officers were : Mrs. J. H. Alexander, president ; Miss 
Julia F. Cooke, \'ice-president : Mrs. R. C. Hamilton, secretary, and Mrs. 
Joseph Davison, treasurer. After twenty pleasant and profitable years, dur- 
ing which it maintained a high standard of literary work, the organization 
disbanded in 1913, and was merged into the Department Club. 

THE TOURIST CLUB. 

In the early days of club life in Greensburg, there was organized the 
first literary club for both ladies and gentlemen. It was on the evening 
of October i, 1894, at the home of Judge F. E. Gavin, that this, the Tourist 
Club, was started. Throughout the subsequent years, until the recent merg- 
ing of all the literary cIuIjs of Greensburg into the great Department Club, 
the Tourist Club was a li\e organization in the literary circles of the city. 

Prof. W. P. Shannon was the president, and among the charter mem- 
bers were: Prof, and Mrs. W. P. Shannon, Judge and Mrs. F. E. Gavin, 
Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Silberberg, Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Morris, Mr. and Mrs. 
Cortez Ewing, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dowden, Judge John D. Miller, Mr. 
Harry Lathrop, Mr. Oscar G. Miller, Miss :Martha Miller, Miss Margaret 
Lathrop and Miss Clara Lambert. 

The imaginary journeys of the club, to all quarters of the globe, both 
far and near, brought both profit and pleasvire — profit by way of prepara- 
tion for subse(|uent real journeys and pleasure, by way of promoting the 
closer ties of friendship. 

The personnel of the club shifted with the changing years, but always 
composed a band of Greensburg's most interesting citizens. At the time 
the club entered the Department Club, two years ago, but two of the 
charter members still belonged, namely : Oscar G. and Clara Lambert Miller. 



336 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

THE FORTNIGHTLY CLUB. 

For the purpose of research along the hne of hterature, history and 
art. the T'ortniglitly Ckib' was organized in 1894. with Clara Ardery, Lottie 
Dickerson Dobyns, Jessie Donnell Erdmann, Kate Emmert, Bertie Hitchell 
Morgan, Myrtle Hollensbee Hamilton, Annette Miller Davidson, Anna 
Monfort. Glenn Montgomery Russell, Clara Russell Mills, Cora Sefton 
Robbins, Kate Stewart, Mar}' Thomson and Cora Zoller Davidson as 
charter members. The membership has grown until at the present time 
(1915) it includes thirty names. The names of Clara Russell Mills, Nell 
Donnell Erdman, Annette Miller Davidson, Bessie Montfort and Kate 
Rogers Crawford, who have departed from this world, are held in sacred 
remembrance by the club members. For the last four years, Mrs. Demarchus 
Brown, of Indianapolis, has lectured before the club. When the Depart- 
ment Club was organized in 19 13, the individual members of the Fortnightly 
Club entered that organization and the literary work of the later organiza- 
tion was dropped. Since that time it has existed simply as a social club. 
The officers for 1915 were: Mrs. Harry Mount, president; ]\Irs. J. C. Alex- 
ander, vice-president ; Mrs. Van W'oodfill, secretary, and Kate Stewart, 
treasurer. 

THE RESEARCH CLUE, 

On the 23rd of February, 1909, at the home of the late Mrs. Nettie 
Sampson Dils, was formed the Research Club. The purpose of the club, 
as set forth in its constitution, was intellectual and social growth. With 
this ever in luind, its programs and lueetings were rich in value and interest. 
Mrs. Dils was the inspiring genius of the little group and her memory is 
held by the members of the club with tender re\-erence. Throughout the 
organization she was the gentle censor that molded its purpose. As a 
tribute to the honor and esteem in which she was held, she was chosen its 
first president. To aid her, Mrs. Ella Long Doles was chosen vice-presi- 
dent; Mrs. Ada Richardson Porter, corresponding secretary; Mrs. IMinnie 
Ketchum Porter, recording secretary, and Mrs. Ella Hittle Christian, treas- 
urer. A membership committee, of Mrs. Ollie Dickey Gilham, Mrs. Ada 
Richardson Porter and Mrs. Nelle McKee Kercheval, and a program com- 
mittee, of Mrs. Ollie Rogers Donnell, Mrs. Nettie Sampson Dils, Mrs. Ella 
Long Doles, Mrs. Ada Richardson Porter and Mrs. Ella Hittle Christian, 
were appointed. The list of original members included Terressa Arderv, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 337 

Mary Ardery, Annie Rouse Bird, Ella Hittle Christian, Eula Christian, Net- 
tie Sampson Dils, Ella Long Doles, Ollie Rogers Donnell, Ruby Doyle 
Eward, Ollie Dickey Gilham, Nelle Drake Hazelrigg, Maude Kitchin John- 
ston, Rose Moffett Kessing, Nelle McKee Kercheval, Fannie Wood Nord- 
meyer, Ada Richardson Porter, Minnie Ketchum Porter, Edith Patton, 
Katie Sefton Robbins, Grace VanBuskirk, Delia Mount Wooden and Mary 
Wood Weaver. The club held thirteen very instructive meetings at the 
homes of its members during the first year of its existence. 

During the second year, from September, 1910, to May, 191 1, Edith 
Patton acted as president, with Mary Ardery as vice-president, Mrs. Rose 
MofTet Kessing as corresponding secretary, Mrs. Olive Dickey Gilham as 
recording secretary and Mrs. Maude Kitchin Johnston as treasurer. This 
year's membership list included the name of Mary Snodgrass Wallingford. 

The next year saw Anna Albrecht Meek, Eleanor Eich Lowe, Sallie 
Wright Weaver and Pearl Kitchin WoodfiU as new members, and the fol- 
lowing officers served : Mrs. Annie Rouse Bird, president ; Mrs. Mary Wood 
U'eaver, vice-president : Mrs. Fannie Wood Nordmeyer, corresponding 
secretary ; Mrs. Ruby Doyle Eward, recording secretary, and Mrs. Nell 
Drake Hazelrigg, treasurer. 

The year 1912-1913, saw the last of the Research Club as an independ- 
ent organization, as about that time it was incorporated into the Depart- 
ment Club. Mrs. Ada Richardson Porter was president this last year, and 
Mrs. Terressa Lowe .\rdery. vice-president : Mrs. Delia Mount Wooden, cor- 
responding secretary ; Eula Christian, recording secretary, and Mrs. Nona 
Eich Lowe, treasurer. This year's membership shows the new name of 
Louise Fogel Baker. 

THE LITERARY CLUB OF I9I4. 

The Ladies' Literary Club of 1914 was organized, as the name indicates, 
in the year 19 14. Its first meeting was held on February 20, at the home of 
Mrs. Clara Talbott. In the beginning the club consisted of eighteen mem- 
bers, with Mrs. Ella Christian, president; Mrs. Sarah Wooden and Mrs. 
Maggie WoodfiU, vice-presidents ; Mrs. Mary Stegmaier, secretary : Mrs. 
Mattie Rucker, treasurer, and Mrs. Mary Bracken, sponsor. The purpose 
of the club was to promote a love of knowledge, the first motto being, "The 
love of knowledge cometli with reading and grows upon us." The pro- 
grams were of a miscellaneous character and broadening in their effect. One 
(22) 



338 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of the strong features of tlie club's work is its social life. The love among 
the members was of the Jonathan and David type and when an invitation 
came to become a member of the Department Club — to amalgamate with the 
other clubs of the city and thereby lose its identity — the Club of 1914 pro- 
tested. The old ties could not be broken. And when at last it submitted 
to the ine\-ital>le, a unanimous vote was cast for a semi-annual meetings of 
the members, that the social life might never die, and so in spirit it lives 
on. Of the original members, those holding membership to the last were: 
Mrs. Nellie Donnell. Mrs. E. H. Lambert, Mrs. Fannie Nordmeir. Mrs. Anna 
Pleak, Mrs. Mattie Rucker, Mrs. Sarah Wooden and Mrs. Maggie Wood- 
fill. 

THE MARRIED L.\DIES' MUSICALE. 

The first musical club of Greensburg was known as the Married Ladies' 
Musicale, and was organized in the fall of 1889, with about twenty mem- 
bers. Recognizing the need of some plan to preserve the musical talent of 
the busy home-makers of Greensburg, Mrs. Milton F. Parsons inxited a 
number of musical ladies to her home, and suggested the plan and line of 
work which she thought would prove helpful, not only to the individual 
members, but, by elevating the musical taste of the public, to the city as 
well. The idea was enthusiastically received, and an organization at once 
effected. 

Mrs. Parsons was made the first president. Under her efficient leader- 
ship, the work was so well launched, that the membership and interest in- 
creased from year to year. 

The Married Ladies' Musicale gave many concerts in Greensburg, and 
furnished the music for many public occasions, one of the greatest being the 
dedicatory service of the Odd Fellows home. 

Those who served as presiding officers were Mrs. Milton F. Parsons, 
Mrs. J. K. Ewing, Mrs. Jessie Moore, Mrs. \V. W. Bonner, Mrs. J. 
Bracken, Mrs. R. W. Montgomery, Mrs. David Silverberg, Mrs. W. C. 
Woodfill, Mrs. Frank Bennett, Mrs. Curtis Kendall, Mrs. Charles Stegmier, 
Mrs. Frank Batterton, Mrs. Setli Donnell, Mrs. R. M. Thomas and Mrs. 
Cassius Hamilton, who was the last presiding officer. In 1913 this organ- 
ization disbanded to become a part of the Department Club. 

THE CECILIANS. 

During the winter of 1897, Prof. Charles Hansen, of Indianapolis, was 
instructing a class in pipe organ in Greensburg, and to him some voung ladies 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 339 

expressed the desire for a musical club. He heartily approved the desire, 
offered his aid to the purpose, and on February i8, 1897, met with a num- 
ber of young ladies in the Presbyterian church for the purpose of forming 
a club to study the masters and their works. After much discussion, the 
club was organized, bearing the name, The Cecilian. The officers chosen 
were : President, Stella Murphy ; vice-president, Pearl A. Williams ; treasurer, 
Nona Eich ; assistant treasurer, Cora Zoller, and secretary, Riena Stevens. 
The Misses Delia Mount, Ina Cox and Bertie Mitchell were appointed to 
draft a constitution and set of by-laws. The decision was reached to have 
miscellaneous programs, alternating with programs given to the study of 
some composer and his work. 

The first regular meeting was held with Miss Cora Zoller, on March 
4, 1897, Professor Hansen having charge of the program. He gave a lec- 
ture on the development of music, with illustrations on the piano, using the 
familiar air of "Johnny Smoker," playing it in the styles peculiar to Bach, 
Handel, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schumann. 

For a time no organization better fulfilled its purpose. The work 
accomplished was a delight to both performers and listeners. The chorus 
work, under Miss Claribel Winchester, is indelibly stamped on the memories 
of the members. For several seasons meetings were held in the auditorium 
of the 'First Methodist Episcopal church, with associate members as audi- 
ences. Guest day recitals were eagerly looked forward to by all the lovers 
of music in the community. Profitable courses of study were included in 
the work of the organization as well as bringing artists to the city as an 
inspiration to higher music culture. The Cecilians put forth many efforts 
for music advancement in the county, one of which was the editing a news- 
paper column under the heading "Music Notes." 

The last officers serving the organization were : Eula Christian, presi- 
dent; Ethel Watson, vice-president; Mrs. D. A. Meyers, secretary; Pearl A. 
Williams, corresponding secretary, and Worth Stewart, treasurer. The last 
membership enrollment contained the names of Vivian Baylor, Mrs. P. C. 
Bentle, Eula Christian. Mrs. Earl Crooks, Mrs. George Diewart, Emma 
Donnell, Mrs. Guy Guthrie, Ivate Haas, Alice Haas, Clara Hamilton, Mrs. 
Earl Hite, Emma Hitchell, Vina Knowles, Mrs. Walter Kirby, Ruth Kam- 
merling, Mrs. Arthur Lowe, Stella Murphy, Mrs. Bart McLaughlin, Mrs. 
D. A. Myers, Mayme O'Hare, Nellie Rigby, Stella Stagg, Florine Meek, 
Mrs. Bert Morgan, Emma Stout, Marguerite Shannon, Worth Stewart, 
Mrs. Paul Tindall, Pearl A. Williams, Ethel Watson, Mrs. E. E. Wooden, 
Mabel Welsh, Mrs. Robert Woodfill, Louise Ehlers and Mrs. Edward Owens. 



340 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The names of the deceased members, Ohve Smyth, ^Mrs. Roxy Thornburg 
Eward and Mrs. Adahne Zoller Ansted, will ever be held in remembrance. 

The Cecilians, realizing the value of the Department Club, became 
ardent promoters, and today many of its members are enrolled in the music 
study circle. 

THE ATHEN.\EUM. 

The Athenaeum, a literary society organized in the spring of 1912. was 
founded by a group of men, all then in Greensburg, who were interested 
generally in literature, and was designed for more serious work in research 
and writing. It held some important meetings before some of its members 
removed from Greensburg, at which some work of permanent value was 
produced. The society was limited in membership .to ten men, as follow : 
B. F. Bennett, C. W. Bare. Dr. Charles R. Bird, John F. Goddard, E. L. 
Grover, Lewis A. Harding, E. C. Jerman, John \V. Rhodes, F. D. Townsley 
and Dr. D. W. Weaver. 

The society maintained its activities for one good year, 1912-1913, and 
during that time the following men served as its officers: D. W. Weaver, 
president: E. C. Jerman, vice-president: and John W. Rhodes, secretary- 
treasurer. The following program of work was presented by the society to 
the membership and invited guests during the year : "The Preliminary 
Diplomacy of the Spanish-American War," Lewis A. Harding: "Child Philo- 
sophy," Prof. C. W. Bare; "Medicine in Shakespeare," Dr. Charles R. Bird; 
"The Kinetick Theory of Matter," Prof. F. D. Townsley; "The Lawyer's 
Interpretation of 'The Merchant of Venice'," John F. Goddard ; "Right 
Thinking," Dr. D. W. Weaver; "Plant Breeding — Mendel's Law and Appli- 
cation," Prof. E. L. Grover; "The Dynamic Force of Human Development," 
Prof. E. C. Jerman: "The Short Story," John W. Rhodes: "The Jury Sys- 
tem," B. F. Bennett. 

This society represented perhaps the most serious effort at research 
and writing ever attempted in an organized way by a literary organization at 
Greensburg. The members tackled big subjects. Of Mr. Harding's work 
on "The Preliminary Diplomacy of the Spanish-American War," Dr. Amos 
Hershey, professor of political science and international law in Indiana Llni- 
versity, says "it will be of interest and value to students of American his- 
tory. " 



CHAPTER Xlir. 



THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. 



There have been physicians in Decatur county from its earhest organ- 
ization, and in the ninety-three years which ha\'e elapsed since its creation 
there have been hundreds of physicians who have practiced in the county 
for varying lengths of time. Few of the early doctors had college train- 
ing, but they seem to have successfully combated the "fever an' ager" and 
such complaints as were common among the pioneers. The old-time doctor 
was a man of wonderful versatility. He could bring the new-born child into 
the world, christen the babe or comfort the mother if the child failed to live. 
He could formulate a will or dictate a codicil and, in a case of necessity, 
could act as a Ia^vyer for his patients. His medicines were largely manu- 
factured by himself from medicinal plants which he gathered in the neigh- 
boring woods. These home-made remedies, together with c|uinine and calo- 
mel, constituted practically the extent of the pioneer doctor's supply of 
remedial agents. 

It is not certain who was the first physician in Decatur county, but it 
is know that Mrs. Justus Rich practiced medicine in Greensburg as early as 
1 82 1 or 1822. Other early physicians were Conduit, Gillespie, Hartley, Teal, 
Lyman and Stubinger. These were followed by Drs. Joshua Poole, John 
Richey, Frederick Fogg and Abram Carter, these four coming at various 
periods between 1835 and 1840. Doctor Carter had practiced in Clinton 
township for several years previous to this. 

About 1840, Dr. William Armington, a nati\e of Saratoga county, Xew 
York, located in Greensburg, after having practiced for a short time in 
Switzerland county, Indiana. He was probably the leading physician of the 
county until the time of his death, February 24, 1862. Another able phy- 
sician who settled here about the same time as did Dr. Armington was Dr. 
John \y. Moody, a native of Pennsylvania, who practiced in the county until 
his death in 1867. There was perhaps no more popular physician in the 
county than Doctor Moody, and in the treatment of acute diseases he made 
a reputation which was not confined to the county. Other physicians set- 
tling in Greensburg before the Civil War were Drs. George \V. New, E. 



342 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

B. Swem, Xewberry Wheeldon and John W'heeldon. Doctor Strong is said 
to have been the first physician at Clarksburg, although Doctor Gillespie, 
who later moved to Greensburg". was the first physician in Fugit township. 
Other early physicians of Fugit township were. Doctors Wiley, Weed, 
Hughes and Hopkins. 

According to the 1882 atlas, there had been or were practicing at that 
time in the various townships of the county the following physicians : Adams 
township, Drs. Ritchey, R. J. Depew, U. G. Reeves, W. H. Webb, Floyd 
Connett, Lewis, Cook, Armstrong, Underwood, Shipman and Howard; 
Clav township, Drs. W. E. Crawford, Lewis McAllister, John Ritchey, St. 
John, Hawk, James O'Byrne. William A. and Joseph Ardery, A. L. Under- 
wood, George F. Chittenden, J. W. Martin, John Craig, J. L. Wooden, E. 
W. Leech, U. G. Reeves, J. H. Alexander and George S. Crawford : Fugit 
township, Drs. Nathaniel Lewis, S. C. Foster, Robert H. Crawford, Bell & 
Roberts, Burk, Cain, Thomas Johnson and J. L. Smith (other practicing 
physicians of Fugit township have been previously mentioned ) ; Jackson 
township, Drs. William and D. B. Davis, S. W. Ryker, Austin Marlow, 
William Hanna, N. E. Charlton. D. Owens, J. W. Allison, William F. and 
J. H. S. Reiley and Biddinger; Sand Creek township, Drs. Schultz, Conwell, 
McCullough, Pottinger, Sparks, Van Horn, J. P. Burroughs, William 
Hause, Michael Daily and J. V. Schofield (two of these physicians, Bur- 
roughs and Hause, were surgeons in the Civil War) ; Marion township, Drs. 
Lutz, S. B. Hitt, Hammond. Frank Daily and Reamy ; Salt Creek township, 
Drs. Pennington, Price. Pye, McConnell, Floyd and Dowden ; Washington 
township, Drs. J. L. Armington, George Armington, William Bracken, L. 

C. Bunker. J. L. and W. H. W'ooden, M. G. Falconberry, J. Y. and S. B. 
Hitt, C. A. Covert, J. C. Humphries, J. W. Craig, Samuel Maguire, S. V. 
Wright, Samuel Cook, A. A. Armington, J. C. French, R. D. Homsher, 
John H. Bobbitt and D. L. Scobey. Presumably all these practiced in 
Greensburg. 

An act of the Legislature in 1885 provided for the registration in each 
county of all the physicians practicing therein, and the subsequent list exhibits 
the names of all the physicians registered in Decatur county since that year. 
The lengthy list of 1885 gives not only those who were admitted to practice 
that year, but also all those who had been practicing previously to that vear. 

1885 — Frank H. Snedeker. Thomas Johnson, John H. Bobbitt, George E. 
Clark, G. Tassfeld Ruby, John W. Parker, Samuel V. Wright, George S. 
Crawford, William Bracken, Cornelius Cain, John H. Alexander, C. M. 
Beall, John L. Smith, Mordecia B. Mobly, A. A. Armington, J. Y. Hitt, John 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 343 

L. Wooden, Alphanso Armstrong-, Francis M. Howard, J. W. Howard, 
William H. Wooden, S. B. Hitt, Benjamin S. White, Samuel Maguire, Eli 
Pennington, L. C. Bunker. J. W. Selman, Daniel L. Scobey, William F. 
Reiley, J. H. S. Reiley, D. J. Ballard, Alfred S. Remy, W. A. McCoy, Mil- 
ford G. Falconbury, R. M. Thomas, Londa W. D. Jemian, Minton C. Vest, 
J. V. Schofield, F. M. Daily, E. B. Swem, J. H. Leatherman, William Hause, 
Richard J. Depew, J. B. Kirkpatrick, J. B. Bracken, Erastus E. Fads, Bart 
Fitzpatrick, James T. Burroughs, Samuel Pagin, Thomas J. Clark, Cornelius 

A. Covert, Austin Marlow, George W. Godfrey, Conrad Mauser, S. W. 
Biddinger, Wesley GofY. 

1886— James L. Tevis. W. H. Webb, William G. Butler. Robert D. 
Homsher, T. E. F. Miller, John C. Hicks, James S. Shields, Berry Painter, 
Lewis C. McFatridge. 

1887 — Alvin L. Bailey, W. S. Tingley, John F. Rodgers, Samuel C. 
Thomas, Simeon Stapp, J. K. Smalley, A. Southworth. Thomas B. Gullefer, 

B. M. White. I. B. Hettinger. 

1888 — Sam H. Riley, James Monroe ^^"oods. Myron H. Williams, John 
M. Tobias, Hiram B. Wray. 

1889 — Alva M. Kirkpatrick, E. W. Leech, Frank H. Rorick, Orion K. 
Thomson, E. W. Leech. Frank H. Rorick. W. O. Coffee, Amos W. Dowden, 
Samuel Salisbury. 

1890 — Dr. E. J. Price, Charles H. Bogmann, L. P. Walter, Fernando 
A. Grant. 

1891 — John W^immer, Henry Johnston. 

1892 — James R. Jacks. 

1893 — Mary Hobbs Iredals. Sanford E. Givan, Mrs. Carrie Branden- 
burg, Charles Westley Brandenburg. 

1894 — Condie Butler Beck. 

1895 — Eden T. Riley. Charles Gilchrist, Elton Baker Crowell. 

1896 — Isaac Dunn, Frank E. Autcn. D. W. Weaver, Ira Witten San- 
ders, Charles B. Jeffers. George McDonnell Ober. 

1897 — Charles Leslie Howard, Daniel J. Ballard, William Bracken, 
John H. Alexander. John H. Bobbitt, L. W. D. Jerman. T. B. Gullifer, R. 
M. Thomas. D. W. Weaver, Eden T. Riley, L. E. Bunker, S. E. Givan, 
Thomas Johnson, Henry Johnson, A\'illiam Hause, John M. Tobias, J. V. 
Schofield, I. I\L Sanders. J. M. Wood, C. A. Covert, Samuel Wright, Myron 
H. Williams, B. S. White, J. Y. Hitt. E. B. Crowell, C. M. Beall, John W. 
Parker. Milton C. Vest. C. L. Howard, J. H. D. Lorimor, W. H. Web. T. 
E. F. Miller, Thomas J. Clark. G. S. Crawford. Wm. H. Wooden. Condie 



344 DECATUR COUXTY, INDIANA. 

B. Beck, John L. Smith, 5. B. Hitt, Francis M. Daily, J. H. S. Riley, George 
E. Denny, F. M. Howard, J. W. Howard, G. D. Dorremus, I. T. Burroughs, 
J. M. Boyer, Oliver F. Welsh, C. B. Grover. 

1898— A. B. Morris, Harriet C. D. Wilson, William L. Wilson, William 
Warner, Clarence Fay Kercheval, O. K. Thomson. 

i899_R. T. Gephart, T. A. Welch, \\'illiam J. Flatfield. 

1900 — J. B. Crisler, Loren A. Hyde. 

1901 — Ezra H. Pleak, W. E. Thomas, Harry N. Oldliam, John Robert 
Love, M. A. Tremain. 

1902 — Charles W. Pagel, George WcOber, J. B. Kinsinger, Leroy M. 
Comyer, Jesse W. Rucker. 

1903 — Herman Essex, Hiram M. Johnson, Warren D. Scott, William 
Edgar Thomas. 

1904 — John Curtis Hill, Charles Lafayette Williams, Clement L. 
Canada, H. E. Wilcox, Charles W. Pagel, J. W. Shrout, Clyde C. Morrison. 

1905 — John Francis Duckworth. 

1905 — Harry Gilbert Fleming, F. K. ^Vesthafter, John ^^'. Bell, Curtis 
Bland. 

1906 — Thomas J. Martin, P. C. Bentle, Charles R. Bird. 

1907 — William B. McKinstry, Jacob C. Glass, Charles Wood, John 
Curtis Hill, Harley S. ]\IcKee, H. E. Wilcox, John O. Carver. 

1908 — Edward A. Porter, Charles H. Weaver, Clarence W. ^lullikin, 
William G. French, John FL S. Riley. 

1909 — Nicholas C. Bauman, Charles D. .\llison, .Andrew Robison, J. 
E. Curtis, C. S. Bolender. 

1910 — Carl D. Jewett, John H. S. Riley. 

191 1 — Charles W. Pagel, Clyde C. Morrison, Prosser E. Clark. 

1912 — Dilber- E. Douglas, Paul R. Tindall, Carl Y. Carlewysbeane, 
Cecil G. Harrod. 

1913 — George J. Martz, Gewase C. Flick. 

1914 — William R. Turner. 

191 5 — Joseph Coomes, Louis D. Robertson. 

The editor of this volume has been very fortunate in securing the ser\'ices 
of Dr. John IL .Alexander, one of the oldest jshysicians of Decatur county, to 
write brief sketches of the most prominent deceased physicians of the countv. 
For the sake of reference they are arranged in alphabetical order: 



DI'ZCATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 345 

SOMK rilYSICIANS OF DF.CATUR COUNTY. 
By J, H. Alexander, M. D. 

Dr. Joseph C. Ardery was born in Decatur county, Indiana, in 1825, and 
died, from a congestive cliill, in Harts\ille, in 1854. He was one of the four 
delegates from Decatur county to the convention that met in InchanapoHs, 
June 6, 1849, to organize a state meeUcal society. He probably was a member 
of the Decatur County Medical Society, organized January 25, 1847, two 
years before the state society was organized. His postoffice was Milford until 
a short time before his death. He must have been a very popular physician, 
as he was often referred to and ((uoted by his former patrons in Clay town- 
ship fifty years after his death. He died before he reached his thirtieth year. 

Dr. William ,\rdery, whose name is among the members of the medical 
society organized on January 25, 1847, in Decatur county, resided on a farm 
northeast of Greensburg. 

Dr. John L. Armington, younger larother of Dr. William Armington, 
came from Switzerland cuunty, Indiana, to Greensburg in 1841 or 1842. He 
entered into partnership with his brother and practiced in this county fourteen 
years. He was a member of the Decatur County Medical Society, also a dele- 
gate to the convention held at Indianapolis, on June 6, 1849, to organize a 
state medical society — the State Medical Association. Drs. Joseph C. Ardery, 
John W. Moody and George W. New were also delegates from Decatur 
county. Doctor Armington removed from this county prior to 1858. 

Dr. William Armington was born in Saratoga county. New York, in 
1808, and died on February 24, 1862. He came to Switzerland county, Indi- 
ana, in 1829, and practiced there until in 1840, he removed to Decatur county, 
where he continued in practice until shortly before his death. He was a very 
successful physician. In politics, he was a Democrat. Probably he was not 
a mem])er of an}' church, though i)Ossil:)ly a Methodist. He was a moral and 
exemplary man : a good citizen : neat in apparel ; liked to talk medicine and 
was always instructive and entertaining. His advice to one doctor was, 
"When you don't know what to do, give calomel." He surely was a calomel 
doctor. He belie\-ed in blood-letting, as was common at that time in cer- 
tain conditions. He was a safe and discreet consultant. Doctor Arming- 
ton's name is among the members of the Decatur County Medical Society, 
organized on January 25, 1847. He was a member of Greensburg Lodge 
No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons. 

In an obituary in the Decatur Republican, published in Greensburg, we 
find the following tribute from his lodge : 



346 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

"His labors have been imlefatigaljle, and success, corresponding, his 
skill and knowledge are known and acknowledged by all. To relieve suffer- 
ing has been the leading oliject of his life. ^Vherever the sufferer was he 
was ever ready to go, whether among the rich or poor, among the noble or 
ignoble. A man of mark — in whatever department he acted with his fellow- 
man — he was made for a ruler. His own clear intellect and varied attain- 
ments rendered him prominent in the comnnmity. Unpretending, yet com- 
manding, such position was ne\'er sought, Init always attained. But while 
yet in the midst of usefulness to his family and community, he has been 
reniiixcd by death, and the li\ing have a legacv in his character and dis- 
charge a last duty to him by conveying his body to that narrow house to 
which all the living are hastening; therefore, 

"Resolved, That, as a lodge, we attentl the funeral of our deceased 
brother, to testify our high esteem for him as a man and a ]\Iason, and to 
assure those of his immediate family that they ha\'e our heart-felt sympathy. 

"Resoh'ed, That in the character of our deceased brother we recognize 
the accomplished physician, the intelligent and honorable gentleman, the 
de\'oted husband and father, as well as a much esteemed and consistent man. 

"B. \V. Wilson, 

"J. B. L.ATHROP, 
"P. EWING, 

"Committee. 
"George M. Collins, Secretary." 

His reinains rest in South Park Cemetery, beside his two wives, several 
sons and other members of his family. 

Sam C. Bartholomew was a member of the Decatur County Medical 
Society, organized on January 2^. 1847, but no other history of him can 
be found. 

Dr. \Mlliam Bracken, a noted physician and esteemed resident of Greens- 
burg since 1862, was born near Valley Junction, Dearborn county, Indiana, 
May 26, 181 7. His parents, Thomas and Matilda (Coen) Bracken, removed 
with their family to Rush county, Indiana, in 182 1. In 1834, when only 
seventeen }-ears old, young Bracken began the study of medicine with Drs. 
H. C. Sexton and W. H. Alartin. in Rushville. Being a persistent student 
and eager for knowledge, his ac(|uirements soon ga\'e him claim to an exam- 
ination and license for the practice of medicine. Medical colleges at that day 
were not available to many, but a pro\'ision, as substitute for them, was the 
district board of censors, to whom by state law, w^as given the privilege to 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 347 

examine and license to practice medicine such as desired it. Young Bracken, 
being recommended, appeared before the censors of the fifth medical dis- 
trict, passed his examinations successfully and received his license, which 
read as follows : 

"We, therefore, ha\'e licensed William Bracken to practice as a phy- 
sician and surgeon, with all the rights and privileges and honors thereonto 
appertaining, and we do recommend him to the faculty and the patronage 
of the public. 

"Done at Connersville, Indiana, November 2, 1836, the year of Amer- 
ican independence the sixty-first. 

"Witness our hands and the seal of the society affixed. 

"John M. Rowland, Prcs., 

[Seal.] "Ryland T. Brown, Sec." 

Dr. John M. Howland was the father-in-law of Dr. John W. Moody, 
of Greensburg. He was a prominent physician of the day and a graduate of 
the University of Maryland, in 1819. 

Dr. Ryland J. Brown was a graduate of the Ohio Medical College, at 
Cincinnati, class of 1829. He was state geologist in 1854 and professor of 
natural science in Northwestern Christian University, at Indianapolis, in 
1858. He was an author and a man (if mark and unusual acquirements. 

Doctor Bracken, within si.xty days after receiving his authority to 
practice medicine, removed to a small village in Jackson county, remaining 
there but a short time. It seems he had plenty of malaria and practice, and 
but little pay. Returning to Rush county, he located at Richland, and later 
at Milroy. In 1862 he removed to Greensburg. On November g, 1S37, 
Doctor Bracken was married to Patience A. Berry, of Rush county, and to 
this union there were born four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Bracken died 
on April 18, 1898, in Greensburg. Mrs. Martha Rucker is the only survivor 
of the family. 

In 1850, while a resident of Rush county. Doctor Bracken was elected 
a delegate to the constitutional con\ention of Indiana and was the last sur- 
viving member. 

For the advancement of his chosen profession he was always a willing 
worker. He was an active member in the county medical society, and very 
seldom absent from its meetings. When Doctor Bracken spoke, the mem- 
bers present always "sat up and took notice," as he always said something — 
though not always according to conceded points or opinions. He was some- 
times aggressive, but defended, with ability, authorities cited or his personal 



348 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

experience given to sustain his position. Doctor Bracken was a good diag- 
nostician, a close obserxer. did his own thinking and formed his own opinions 
a;nd conclusions. In the sick room he acted, and knew why he did so. He 
had confidence in himself. He was president of the Decatur County Med- 
ical Society several years. In later years he let those who experimented with 
new remedies lead, and, when tested and proven, was ready to approve and 
use them. 

Doctor Bracken was one of the first secretaries of the county board of 
health as now organized. 

The last time Doctor Bracken met with the count\- societv, he was 
called on to address the members then present. His remarks were almost 
entirely reminescent, as a pioneer physician, relating to the hardships, dan- 
gers, difficulties, doubts and trials of these physicians, which were described 
with trembling voice, sometimes with sadness, again animated with the i)ride 
of victory and success. Some of the older physicians present had similar 
experience, while the younger were surprised and perhaps skeptical. In 
those days visits were necessarily made on horseback, with saddle bags to 
carry his armamentarium of herbs, roots, barks, etc., (iften to be prepared 
at the bedside as infusions. There were no granular tablets or fluid extracts 
in those days. 

Doctor Bracken had always been a Democrat. He belie\ed in govern- 
ment by the people, for the people. He was a IMason and for many )'ears 
was worshipful master of Greensburg Lodge Xo. ;^6. which had charge 
of the burial ceremony. 

.\n incident in the life of Doctor Bracken is probably proper to relate 
here. He was devoted to his profession, lodge, church and other duties, 
and not disposed to sacrifice any of them to the requirements of society. 
Dressing reluctantly for a function of this kind, he said to his wife, "Mother, 
I would rather ride ten miles than go." A call at the door gave him the 
opportunity to miss the party and see the patient, sure enough ten miles 
away. A ride through the cold dark night, letting down fences, wandering 
across fields with doubts as to his course, he finally arrived at his destination, 
to be detained several hours to relieve a patient in distress. Later, the 
doctor said that while he had failed to meet his friends at the party, the 
satisfaction of having relieved pain and suffering and saved a life more 
than recompensed him and that he would do it again under similar circum- 
stances. 

Dr. L. C. Bunker was born in Cayuga county, New York, on October 
21, 1 82 1. His parents moved to Oberlin, Ohio, when he was a small lad. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 349 

and went from there to Branch county, Michigan, in 1833. Later they set- 
tled in Boone county, Indiana, and in 1848 located in Ripley county. While 
in Michigan, L. C. Bunker had the unusual experience of associating him- 
self with an Indian tribe and in two years became quite intimate with 
Indian life and lore, being able to converse intellii^ently with the red men 
of the Michigan wilderness. At the breaking out of the Mexican war, in 
1846, he enlisted in the second Illinois Regiment, that joined Taylor's army 
and marched to the city of Mexico. He began the study of medicine in 1845. 
in the ollice of Doctor Wright, at Belvidere. Illinois, and after his return 
from the war, he took a course of lectures in the Rush Medical College, in 
Chicago; in 1852, he graduated from the Eclectic Medical College in Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. After practicing several years in Ripley county, he removed 
to Greensburg in 1865. 

Doctor Bunker married Alvira E. Alden, of Ripley county, on Novem- 
ber 15, 1849. Eight children were born, five of whom sur\'ive: Mrs. Lucy 
E. Montgomery, of Chattanooga, Tennesee; Henry A., a physician of New 
York city; George, engaged in business in Dover, Delaware: Mrs. May Wise, 
of Brooklyn, New York, and Arthur Clifford, an electrician, of Mount Clair, 
New Jersey. One son, William, a physician at W^inston, Illinois, died in 
1892. Doctor Bunker's first wife 'died some twenty-five years ago, and, on 
April 5, 1899, he married Mrs. Ida V. McElvain. 

Doctor Bunker practiced medicine more than fifty-three years in Rip- 
ley and Decatur counties. He was a very successful physician and surgeon 
and kept up with the advanced knowledge of the profession. His former 
patrons speak with commendation of his care for the interest and comfort of 
his patients — always attentive, kind and sympathetic. Doctor Bunker was a 
member of the Baptist church and when possible an attendant at the services 
of the church. He died on his farm near Greensburg, on August 26, 1907, 
and his remains rest in South Park cemetery. 

Dr. Cornelius Cain was born on August i, 1808, near Dover, Delaware, 
and died on June 28, 1903, in this county, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. 
Orlando Hamilton. His father settled in Brookville, Franklin countv, about 
1827. Doctor Cain studied medicine with Dr. Rufus Haymond, in Brook- 
ville. He began the practice of medicine at Laurel, and in 1857 he removed 
to Clarksburg, Decatur county. He was married to Eliza Clements in 1836. 
To them were born ten children, of whom seven lived to rear families. 
Two sons, Albert and John, are Methodist preachers. Albert resides in 
New Jersey, and John is in the North Indiana conference. Homer was 
engaged in business and died in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1893. Another 



350 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

son, Elmer Ellswcirth, wlio was a teaclier, died in 1890. The daughters 
were Mrs. Orlando Hamilton, Nancy, the widow of F. M. Smith, living 
at Muncie, and Mrs. Emma Bell, living at Upland. 

Doctor Cain continued in practice from 1857 to 1898, forty-one 
years, in Clarksburg, when he retired to reside with his daughter, Mrs. 
Orlando Hamilton, near Kingston, where he lived until his death. Doctor 
Cain was a frequent attendant at the Decatur County Medical Society. He 
often reported cases in minute detail, showing that he was a close observer 
and good diagnostician. He reported several cases of colitis (dysentery) 
treated with castor oil and tincture of opium successfully, which was not 
the usual treatment at that day, neither was the treatment in \ogue nearly 
so successful as his. 

Dr. Aljram Carter came from Kentucky to Greensburg prior to 1847, 
and was present at the organization of perhaps the first medical society nn 
January 25, 1847. His daughter was the wife of Dr. George W. New, sur- 
geon of a regiment of Indiana volunteers. She was a very efficient nurse 
and was with her husband during his service, being a great favorite with 
the members of the regiment. Doctor Carter probably died in this county. 

Dr. Cornelius A. Covert, the son of Samuel Covert, was born in Har- 
mony, Butler county, on June i, 1831, and died in Greensburg, Indiana, 
March 29, 191 o. At the solicitation of Dr. John W. Moody, he came to 
Decatur county during the Civil War, from VVilliamstown, on the Decatur- 
Rush county line, where he had been only a few years in practice. He 
read medicine in his native town of Harmony with Dr. Lusk, took a med- 
ical course at Cleveland, Ohio, and. in 1869, a post-graduate course in the 
Chicago Medical College. Doctor Covert was in continuous practice from 
the time he came to Decatur county, except a few instances when he returned 
to his old home in Pennsylvania, and when he was absent in Chicago in 
1869. Doctor Covert was a safe and conservative physician, always atten- 
tive to the most minute detail, and never "gave a case up" as long as the 
patient breathed, and hardly then. He believed in "feeding," had confidence 
in remedies, was successful in his surgical cases, and had the confidence of 
his patrons to an unusual degree, because he had confidence in himself and 
the remedial means he used. If duty called him, he seemed indifl'erent to 
pain. In one of many instances he made daily visits to see cases under his 
care after he had been thrown out of his buggy and two ribs broken and 
other injuries received. He continued to do so after all eft'ort to prevail 
on him to desist had failed. Dr. Covert came to Williamstown prior to the 
fall of 1858, probably in 1857. None of his family resides in Decatur 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 35 1 

county. One son, Samuel, li\'es in Dayton, Ohio, and another, named for 
his old friend. Dr. J. W. Moody, resides in Indianapolis. 

The late Dr. Francis M. Daily, of Milhousen, was born in Ireland on 
March i6, 1842, and came to America with his parents in 1847. He was the 
son of Dr. Michael Daily, who practiced in this county from the time of his 
arrival in America in 1847 until his death. Dr. Francis M. Daily was mar- 
ried on April 26, 1865, to Catherine Conwell, of Westport. He began the 
practice of medicine in 1868 at Milhousen, Dr. John Hicks being in practice 
there at that tirrie. 

Dr. Richard J. Depew was born in 1815. He practiced medicine in St. 
Omer, and later in St. Paul, Decatur count3^ for many years. He was a 
sturdy, robust man, physically able for the hardships of the pioneer phy- 
sician. For many vears his professional trips were made on horseback. He 
was a bachelor until late in life. He was a stanch Republican and was 
always ready to defend the principles of the party. Inditierent and neg- 
lectful in keeping his accounts, if he needed money, which was seldom, he 
would call on some of his patrons and "jump" accounts, indifferent as to 
whether his was too much or little. If too much, it was the fault of the 
patron, who "ought to have been sick more." It was his way of "scpiaring 
books." He moved to Indianapolis after marriage, and died there in 1879. 
He left a large bequest. 

Dr. Jesse M. Gillespie was, perhaps, the first physician to locate in 
Greensburg, as he was here prior to the year 1825. He built a brick resi- 
dence, the second one in the town, in 1826, on the south side of the square. 
He died in 1833, and his widow married Mr. Thomson. 

Dr. John Y. Hitt was born in Oldham county, Kentucky, on February 
9, 1832. He studied medicine and graduated at the University of Kentucky 
in 1853. He came to Decatur county in 1854, to follow his profession. He 
was married to Martha Logan, daughter of Samuel Logan, Sr., in 1853. 
Two sons were born to this union. Dr. Sherman B. and Joel, both deceased. 
When the Seventeenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, was organized. Dr. J. 
Y. Hitt was appointed surgeon and ser\ed with \Vilder's lirigade. When the 
first board of examining surgeons for pensions was organized for Decatur 
county, Doctor Hitt was appointed as secretary by Commissioner of Pensions 
John C. Black, on February ir, 1886, 'serving in that capacity up to May 8, 
1889. Doctor Hitt continued in practice in Greensburg up to a few years 
before his death. He was surgeon for the Big Four Railroad Company for 
a number of years, and the Grand Army of the Republic, department of 
Indiana, for two years. Doctor Hitt, with short intervals of absence, prac- 



352 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ticed medicine in Decatur cnunty about fifty-five years. He died in Greens- 
Ixirg and was buried in Soutb Park cemeten-. Mrs. Alartha Hitt also is 
dead. 

Dr. Sberman B. Hitt was Ijorn in Sullivan. Illinois, January lo, 1854, 
and died in Greensburg. He was the son of Dr. John V. and Martha 
(Logan ) Hitt. Except a very few years, he always resided in Greensburg. 
He graduated in the Greensburg public schools, later attended Notre Dame 
Institution two years. He attended the Jefferson Medical College at Phila- 
delphia, and graduated in the Ohio [Medical College in 1886. Doctor Hitt 
was a member of the city council for about twenty years. He was also sec- 
retary of the Greensburg board of health for several years. He belonged 
to the Greensburg Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Dr. Sher- 
man Hitt married Mrs. ]^Iary Cline, of Greensburg, May 9, 1893. and one 
daughter was born to them. 

Dr. Sherman B. Hitt, who spent more than fifty years of his life in 
Greensburg, was known by almost everybody. He was neat in his dress, 
always tidy and was large, portly and stylish. As a citizen, he was popular, 
as shown by his frequent election to city offices. As a physician, he was up 
to the times in his profession. His death, on Se])tember 25, 191 1, was sud- 
den and a great shock to those who knew him and greatly regretted by his 
friends and patrons. A daughter, Gladys M., was married to Louis S. 
Linville on May 13, 19 15. 

Dr. Silas Cooke was born in ^lont\ille. New Jersey, in 1S09. He grad- 
uated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City in 
1832. He was married the same year to Hannah Maria Mills, of Morris- 
town, New Jersey, and commenced the practice of medicine in Boonton, in 
the same state. In 1844, he removed to Rah way. New Jersey, and in 1866 
to Greensburg, Indiana, where he died in 1882. Doctor- Cooke was a cour- 
teous gentleman ; in his practice he was ethical, conforming to the rules and 
usages of the profession, and was highly respected by his associates in the 
profession for his cjualifications and polished manners. The doctor's family 
consisted of wife, two daughters and one son. All are deceased e.xcept Mrs. 
Marshall Grover, of Greensburg. 

Dr. J. Mills Cooke was born in Boonton, New Jersey, in 1835, graduated 
from Princeton College in 1855, and later from the College of Phvsicians 
and Surgeons of New York City. He began the practice of medicine in 
Toledo, Ohio. He was surgeon in the Twenty-fourth Ohio Regiment from 
1862, and was taken prisoner at Chickamauga with all the medical corps and 
sent to Libby prison. Upon his release he rejoined his regiment and was 



DECATUR COUNTY;, INDIANA. 353 

with Sherman on his march to the sea. At the close of the war he returned 
to Toledo and in 1876 he came to Adams, Decatur county, where he died 
in 1884. He was a son of Dr. Silas Cooke and brother of Mrs. Marshall 
Grover, of Greensburg. 

Dr. Thomas Johnson was born in Oswego county, New York, on 
January 14, 1827, and came west with his parents in 1838. He was a sopho- 
more when he quit the now DePauw University to begin the study of medi- 
cine, which he did under Dr. L P. Kilcher, of Laurel. He graduated at the 
Cincinnati Medical College in 1865. He had, hnwever, practiced before tliis 
and had located at Clarksburg, where he remained until 1882. At this time 
he removed to Greensburg and ])racticed his profession successfully. After 
the election of President Harrison, he was, in May, 1889, appointed by 
Commissioner of Pensions James Tanner on the board of pension examin- 
ing surgeons for Decatur county, on which he served four and a half years. 
He was a Mason, having belonged to Decatur Lodge No. 36 and Chapter 
No. 8. He was a member of the Methodist church in Greensburg. He was 
married on January i, 1854, in Fayette county, and two married daughters 
survive. The mother died in October, 1870. On May 28, 1871, he married 
Sarah F. Gest, who survives her husband, wdio died in Clarksburg. 

Dr. Elliott W. Leech came to Milford from Cincinnati, Ohio, aljout the 
year 1856, and entered in partnership with Dr. James O'Byrne, which asso- 
ciation continued until he removed to St. Paul in 1862. From there he was 
commissioned assistant surgeon in the One Hundred and Twenty-third Regi- 
ment, Indiana Vnhmteer Infantry. Resigning his commission, he returned 
to St. Paul, and later, in 1865, returned to ]\Iilford to resume the practice 
at that place. In 1876, he removed to Shelby ville and followed his pro- 
fession. While at that place he was appointed a member of the board of 
examining surgeons for pensions, which he filled with credit until the reor- 
ganization of the board. Doctor Leech was a very successful physician, 
made many friends and had the utmost confidence of his patrons. He died 
in Shelbyville, lea\ing a wife, one daughter and two sons. 

Dr. Lewis AIcAllister and brother, Lucius, also a physician, came from 
New Jersey and located at Milford as early as 1840. The latter moved to 
Crawford county, Illinois, married a widow, Mrs. Alfred Lagow, and died 
there. Dr. Lewis McAllister, when he came to Milford, was apparently but 
a boy. He remained there until the spring of 1865, when he removed to 
Windfall, Howard county, Indiana, where he engaged in practice of medi- 
cine up to his death, in 1890, being- in active practice more than fiftv years. 
(23) 



354 DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. 

Doctor McAllister believed in calomel, antimony and bleeding, a heroic 
practitioner, even in his day. He was a man of strong convictions and a 
Republican in politics. Dr. John L. Wooden was a student of Dr. McAllister. 
The latter was a member of the Decatur County Medical Society, attending 
the meeting of January 25, 1S47. the first in the county of which any record 
is found. He married Rachel Fugit about 1850. There were no children. 
She was an active and working memi)er of the Methodist church. 

Dr. Samuel ISIaguire was ijurn in Washington county, Pennsyh ania. 
November 25, 1818. His father, James ]\Iaguire, moved with his family, 
consisting of the wife and eight children, to Mason county, Kentucky, in 
1 83 1. He was tlie contractor who built the old Maysville and Lexington 
turnpike, which is said to he the best in the world. In 1832 they moved 
to Fleming, an adjoining county, and lived near the one-time popular old 
Blue Lick Springs. Doctor Maguire's education was obtained at the famous 
Maysville Academy, conducted by Rand and Richardson. This academy 
claimed the distinction of having for its pupils Gen. \\'illiam H. Nelson, 
Gen. U. S. Grant. Hun. H. Watterson and many others of historic fame. 
.Samuel ]\Iaguire graduated in medicine at Transylvania University and began 
the ])ractice in Fdemingslnirg, Kentucky, in 1840. In 1842 he married Eliza 
R. Fleming, the granddaughter of John D. Fleming, after whom the county 
and town were named. To this union three sons and one daughter were 
born, John J., W^illiam V.. Samuel and Ida Louise. The daughter sun-ives 
and is now the wife of Judge James K. Ewing, of Greensburg. 

In 1854. F)octor Maguire mo\-ed to ^lissouri, where he remained six 
years, and while there he served two terms in the Missouri Senate. In i860, 
he returned to Flemingsburg, just when the South was on the brink of war. 
He at once took a bold stand for the National Lhiion. Being gifted as a 
public speaker, he endea\'ored to persuade the peo])le to stand liy the flag. 
His position was one of great personal danger. He was denounced, threat- 
ened and persecuted, but his fealty to the government was ne\-er lessened, and 
he remained steadfast in his loyalty to what he believed a just cause. He 
enlisted in the Tenth Kentuck}- Cavalry, and was commissioned assistant 
surgeon. Afterwards he served as surgeon in the Forty-fifth Kentucky 
Mounted Infantry with the rank of major. The war over, he returned to 
his old Kentucky home, to find that many who had once delighted to call 
him their friend and familv jjln'sician were now bitter enemies. His wife 
died soon afterward and he decided to turn his back on the scenes that had 
once been dear to him and seek a new home in Greensburg, Indiana, taking 
with him his youngest son, Samuel, and his daughter, Ida Louise. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 355 

In 1872 he married Mrs. Bella Willett, of Louisville, Kentucky. To 
this union two sons were born, Herbert Cortez and Neil Gillespie. In 1891, 
he moved, with his wife and two young-er sons, to Louisville, Kentucky, 
where he died from paralysis on August 10, 1892. He was laid to rest in 
beautiful Crown Hill cemetery. 

During Dr. Maguire's long residence in Greensburg he made many 
warm friends. He stood high in his chosen profession ; was a high Mason ; 
a leading elder in the Christian church and a prominent Grand Army man. 
His activities were ceaseless, but in whatever circle one found him, he was 
always the same courteous, fair-minded Christian gentleman, with a sterling 
integrity and advocacy for the right. 

Dr. John W. Moody, a pioneer physician, became a resident of Greens- 
burg in 1839. He was liorn in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on June 12, 1816. 
He was one of the four delegates to the convention from Decatur county 
who were present at the formation of the present State Medical Society 
(now association), June 6, 1849, at Indianapolis. 

Among- some papers found in 1865, left by Dr. Lewis McAllister, for- 
merly of Milford, Indiana, Avas an article by Dr. J. W. Moody, read before 
the state medical society on "Epidemic Dysentery." There was no date to 
the paper, but it must have been written as early as 185 1 or 1852, as a 
very fatal epidemic prevailed in this county about that .time, and the doctor 
was in the midst of it. He was a regular attendant at the meetings of the 
State Medical Societ}- up to his death, and discussed, with great ability, any 
and all subjects coming before the society. As a practitioner he was careful, 
skillful, discreet and successful. For a number of years he was a member of 
the board of trustees of the state hospital for the insane. Among the doc- 
tor's duties, he was often called on to examine applicants for certificates to 
teach in the public schools. An applicant got a certificate that read: "This 
woman can read a little and write a little." It is not known if she taught. 

Doctor Moody was a Republican. A safe and discreet adviser, he was 
often consulted by Governor Morton and others in his position in his party. 

Doctor Moody was married to Martha Howland, daughter of Dr. John 
M. Howland, who died in Brookville, Indiana, January 11, 1858. There 
were two sons. After the doctor's death, on August 27, 1867, Mrs. Moody 
and one son removed to New York city. She was an authoress of note, an 
entertaining conversationalist and a dignified and beautiful woman. 

Dr. Theophilus E. F. Miller was born in Buffalo, New York, February 
4, 1852, and died in Westport on May 26. 1908. He came to Milford, Deca- 
tur county, Indiana, early in 1884, direct from the Hahnemann Medical Col- 



356 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

lege, of Chicago, Illinois. His predecessor, an eclectic and homeopathic. Dr. 
James O'Bvrne, after more than twenty-two years' practice, had made an 
opening for a physician of the school, from which Doctor Miller had recently 
graduated. Doctor ]\Iiller was of German parentage (Lutherans) and came 
to Chicago with his parents about 1855. He attended the schools of that 
cit\- and li\-ed there up to his coming to ]\Iilford, where he remained in the 
practice of medicine for about two years. Doctor ^liller was a firm beliexer 
in the siiiiilia siiiiilibiis curantiir theory of his brother physicians of that 
order and practiced it without deviation or concession. While in Mil ford, he 
made many friends and patrons, was a bachelor, wore a Prince AlJjert ciiat, 
neat and always well dressed, gentlemanly and respected by everyone who 
knew him. In 18S6 he moved to W'estport, in this county, where he had a 
lucrati\e practice up to his death, which was regretted by his many friends 
and patrons. Doctor Miller was married to Mrs. Nannie Cann in January, 
1895. She died on June 10, 191 5. 

Dr. George W. Xew was a graduate of the Ohio Medical College, at 
Cincinnati, in the class of 1839-40. He located in Greensbm"g and was 
engaged in [tractice until 1859. He was a member of the Decatur County 
Medical Society on January 25, 1847, and was a delegate from Decatur 
county to the convention at Indianapolis, June 12, 1849, that formed the 
present state medical association. In 1859 he removed to Indianapolis to 
enlarge his field for surgical work, as he was specially qualified as a surgeon. 
This was recognized by Governor Morton, who commissioned him surgeon 
of the Seventh Indiana Regiment of Volunteer Infantry in 1861. he serving 
three years. In 1864 Governor Morton, having confidence in his integrity 
and qualifications, sent him to New Orleans as military agent for Indiana. 

After the war he was for two years examiner of drugs in the New 
Orleans custom house, showing his standing with the federal government. 
Doctor New was a man of fine presence and general accomplishments. He 
died in Indianapolis in 1891, aged seventy-two years. Mrs. New accom- 
panied her husband and rendered \ery efficient service as a nurse, endear- 
ing herself by her kindness and interest in many ways. She was a daughter 
of Dr. Abram Carter, one of the early physicians of Greensburg. 

Dr. James O'Byrne, eclectic and homeopath, was born in Ireland in 
1820. He came with his parents to America, locating near Brook\-ille, Frank- 
lin county, Indiana, in 1832. He married Ann D. Moore in the year 1840. 
He moved to Milford, Decatur county, in 185 1, where he practiced medicine 
up to 1873, when he and his family and the families of two of his sons 
removed to Carroll county, Missouri. He practiced medicine at that place 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 357 

up to his death, in 1896. Doctor O'Bryne was a successful physician, made 
many friends, and had a large practice up to the time of his removal. 

Dr. Uriah G. Reeves was born in Warren, Truniljull county, Ohio, in 
1820, and died in Milford in 1882. He was educated at Allegheny College, 
Meadville, Pennsylvania, after which he taught school at Shelbyville and 
Liberty, Indiana. He was married to Jane Craig on February 28, 1846. He 
read medicine with Dr. William Armington. He began practice at St. Omer, 
remaining there five years, and then followed his profession at Greensburg 
from i860 to 1863, when he removed to Milford, continuing in practice 
there up to his death, in 1882, from cerebro-spinal meningitis, which pre- 
vailed at that time. Doctor Reeves was a local preacher in the Methodist 
church and was always ready and willing to serve in that capacity. He was 
a member of the Decatur County Medical Society, a good debater and con- 
tributed several papers of merit on medical subjects. He was also an Odd 
Fellow, in which order he passed all the chairs and was elected a representa- 
tive to the grand lodge from Centenary Lodge No. 535. As a member of 
the investigating and other committees, he was fair, unbiased and just. His 
family consisted of a wife, four daughters and one son. The latter died in 
1866, aged about eight years. Doctor Reeves was successful in his practice 
and was always willing to serve the needy, regardless of compensation. He 
could do more practice on a small quantity of medicine than almost any other 
doctor. His remains rest in Milford cemetery. 

Dr. William F. Reiley was born on April 21, 1828. He received a com- 
mon-school education and taught school several years. He read medicine 
with Dr. William Armington, beginning practice in 1854. On February 8, 
1859, he was married to Sarah E. Hood, daughter of William Hood, a sol- 
dier of the War of 18 12 and an early settler in Decatur county. To this 
union two children were born, Anne H., who married Sanford Darrah, now 
living at San Diego, California, and one, the youngest, who died in infancy. 
Doctor Reiley had an extensive practice in all directions from Sardina before, 
during and after the Civil War. He was president of the first board of 
examining surgeons for pensions, under President Cleveland, with Dr. J. Y. 
Hitt and J. H. Alexander. In his association with men of the profession he 
was found always polite, patient, sympathetic and considerate in the 
interest of the soldier, never being able to do as much for them 
as he desired. He never desired office, as his time was engaged pro- 
fessionally, but he was prevailed upon and elected joint senator from Deca- 
tur, Jennings and Scott counties in the state senate for one or more terms. 
He was a Democrat and highly respected by all parties. He died at Sardina, 



35^ DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

this county, November 21. 1895. The Hst of graehiates of the Medical 
College of Ohio shows that W. F. Reiley. of Indiana, graduated in 1858. 

Dr. A. S. Reniy was born near Brookville, Indiana, October 16, 1819. 
After passing his boyhood on a farm and receiving a common-school edu- 
cation, he entered the Ohio Medical College, at Cincinnati, from which he 
was a graduate. In 1844 he was united in marriage to Almirah Scoby, and 
moved to Zenas, Jennings county, where he engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine. To this union were born three sons and one daughter. In 1856 he 
bought a farm near Greensburg, Decatur county, and engaged in farming, 
together with the practice of medicine. His wife died in 1S62. and the fol- 
lowing year he was married to Annie Kluge. To this union two children 
were born, one son and one daughter, the daughter dying in infancy. Doc- 
tor Remy was a member of the Presbyterian church and a member of the 
Masonic fraternity. He died March 31, 1890. 

Dr. Alfred Scoby Remy was born on January 29, 1847, at Zenas, Jen- 
nings county, and died at Zenas on June 20, 1882, being buried at South 
Park cemetery, Greensburg. He graduated at the Ohio Medical College in 
1869. He was married to Anna DeBolt on February 14, 1S69. There were 
four children born to this union : Harry ; Nellie, who died in Kansas in 
1873; Mrs. Ella Carter, living, and Carl, wdio died in Greensburg in 1893. 
Doctor Remy practiced medicine in Jennings and Decatur counties. 

Dr. William H. Remy was born on October 30, 1850, at Zenas, Jen- 
nings county, Indiana. He was educated at Butlerville College, Butlerville, 
Indiana, after which he entered the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati. He 
began the practice of medicine in 1875 at Millhousen, DecatiU' county. In 
1878 he was married to Delia Carper. He continued in the practice of his 
chosen profession until 1886, when he moved to Kansas and engaged in 
farming. 

Dr. John Ritchie renio\ed from Greensburg to Milford, Decatur county, 
at an early day and was one of the first physicians to locate at that village 
in the forties. One of his daughters married a Methodist minister. Rev. 
Tandy Haven. Another daughter, Sallie, married Lieut. A. J. Hungate, and 
with her husliand moved to Topeka, Kansas, in 1866. Doctor Ritchie was 
most probably a member of the medical society organized on Januarv 25, 

1847. 

Doctor Edmund Swem was born near Camden, New Jersey, on August 
12, 1810, and died in Greensburg on March 4, 1898. He received his medi- 
cal education at Cincinnati and began the practice of medicine at Peru, 
Indiana, later practicing at Mooresville. He came to Greensburg about 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 359 

1846. He married Martha Gibson, daughter of Israel Gibson, an early resi- 
dent of Greensburg and a soldier of the War of 1812. His remains rest in 
South Park cemetery. A plain marble slab marks the Gibson grave. He 
was a Mason, which was noted on the headstone. Doctor Swem and his 
wife celebrated their golden wedding anni\'ersary several years before his 
death, in 1898. Mrs. Swem survived her husband. Rev. Edmund Hez 
Swem, pastor of the Second Baptist church, Washington, D. C., and Mrs. 
Ale Howard, of Greensburg, are the only children surviving. Doctor Swem 
was president of the Decatur County Medical Society in 1869, and was 
re-elected in 187 1. He was a regular attendant at the meetings and filled 
other offices up to the time he was unable to attend owing to the infirmities 
of age. He was a delegate to the State Medical Association several times.' 
He was a member of the Presbyterian church and his pew was seldom vacant 
at its meetings. Doctor Swem was a conservative and cautious physician ; 
he advocated small doses ; he had faith in the recuperative powers of nature ; 
he was not very favorable to calomel, as he had seen the ill effects of its 
abuse. He was very neat in his dress, quiet in demeanor, always polite, 
unassuming and g-entlemanly. 

There was also a Doctor Teal, who lived in Greensburg and who died 
in 1833. 

Dr. J. L. Underwood came to Milford about 1856. He married a Miss 
Avery, who lived on a farm on Flat Rock, Shelby county. There were two 
daughters. He removed from Milford to St. Paul early in the Civil War 
period. He died from cancer of the stomach and was buried at Ogden ceme- 
tery, near Waldron. He was a popular and successful phvsician and had 
many friends at both Milford and St. Paul. 

Dr. Newbery Wheeldon practiced medicine in this county prior to i860, 
following what was then known as the Thomsonian system, and called 
"steam doctors" by some in derision. These doctors used lobelia to control 
fevers, colds and almost any disease "flesh is heir to." Their system was 
mostly by stimulation, profuse sweating and discarded all mineral prepara- 
tions as used by the allopaths in that day. The abuse of calomel by some of 
the ultra-allopaths, who believed that salivation (ptyalism) was the onlv sal- 
vation in certain conditions, made patrons for this class of doctors, and they 
made all the capital possible out of it. Doctor \Vheeldon was perhaps the last 
doctor to practice that system in the county, as the eclectics have superseded 
them here. 

Dr. M. H. Williams-Letts, eclectic, was a member of the board of 
examining surgeons for pensions with J. H. Alexander and W. H. Wooden, 



360 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

organized on May 19, 1897, ^"'' served on the board until June 19, 1901, 
when he resigned and removed to IndianapoHs. He was a careful, conscien- 
tious examiner always ready for the duties of his office and pleasant and 
obliging in his relations with others. 

Dr. John L. Wooden was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, ^lay 17, 
1826, and came with his parents to Decatur county, Indiana, in October, 
1830. In 1848 he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. Louis 
McAllester, at Miiford, Decatur comity. In 1853 he began the practice of 
medicine in Andersonville, hVanklin county, and contiiuied there up to 1859, 
when he entered the Medical College of Ohio, and on March i, i860, re- 
ceived his degree of Doctor of Medicine. His first military service was 
■with the Seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry. On the formation of the 
Si.xty-eighth Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, he was commissioned sur- 
geon of that regiment, on August 29, 1862, having rendered efficient service 
in this organization. With his regiment, he was taken prisoner of war at 
Mumfordville, Kentucky, in September, 1862. He was exchanged in Novem- 
ber, 1862, but was again taken prisoner while in cliarge of the division hos- 
pital during the battle of Chickamanga, September 20, 1863. He was sent 
to Libby prison and remained a prisoner until exchanged three months later. 
He acted as brigade surgeon in General Willich's command and was an active 
member of the medical staff up to the end of the Civil War. Doctor Wooden 
was the first pension examining surgeon for Decatur county, and remained 
in charge up to the appointment of the first board of examining surgeons 
for pensions, under the Cleveland administration. His services in that capac- 
ity were eminently satisfactory to the soldiers, and duly appreciated by the 
pension department. Doctor Wooden was a regular attendant at the County 
Medical Society and State Medical Association and was a willing and work- 
ing member in both. His reports of cases were always interesting, instruc- 
tive and inspiring. His diagnosis of cases seemed to be by intuitinn. so 
prompt and so generally correct were they. As a consultant he was help- 
ful and tactful, and gave confidence and hope to the patient. As a surgeon 
he was cautious and skillful. He paid special attentinn to the details, anti- 
septically, in preparation for operative surgery, and hence his general suc- 
cess. Doctor Wooden was of Methodist parentage and had been a mem- 
ber since early in life. P'or many years prior to his death he was a leading 
Mason and was master of Concordia Lodge of Greensburg at the time of 
his death, his service as master embracing the following periods: 1873-81, 
1883-4, 1886. As a soldier, he seldom failed to meet with his comrades of 
Pap Thomas Post No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he had 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 361 

been commander. He was also senior vice-commander of the Department 
of Indiana of the Grand Army of the Repubhc. Doctor Wooden's death 
occurred on Sunday, November 28, 1886, to the regret and surprise of his 
many friends. His indomitable energy and active Hfe was more than his 
enfeebled condition could bear. He left his wife, Mrs. Sarah Guest Wooden, 
and four children — Dr. W. H. Wooden, now deceased; Elmer E. Wooden, 
Mrs. Edgar Hamilton and Mrs. Ida Moss — to mourn his sudden death. 

Dr. William Herschel Wooden was born in the village of Milford, 
Decatur county, Indiana, August 12, 1857, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, on 
April 23, 1903. In 1867, he came to Greensburg with his father's family, 
where he pursued his studies in the public schools up to his graduation in 
the high school in 1873. He then entered, for a classical course, the State 
University at Bloomington. In 1876 he began the study of medicine with 
his father, Dr. John L. Wooden, and graduated from the Medical College 
of Ohio in 1879, eminently well qualified for the practice of medicine and 
surgery. On his return to Greensburg- he entered his father's office as a 
partner in his extensive and lucrative practice. Prior to 1882 he was elected 
secretary of the Decatur County Medical Society, and was an efficient officer 
for several years. In keeping the records and abstracts of important cases 
reported by the members, he was accurate, bringing out the important point 
in each case, not infrequently taking part in the discussion to cover in his 
report real deficiencies in the discussion. He seldom failed to be at the 
meetings of the State Medical Society, in which he took great interest. Doc- 
tor Wooden continued in a successful practice in this city up to 1888, when 
he had a call from parties who knew his qualifications and appointed him 
civil engineer on the Maple Leaf railroad through Missouri and Kansas to 
Minneapolis, and later with the Chicago, ]\Iilwaukee & St. Paul railroad. 
After his return, in 1892, he was appointed secretary of the county board 
of health, continuing up to December, 1894, his professional business pre- 
cluding his continuance in that office any longer. In May, 1897, Doctor 
Wooden was appointed secretary of the board of examining surgeons for 
pensions in Greensburg, serving in that capacity up to November, 1899, 
when, because of the pressure of professional business, he resigned, to the 
regret of his associates on the board. Doctors Williams and Alexander, who 
always found him accurate, truthful and careful in his examinations and 
scrupulously neat and correct in his papers. Dr. Herschel Wooden was a 
Mason, and served as master of his lodge in 1892 to 1893 and 1894. He 
also belonged to the Knights of Pythias, the Sons of Veterans and the Benev- 
olent and Protective Order of Elks. He continued in the practice of medi- 



362 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

cine and surgery up to his fatal sickness in 1903. His mother, brother and 
two sisters survive and reside in Greensburg. His remains rest in South 
Park cemetery, Greensburg, alongside his father. 

Dr. James Brown Bracken was a graduate of a Philadelphia college of 
medicine and practiced medicine for many years with his father, Dr. W'illiam 
Bracken, of Rush and Decatur counties, thimgh the latter part of his life was 
devoted to the care of his father after he had retired from active life, owing 
to ill health. Dr. James B. Bracken was a man well read in his profession 
and other fields of literature and had qualities that made him firm friends and 
admirers. His opinions were positive and expressed openly either to advance 
a cause or oppose one in which he was interested or advocated. He died in 
Greensburg, October 31, 1913. 

Dr. Jesse Wakefield Rucker, grandson of Dr. William Bracken and 
nephew of Dr. James B. Bracken, obtained his degree from the Medical Col- 
lege of Ohio (Cincinnati") in 1885 and practiced medicine in Cincinnati and 
in Shelbyville, Indiana, until 1902. when he moved to Greensburg, his native 
city. While he has not been actively engaged in the practice in Decatur 
county, he holds a physician's certificate or license and has been often con- 
sulted by brother physicians, being considered a fine diagnostician. At pres- 
ent he is editor of the Nezv Era, a straight Democratic newspaper. 

MISCELLANEOU.S PHYSICIANS. 

In addition to the ph_\'sicians above mentioned, the names of several 
others have been located, l)ut little is known of any of them. Austin Marlow, 
known as a "chronic doctor," practiced at Newburg, Adams and Greens- 
burg. Doctor Pettigrew practiced at Newburg and Forest Hill. Doctor 
Riker was also at Newburg for some years. Dr. John L. Brown was prac- 
ticing at St. Omer in 1876. Dr. George F. Chittenden was at iMilford in 
1858, and later become surgeon of the Sixteenth Regiment of Indiana Volun- 
teer Infantry. Dr. J. K. Smalley, of Forest Hill, had a large practice in 
the seventies in that community. Dr. John W'heeldon, an eclectic, was prac- 
ticing in Greensburg in 1866. Two other eclectic physicians of Greensburg 
of half a century ago were Doctors Falcomberry and Reiley. One of the 
most prominent of the early Catholic physicians was Dr. Michael Daily, of 
Irish parentage, who lived on a farm south of Greensburg. Another Catho- 
lic physician of the county, who died some years ago, was Dr. Francis M. 
Daily, of Millhousen, who was well educated and built up a large practice 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 363 

in A'lillliou.sen and the surroimdinsr country. One of the best known of the 
younger physicians of Greensburg, who was accidentally killed a few years 
ago, was Dr. James Bracken, a son of Dr. William Bracken. He graduated 
from Ohio Medical College and upon his death, on October 31, 1913, his body 
was cremated at his wish. There have undoubtedly been many other physi- 
cians in the county, but they ha\'e not come under the observation of the 
writer. No effort has been made to touch upon the careers of the living mem- 
bers of the profession. Their work speaks for them. 

THE FIRST DECATUR COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY. 

The first medical society of Decatur county was formed on January 
25, 1847, ^^''th Drs. A. Carter, of Greensburg: John Ritchie, perhaps of Mil- 
ford: \Villiam Armington, of Greensburg: John L. Armington, of Greens- 
burg: George W. New, of Greensl)urg: Sam C. Bartholomew, of Greens- 
burg: Lewis McAllister, of Milfod, and William Ardery as charter mem- 
bers. A short biography of each of these men may be found among the list 
of doctors given elsewhere in this chapter. Two years later Joseph C. Ard- 
ery, of Milford: John L. Armington, John W. Moody and George W. New, 
both of Greensburg, were sent to Indianapolis, where thev helped to organize, 
on June 6. 1849, the State Medical Society. 

TRAINED NURSES. 

The Legislature of 1905 passed an act providing for the registration of 
trained nurses in the counties where they followed their profession. Since 
that time the official records of Decatur county show that seven nurses have 
been registered in the county, as follow: Mary Wood Weaver, 1906: Myr- 
tle O. Smiley, 1906: Mary Donnell Stewart Erdmann, 1906: Mrs. Hannah 
H. Evans Donnell, 1906: Josephine Wright, 1906; Roxie Parker, 1909. 

OPTICIANS. 

The registration of opticians in tlie \arious counties of the state has 
been a legal requirement since 1907. During the past eight years six opti- 
cians have registered in the county: Eustace Foley, 1907: John Edward 
Russell, 1907; Philip H. Spohn, 1907: Cassius C. McCoy, 1907; James M. 
Burk, 1908; Walter E. Woolley, 1908. 



364 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

PENSION BOARD OF DECATUR COUNTY. 

The pension examiner consisled of one man at first, with an assistant, 
but the assistant received no remuneration for his services. Dr. John L. 
Wooden was appointed as first examiner lay Gen. John C. Black, and Doctor. 
Hershel Wooden served as his assistant. On February 11, 1886, the board 
of examiners was created. Drs. John H. Alexander, John Y. Hitt and WWl- 
iam F. Reiley served on this first board. I3octor rfitt was chosen as secretary. 
Certain days were set apart in which to make the examinations. The exam- 
iners received two dollars for each examination up to five, and after five only 
one dollar was received. 

On May 8, 1899, a new board was appointed as follows: Drs. Thomas; 
Johnson. John Schofield and Samuel McGuire. Doctor ]\IcGuire soon re-^ 
signed and 13octor Alexander was appointed to fill the \'acanc3'. In Novem-* 
ber, 1893, ^fter the Democrats had regained power, a new board was ap-' 
pointed and consisted of the following members : Drs. James M. Wood, R. 
M. Thomas, who was appointed secretary, and Benjamin F. White. This' 
board served until the election of ^\'illiam ]\IcKinley, when the following 
board took its ]3lace, on May 19, 1897: Dr. John Alexander, who wa* 
elected secretary, William H. Wooden and M. H. \\'illiams, who was elected 
treasurer. Doctor Wooden resigned on November 23, 1899. This vacancy 
was filled bv Dr. R. M. Thomas, who was elected president. In June, 1901, 
Doctor W'illiams resigned, and on July 3, of the same year. Dr. D. ^^'. 
Wea\'er was appointed to fill this vacancy until April 19, 1905, after which 
the following board was elected and served one year: Drs. T. B. Guliifer, 
William R. Thomas and William Hause. They were succeeded by Drs. Beal. 
of Clarksburg: Eden T. Reiley, of Greensburg, and ^^'illiam Hause, of West- 
port. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



NEWSPAPERS OF DECATUR COUNTY. 



Newspaper men have frequently tried to sum up. in a pitliv paragraph. 
the function of the newspaper and thousands of articles have been written 
on its influence on modern life. Perhaps no more apt summary of the place 
of the newspaper in our civilization of today has ever been written than 
that of Joseph H. F'inn, a newspaper man of Chicago, and deli\ered by him 
as part of an address before the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World 
in the spring of 191 5. His apostrophe follows: 

"'l .\M THE NEWSPAPER." 

"Born of the deep, daily need of a nation — I am the Voice of Now — 
the incarnate spirit of the Times — Monarch of Things that Are. 

'Aly 'cold type' burns with the hreblood of human action. T am fed 
b}' arteries of wire that girdle the earth. I drink from the cup of every li\-- 
ing joy and sorrow. I know not day nor night nor season. I know not 
death, yet I am Ijorn again with every morn — with e\erv moon — with every 
twilight. I leap into fresh being with every new world's event. 

"Those who created me cease to be. . The brains and heart's blood that 
nourish me go the way of human dissolution. Yet I live on — and on. 

■"I am majestic in my strength — sublime in my power — terrible in my 
potentialities — yet as democratic as the ragged b<jy who sells me for a penny. 

'T am the consort of kings — the partner of capital — the brother of toil. 
The ins])iration of the hopeles.'^ — the right arm oi the needv — the champion 
of the oppressed — the conscience of the criminal. 1 am the epitome of the 
world's Comedy and Tragedy. 

"My responsibility is infinite. I speak, and the world stops to listen. 
I say the word, and battle flames the horizon. I counsel peace, and the war 
lords oliey. I am greater than any individual — more powerful than any 
group. I am the dynamic force of Public Opinion. Rightly directed, I am 
the creator of confidence; a builder of happiness in living. I am the teacher 
of patriotism. 



366 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

''I am tlie hands cif the clock of time — the clarion voice of ci\ilization. 
T am the newspaper." 

It is often a difKcult matter for the conscientious newspaper editor to 
discriminate between his duty to the public and his duty to the individual — 
to determine what should be printed and what should Ije withheld. In de- 
termining this, he is often misjudged and charged with an attempt to shield 
one misdemeanant while he exposes another. Sometimes he is accused of 
withholding certain information from the ])ublic through mercenary mo- 
tives. It is not the province of the modern newspaper to be the mouthpiece of 
the scandal-monger, nor has it any right to suppress information wiiich the 
public is entitled to possess. The tendency of a newspaper should be for 
uplift, for the common good. It should hold prominently before its readers 
that which is best for the community and best worthy of emulation. News 
that, if printed, would do more harm than good, the modern editor consigns 
to the waste-basket. 

The early editor had a great many difficulties to surmount in getting his 
white paper. Roads were bad, collections worse and paper could be procured 
only for cash. On August 15, 1846, the editor of the Standard announced: 
"There will be no paper next week. We are out of mone\', out of paper and 
we can't and won't buy on credit." The paper did not appear for twi) weeks. 
The ne.xt issue was almost exclusively devoted to a discussion of a forth- 
coming debate between Rev. W. Terrill of the Alethodist Episcopal church, 
and Jacob Wright, of the Cliristian church upon a religious topic. After a 
considerable amount of sparring between the reverend gentlemen, regarding 
details of the debate, the affair was called off. 

On account of the scarcity of mone\- in aiUe-belluin days, the editor 
usually received pay for his paper in trade, produce and anything which sub- 
scribers, not needing, were willing to give him. Sometimes the editor was 
forced to run up the "S. O. S." sign and summon assistance. A\'itness the 
following clipping, from an 1847 Greensburg paper: 

"Very Late and Important. — We are just out of wood and would be 
very much pleased to receive a few loads immediately. \\'ood that is dry and 
would burn well in a stove would suit us best." 

A striking feature of the early newspapers of Indiana was their reckless 
use of adjectix-es in writing of those who differed with them along political 
lines. A few specific instances from Greensburg papers will illustrate the 
point. In 1858 the Decatur Democrat and the Rushville Jacksonian were 
"on the outs" on the slavery question. The former was opposed to slavery 
and branded the Buchanan administration as "a humbug and a swindle." The 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 367 

Jacksoman stood for the "simon-pure" Democracy of that day. The 
Standard, referring to the bitter words that had been tossed l^ack and forth, 
said. "They respectively make each other out as extremely great Hars and 
very dirty dogs, and it gives us much pleasure in uttering the conviction that 
they both tell the truth." This kind of language would appear out of place 
in the modern newspaper. The editor of the Standard was a master of 
invective and his language in the sixties was often vitriolic to the extreme. 
During war times, Decatur county editors sometimes waxed hot in 
criticising those who were lukewarm for the Union and once in a while laid 
down the law to such citizens. In 1863, when the Knights of the Golden 
Circle were getting \'ery bold near Westport ami were considering taking 
arms to resist the draft, the Grcciishiiyg Standard gave them the following 
gentle hint: "The draft will be enforced in this county though the streets 
run red with human gore and the torch destroy every town and village in the 
county. This is fully decided and can be relied upon." 

GREENSBURG NEWSPAPERS. 

In the Grccnshury Standard of January 4, 1895. the late Orville Thomp- 
son had a history of the papers of Greensburg which covered the period from 
1830. the date of the first paper, down to 1895. The historian feels that no 
more comjirehensive article on the papers of the citv can be written with the 
available material than that of Mr. Thompson and therefore gives his article 
here, \erbatim : 

"In the S])ring of 1830 Elijah ^Mitchell — an uncle of the writer and one 
of the pioneers of 1823 — began the publication of a paper here stxled the 
Greensburg Chronicle, and after an experience of about a year sold the outfit 
to Thomas Dowling, wdio changed the name to The Political Clarion. He 
conducted it until the close of the Clay-Jackson campaign of 1832, when he 
sold it to James Harvey Brown, whose editorial career was a brief one — 
the paper dying a very few months later of inanition. 

"Dowling was a native of Ireland, of Celtic blood: a vigorous writer, 
who learned almost all that was then knowable, and never forgot anything, 
nor anvone whom he ever hail known. .A. pleasant instance of this occurred 
with the writer, who was a lad of nine years when he ( Dowling ) left here. 
I did not see him until twenty years later and then, meeting him at Indian- 
apolis, he at once recognized me and called me by name. This preliminary 
sketch seems to be necessary in order to correct a mistaken notion enter- 
tained bv many people that the Re/^ositorx was the first paper issued in 
Greensburg. 



368 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

"For three years follmving the demise of the Clarion the count}' was 
without the fructifying power of tlie press. In the fall of 1835, iny father 
(John Thomson), issued a prospectus for a pajier to he called The Grcciisbiirg 
Repository, and, having douhts whether a partizan paper could be maintained 
here, despite his ardent Whig sentiments, he proposed that the paper should 
he a 'family newspaper, independent, hut not neutral.' But in this instance, 
as is often the case in human affairs, 

"The best laid schemes of men and mice 
Gang aft aglee." 

"Scarce had the ink become dry on his prospectus, when there came one 
who signed his name William \''allette Coleman, bringing with him the ma- 
terial of a late defunct Democratic iia])er from Rrookville. and proposed a 
partnership in the new enterprise. This was declined and he (Coleman) at 
once began the publication of a Democratic pa])er. The Grccnsburg Courier. 
This necessitated a change of base on the part of the Repository (not an 
altogether unpleasant one to the jjroprietor) and when its first issue appeared 
in the first week of December. 1835, it bore at its head the motto. 'The Union, 
the Constitution, and Enforcement of Laws,' and underneath, in bold faced 
type, there read. 

For President, 

GENERAL WTLLLVM HENRY HARRISON. 

of Ohio, 

Subject to the Decision of a \\ big National Con\'ention. 

"Through all its changes, both in names and proprietors, this paper has 
remained true to its birthday inspiration, both in its printed columns and by 
representatives on the battlefield, six of its editors having enlisted under 
Old Glory. 

"And someone rises to ask what became of the Greeiisbiir;/ Courier. 
It survived the wintry blasts of 1835-36, but when the spring time came and 
the roads settled, its proprietor loaded it on a wagon and hauled it to Shelby- 
\-ille. iM-om this time until the early part of 1S41 the Repository was the 
only paper in the county, Mr. Thompson continuing as owner and editor. 

"During the fore part of 1841, Peter J. Bartholomew began the publica- 
tion of a pai)er with the lumbering title of The Chronicle of the Times. The 
stress of news]:iaper life must have worried him, since he died a few months 
after he had his paper started. Philander Hamilton and James Monroe 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 369 

Talbot bought the outfit in November of the same year and ehanged tlie name 
to the Decatur Sentinel. A year later the same sheet appears as the Decatur 
Phoenix, under the guidance of Israel T. Gibson. But the two papers, the 
Whig Repository and the Democrat Phoenix, could not both prosper with 
the limited patronage which they recei\-ed and in November, 1843, the two 
were consolidated under the name of the Repository. Jacob W. Mills, the 
foreman of the Phoenix, had purchased that paper and he and the writer 
(Orville Thompson), or one or the other, continued the management of the 
paper until iS'51. 

"In the latter year, the Repository went into the hands of Davies Batter- 
ton and William H. Hazelrigg, William H. Rhiver being taken into the firm 
later. In July, 1853, it was again purchased b}- the writer (Orville Thomp- 
son) and conducted b}- him until the latter part of 1856, when it went into 
the hands of the former firm again. With the issue of December 26, 1856, 
the paper appeared as the Decatur Republican. In 1858 the paper was 
bought by J. J. Hazelrigg and (leorge R. Rhi\er. Rhiver dying in 1862, 
Hazelrigg continued the paper until 1863 and then sold it to Dr. S. H. Riley, 
J. B. Mallett and Redin B. Conover. This firm kept it until 1865 and then 
disposed of it to Will Pound. The changes since then have been as follow : 
Pound to J. J. Hazelrigg, 1868: Hazelrigg to Joseph A. McKee, 1872; 
McKee to George H. McKee, 1873; McKee to J. J. Hazelrigg, 1878, who 
with his sons conducted it until i8'94, when the present owner, Luther D. 
Braden, became the owner and editor. 

"Since 1848. under the several managements above given, the paper has 
borne several different names: Decatur Clarion, 1848-51; Decatur Press, 
1851-58; Decatur Republican, 1858-65; Grcensbnrg Chronicle, 1865-68; 
Greensburg Standard, 1868-1915. But with all these changes, it has sailed 
under the same 'old flag.' 

"As the Decatur Republican, in 1858, it was the first among Indiana 
newspapers to pronounce 'h'or President in i860, Abraham Lincoln.' \\niether 
in regard to national, state or local affairs, it has not hesitated to sustain the 
right, nor once failed to strike the wrong. 

"The Repository was launched upon the broad sea of journalism with a 
subscription list of about three hundred, and its growth up to 1843 was a slow 
one, being little above four hundred at that time. The consolidation with 
the Phoenix in the fall of 1843 gave an increase of only about one hundred, 
the patrons of one being largely patrons of the other. 

"The local feature was first introduced into the ])aper on 18^1. previous 
(24) 



370 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

to which time h'ttle attention had been given to local news by either cit)- or 
county papers. This feature, together with the pohtical ground swell in 
1854, started an upward tendency. By the close of the Fremont campaign of 
1856 the subscription list had grown to a little over six hundred, a number 
that, run oiif on the old hand press, was about the acme of the country pub- 
lisher's ambition. The breaking out of the Ci\'il War began a new era in 
the history of the newspaper; men who had not heretofore been newspaper 
readers now began to read, and those who had read began to read more. 
The introduction of the power press re\olutionized the mechanical side of 
the business and was a great stimulus to the printer. 

"From 1836 to 1841 and again from 1843 to 1850. the Rcpositorv, its 
predecessors and successors, had no competition. In the latter year Oscar B. 
Herd and Charles R. Hobbs established a Democratic sheet by the name of 
the Grccnshurg Gazette. It gave v^'ay, two years later, to the DcDiocratic 
Rifle. Bernard Mullen, editor, which succumbed under the withering frosts 
of the ensuing November. In 1856 John B. Covington entered the arena 
with another Democratic paper, which led a wavering career until some- 
time in 1859. In that year the following notice appears in the Decatur 
Republican. 'The Democrat office of this place was sold last week at sheriff's 
sale for twenty-fi\e dollars and twenty-five cents — rather a small price for a 
printing ofilce." \Vhether this paper was styled the Democrat or whether it 
was a Democratic paper under some other name has not been ascertained. 
There seems to have been another Democratic pa]5er established shortly after- 
ward, but its name and founder e\'identlv made little impression on the news- 
paper world, since neither ha\e been preserved. In 1863 Riley and Mallett, 
of the Decatur Republican, absorbed the flickering Democratic sheet, and for 
the succeeding six years there was only the one paper in Greensburg. 

'Tn 1869 Martin Zorger and Martin Blair established the Democratic 
NcK' Era and this paper, with several changes in ownership, is still in exist- 
ence. The owners of this paper in succession ha\'e been as follows : Zorger, 
Ed. D. Ddunell & James Hart, W. A. Donnell & Sons, J. E. ^^lendenhall, 
Allen W. Clark. \\'. H. Glidewell and Dr. J. W. Rucker, since 1902." 

"In 1901 Dr. J. W. Rucker came to Greensburg from Shelbyville and 
became the editor of the Daily Graphic, which was issued from the A^cti' Era 
office. This was issued until January, 1915, when it was discontinued, 
although the weekly is still continued. 

"Meantime there have sprung up Greenback papers. Prohibition papers, 
'Coming' and departing 'Nations,' and more 'Democrats' than you could shake 
a stick at, all of which have gone down to unmarked and forgotten graves." 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 37I 

Thus closes the interesting article of the veteran newspaper man, Orville 
Thompson. 

"died MOURNERS SCARCE." 

Among the "unmarked and forgotten" papers which Thomson mentions, 
the historian has located some half dozen or more with definite names and 
more or less indefinite dates. On March 25, 1863, Burnham & Howell put 
out the first issue of the Grccnsbiivy Fact, a Democratic sheet, but its earthly- 
career was very brief. In November of the same year the Decatur Republican 
pays tribute to the Fact in the following dolorous fashion : "Died — In this 
city last week, of starvation, the Giccnsburg Fact. ^Mourners scarce." The 
Saturday Ei'cniny Rci'icw was started August 2, 1879, by George H. McKee 
and Robert W. Montgomery and espoused the Republicau cause. It was 
edited with ability and was issued regularly for several years. During the 
summer of i878\ O. P. McLane, a young teacher of Jackson township, started 
a Democratic paper in Greensburg under the name of the Decatur Donocrat, 
which, after a brief and meteoric career, succumbed and was merged with the 
Neivs. 

On July I, 1901, a Baptist minister at Burney, Charles J. Dickens by 
name, issued the first number of a small church paper, to which he gave the 
title of Salon Ne:\.'s. The Baptist church at Burney was called Salem, hence 
the name of his paper. Wishing his paper to have a wider significance. Rev. 
Dickens changed its name, on August 15 of the same year, to the Baptistl 
Voice. It was printed in the ofiice of the Greensburg Standard from the time 
of the first issue until December, 1902. In July, 1901, Rev. Dickens bought 
the job plant of Elzo Reed in Greensburg and from the issue of July 20, 1901, 
to December, 1902, the type was set in his office and the press work done in 
the Standard office. During 1902 the official state paper of the Baptists, 
which had been published at Indianapolis, was discontinued and Rev. Dickens 
succeeded in getting his paper made the official paper of his denomination in 
the state. It seems that with the adoption of his paper as the state organ of 
his church Rev. Dickens changed its name to the Baptist Observer, a title 
which it still bears. It was issued weekly in Greensburg until the latter part 
of March, 1910, and then moved to Seymour, where it is now issued from 
the office of the Seymour Republican by J. C. Smith. The plant in Greens- 
burg was sold to Walter A. Kaler, who at once started the JVeeklv Democrat. 
Sometime before leaving Greensburg the Observer passed into the hands of 
A. D. Berry and W. A. Phillips, the latter soon retiring and leaving the sole 
management in the hands of Berry, who was in charge until the paper was 
removed to Seymour. 



372 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Tlie Coining Nation was establislied in Greensljurg in Augusi:. 1892, by 
J. A. Wayland and, while it was published only a few years here, it attained 
a national circulation of about eighty thousand. Wayland was a socialist of 
ability, a man of literary facility and built up a paper here which was known 
throughout the length and breadth of the country. Later, Wayland estab- 
lished the Appeal to Reason at Girard. Kansas, and made it tlie leading 
Socialist organ of the whole country. While still in charge of the paper, he 
committed suicide in 1912. Wayland was born in Versailles, Ripley county, 
Indiana, in 1854. While publishing his paper in Greensburg he had his office 
in the Privett block. 

The first issue of the Grcoisbnrg Rcriezc made its appearance on .August 
I, 1879, with George W. McKee and Robert W. Montgomery as editors and 
owners. The paper was an eight-column folio, all home print, and from the 
outset gained favor with the reading public of Decatur count}-. It was a 
weekh' ]iublication, issued on Saturday, and gave special attention to county 
and local news. 

In 1884, Mr. McKee sold a one-fourth interest in the paper to the Hon. 
John O. Donnell, who took charge of the editorial department and attracted 
wide attention by his work. On September i, 1885, Mr. Donnell sold his 
interest to A. M. Willoughb}-, who for two years prior had been city editor of 
the Standard, and the firm became Montgomery iS: Willoughby. For ten 
years this partnership existed. In 1884 the paper Ijecame a semi-weekly, 
issued on Wednesdays and Saturdays. July i, 1895, Mr. Montgomery sold 
two-thirds of his one-half interest in the paper to Ed D. Donnell, and the 
partnership of Willoughby &: Donnell continued until .\pril, 1897, when Mr. 
Donnell retired. 

On Xo\'ember i. 1898, the Greensbur(/ Daily Rei'iciv was established, 
with A. M. Willoughby as editor and Dix D. Hazelrigg as city editor. The 
daily edition was a success from the start, and has continuouslv grown in 
circulation and influence until it is ranked as one of the most progressive and 
up-to-date newspapers in this part of the state. 

Desiring to give the people of Decatur county a newspaper worthy of 
the name and one far superior to all its former editions, the Daily Review 
Printing Company was formed in June, 1912, and, on the ist day of July 
following, the property was taken over by the company. Many improve- 
ments were made at once. A linotype machine was put in and a large quan- 
tity of new type and other material was added. A full leased wire news 
service was installed, which, with improvements made on the general plant, 
at once pushed The Daily Rez'iczi.' thus in the lead of all other Decatur county 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



373 



newspapers. This prestige the paper is championing at the present time, and 
as it intends to employ the same enterprise in the future as in the past its 
owners contidentiy anticipate a continued growth in both subscription and 
advertising. 

The Daily Re\iew Printing Company is composed of Will H. Robbins, 
a well-known farmer and capitalist : Dan S. Perry, cashier of the Greensburg 
National Bank ; David A. Myers, prominent attorney and ex-judge of the 
Indiana appellate court ; Fred L. Thomas, well known telephone man, and A. 
M. W'illoughby, who has been continuously with the Review for thirty years. 

The Rczin^' has always stood for the best interests of Decatur county 
and Greensburg, and has labored at all times for the upbuilding of the com- 
munity, socialh', morally and financially. It was the first paper to print an 
article advocating the location of the Odd Fellows' home in Greensburg, and 
the splendid institution which is today the pride of e\'ery resident of the city 
is in a large measure due to the efforts of this paper. In short, the paper has 
always led in eft'orts for the public welfare, and this accounts in a measure 
for the hearty support that is given it by the people of the surrounding terri- 
tory. In politics the Rc^'iczc is Republican, and has always advocated Repub- 
lican principles, but it is not offensively partisan, as it grants every man the 
right to differ with it in his Dpinions. political and otherwise. 

The first issue of the Greensburg Daily Times (at that time called the 
Daily Deiuocrat) made its appearance on April 9, 1910. It came verv quietly 
and without hax'ing been heralded. The usual preliminaries at the birth of an 
institutiiin as imblic as a newspaper were dispensed with and the first intima- 
tion that the public had that another mold for the formation of opinion had 
been under contemplation, was when the paper made its bow, and its editor 
handed his "salutatory" to the citizens of Greensliurg. 

Nor was the manner of its coming into life altogether due to the fact 
that the people of Greensburg had become accustomed to the birth of news- 
papers in a community which has seen the start and the finish of at least as 
many organs of the press as most ])laces of its size can boast of. 

Its first editor and owner, Walter A. Kaler, had been in the printing 
business for many years. He had grown up in a country newspaper and 
job ofifice, and knew the game in all its angles. Jnst prior to starting the 
Times, lie had been issuing the St. Paul Telegram, a paper he started in the 
town of that name in the northwestern part of the county. 

Mr. Kaler was an astute and far-seeing man. Although there were 
already three daily papers (two Republican and one Democrat) then being 
issued in Greensburg, he felt that another Democratic paper was needed. 



374 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

He believed that nut (jiily the nieniljers of that partw hut tlie pecjijle of all 
parties, would welcome another newspaper devoted to the principles of 
Democracy. 

There had been ])ul)lisheil in ( ireensburg for several 3'ears just before the 
first issue of the Times, the state organ of the Baptists. This i)aper, known 
as the Baptist Observer, had been sold to Seymour people and the offices 
moved to that city. The plant was not moved, the presses and full ecjuip- 
ment being taken over by the Times. Within a few months after its first 
appearance a compan_\- was formed for the ])urchase of the business. A cor- 
poration charter was obtained. Of this company, Alexander Porter was 
president, John F. Russell, vice-president, and Charles H. Ewing, secretary. 
Mr. Kaler continued as editor and manager until February, igii. when he 
retired from tiie business and moved with his family to Florida. 

The Times was first published in the Bracken building on West Main 
street, just west of Montfort street. In March, 1912, a move was made to 
the Red Men's building, nearer the public square. The Times was the first 
newspaper in the county to install modern printing machinery. Its equip- 
ment was always up-to-date and has always been kept at its best. Its linotype 
machine was the first to lie used in the county. 

Charles H. Ewing succeeded Mr. Kaler as editor and manager in Febru- 
ary, 1911, and two years later Hamilton Mercer, the present editor took 
charge. Under his management the paper has held to a high plane. The 
little bickerings so common among country newspapers have never found a 
place in its columns. Personalities of a disagreeable or unwelcome nature 
have always been ruled out, and the Times has always been a credit to its 
managers, its owners, and the party of which it is the organ. 

The Weekly Democrat is the weekly edition of the Times. 

Hamilton Mercer, editor of the Evennig Times and Jl'eekly Demoerat, 
is a native Hoosier, but he has been in the newspaper business in several other 
states. He started in the business on the Anderson Dailv Bulletin. Later 
he went to Marion and became editor of the old Morning Nczvs. He was 
for a short time on the Cincinnati Post and later was editorial writer on the 
Daivz'ille (111.) Democrat. Mr. Mercer is author of "The Reproach of 
Capital Punishment," a work which has distinguished him as a criminologist. 

THE DAILY NEWS. 

The Daily News was started on January i, 1894, by Frank Triml)le and 
Ed Lines and was the first daily paper to be published in Greensburg. On 




.TAMKS E. CASKEY. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 375 

May I, 1894, Ed Lines disposed of his interests to Mr. Trimljle, who after- 
wards sold out to Harry Matthews, and he in turn sold to James D. White. 

The Weekly Nczvs was launched in iS'qS by the owners of the daily, and 
it has since been continued by the various editors during their periods of 
ownership. 

All the aforementioned owners have passed to their final reward, the 
last named, James D. White, dying in November, 1902. The present owner 
and editor, James E. Caskey, purchased the paper from the mother of I\lr. 
White, soon after his death, taking charge on December i, 1902. At that 
time the daily had a circulation of three hundred and fifty and the weekly, 
five hundred and sixty. At the present time the circulation of the Daily News 
is two thcnisand five hundred and eighty and the weekly, one thousand five 
hundred and sixt}'. The Kc\^'s stands alone in its field in that its unprece- 
dented circulation, considering the territory in which it operates, was obtained 
through meritorious effort. 

As this is especially an agricultural county, Greensburg being the active 
center of one of the richest farm areas in Indiana, Editor Caskey has devoted 
much time, labor and money towards matters of interest to the husliandry- 
man. This step, taken when he first assumed control of the A'cit'-s;, has been 
one of his Ijest circulation builders. 

It was he who advocated and caused to be held the first corn school 
in this count}', so agriculturists everywhere familiar with the policy of the 
Nez^'s, are unstinted in their praise nf the man who has sfj successfully con- 
trolled its destinies for more than a decade, and show their appreciation by 
their most liberal and continued patronage. This advocacy of better seed 
corn and scientific farming on more advanced lines, has had its desired 
results, for today no county of the state stands higher in quality or quantity 
of its products — land area under cultivation considered. 

Mr. Caskey at present has a boys' corn club of one hundred and six 
members. During the initiatory year he furnished fine seed corn free, and 
encouraged the boys to raise I)etter corn than their fathers by offering to the 
winner a free trip to the farmers' short .course at Purdue University. The 
winners were to be determined from those raising either liest ten ears of corn, 
best single ear or largest yield on a single acre. To date he has personally 
paid the expenses of such trips for twelve boys, who each spent a week at 
the experiment station of the university. 

In 1914, impressed with the idea that motorists, travelers through the 
countrv and even the rural mail carriers would find it a con\enience and a 
pleasure to know who lived here and there as they journe}-ed the Inghways of 



376 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the county. Mr. Caskey assumed tlie huge task of painting each rural resi- 
dent's name on his mail box. This enterprise, Mr. Caskey shows, was 
done at no expense to the owners, and was a gift from the Xcws. Previous 
to sending men into the country to letter the boxes, it was made plain that 
the lettering of a box carried no obligation. It was a gift, and the live thou- 
sand two hundred and fifty names on boxes in this county today, underscored 
with words suggesting and heralding the Nnvs, is but one sample of many 
of what the Nc7us is doing in the community where it flourishes. Today as a 
result of this enterjirise on the part of the .\civs, Decatur county stands alone 
of all the counties of the United States where the rural mail service is 
extended, that has a solid ser\-ice of this sort. Immediately following this, 
Editor Caskey distributed free metal mail boxes in Greensburg, and every 
residence in this county is now supplied with such. 

The A'czvs aims to interest, inform and entertain, not any special class, 
or kind of people, but the great mass of Decatur county readers in general. 
I'he slogan of the editor-in-chief has alwavs been, "Get the news," regardless 
of expense, and "get it first." The paper has never attempted to compete 
with the metropolitan dailies, confining its efforts solely to an "up-to-the- 
minute" service of all news of Greensburg, various towns and countrysides 
in the county. 

This policy of all the news, all the time, handled with absolute fairness 
and accuracy, which applies to political as well as general news stories, are 
pre-eminently responsible for the Daily Xcn's being a welcome visitor into 
so man\' of 'the homes of this count\- where it is a source of interest, enter- 
tainment and pleasure. 

ST. PAUL NEWSPAPERS. 

llie history of the St. Paul ])a])ers has been ditticult to trace owing to the 
fact that no files have been preserxed. The first paper in St. Paul was the 
Press, which seems to ha\e began and ended its existence in i860. The 
second paper in the town was the Dciiiocraf. which was started in 1868 by 
Elias Barnes, but it was doomed to a short career of only a few months. 
It was then removed to Greensburg. where it proved no more successful and, 
after a few more months of futile struggling, it was quietly laid away to rest. 
The next paper in St. Paul was the Rctjistcr, which first made its appearance 
on Octoljer 15, 187c;. under the management of J. F. Hankins. It lasted 
about two years, the last issue being dated .August i, 1881. 'i"he paper was 
then moved to Greensburg and the name changed to the Decatur Democrat, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



377 



with Thomas Greenfield and Hankins as editors and owners. If there was 
a paper in St. Paul from 1881 to 1890, it has not been discovered. On 
January 6, i8yo, Cox & Trissal issued the first number of the St. Paul Mail, 
but just how long this paper was puljlished has not been ascertained. Cox 
left the firm in the latter part of July. 1891, to accept a place on the Indi- 
anapolis Siui and, according to the best e\-idence obtainable, the Mail shortly 
afterward breathed its last. The next St. Paul paper to try its fortune in the 
town was the Ttict/runi. which appeared under the management of Walter A. 
Kaler on March 17, 1905. Kaler continued as owner and editor until Novem- 
ber I, 1909, when he disposed of the plant to Ora C. Pearce, the present 
editor. Pearce was only eighteen years of age at the time he took charge of 
the paper, Init, despite his yciuth, he made it a success from the start. It is a 
six-column folio, independent in politics, devoted first of all to local news 
and advertising, and is receiving hearty support in the community. The 
ofiice has sufficient equipment to do all kinds of job work and, with its lino- 
tvpe machine, is aljle to turn (.)ut work on short notice. 

WESTPORT NEWSPAPERS. 

The U'cstport Independent was established in i88'6 by Rev. Leroy Hirsh- 
burg, a Methodist minister, who issued the paper several years and then dis- 
posed of it to Carl Shafer. .Vbnut 1899 the JJ'estport Conner was started by 
Dickens & Morgan and advocated the principles of the Republican party. 
On July 14, 1904, the Courier sold out to the Independent, and Shafer became 
the owner and editor of the new paper, the Courier-Independent, the name by 
which the paper is still known. Shafer continued in charge of the paper 
several years and then sold it to Jf)seph Tucker and James E. Nicely. Later 
Tucker acquired the sole interest in the paper and issued it until 19 13 when 
he disposed of it to T. W. Robinson. In Alarch, 1914, Robinson sold it lo 
James H. Keith after an ownershij) of eight months. Keith has built up the 
paper since he has acquired it until he now has a first-class sheet, which finds 
its way into seven hundred homes in Decatur and surrounding counties. 
There appears to have been a paper liy the. name of the Decatur J ournal pub- 
lished in W'estport in the eighties, but no definite information concenung it 
has been obtained. 

CLARKSTiUKG BUDGET. 

On July 10, 1909, the first issue of the Bi-Weckly Bud(/et. the only paper 
ever published in Fugit township, made its appearance in Clarksliurg. It 
was a two-column, four-page sheet (five and one-half by eight inches) and 



378 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was puljlished In' twu ClarksJuirg boys, C. G. I\IcCracken and J. C. Smith, 
the office l)eing located in the hcjme of the former. On May i. 1911, the 
office was moved to the Brodie black.sniith building and on July 22. of the 
same year, the paper was enlarged to a three-column sheet. The paper was 
moved, on January i. 1912, to its present location in a room erected for that 
purpose by C. E. Kincaid. In the spring of 19 u the partnership was dis- 
' solved, McCracken taking over the management, and ]\Ir. Smith removing to 
Cleveland, Ohio, to engage in other business. On July 5, 191 2, the paper 
was made a weekly and the word "bi-weekly" ilropped from the title. Since 
that time the Biuhjct has gone steadily onward, endeavoring to give its read- 
ers the news of the community, free from all political bias. It would not do 
to leave a discussion of this paper without making mention of its editor. 
Mr. McCracken is an invalid and unable tn walk. He does all of his work in 
a chair and deserves a great deal of credit for tiie effort he has made to give 
his community such an e.xcellent little paper. He is assisted in the office by 
his sister, who runs the small foot-press on which the paper is printed. 



CHAPTER XV. 



AGRICULTURE. 



Horace Greeley, addressing a gathering of farmers at the Tippecanoe 
fair grounds at Lafayette, in 1871, said: 

"Indiana fanners are slovenly. The}' grow more weeds to the acre 
than any other locality in the world, with which I have had any acquaintance. 
They try to cultivate too much land. Their crops do not show the increase 
they should, only showing an average of twelve bushels of wheat to the acre, 
when it should reach twenty-five. The hay crop is not cut soon enough and 
a \'ery large amount of it is lost on this account. The ground is plowed too 
shallow. It shiiuld lie plowed deei^, so as to enable grains to take deeper hold 
and thus withstand our frequent droughts." 

This general indictment of Indiana farmers, made forty-five years ago 
by Mr. Greeley, was doubtless justified at the tiiue. and no doubt the condi- 
tions he mentioned obtained, in a measure, in Decatur county. But since that 
time there has been a tendency to diminish the size of farms held and the 
gospel of deep plowing is now universally accepted. While the weeds have 
the same tendency to grow that they exhibited then, they are kept cut back 
along the roads and fences and their presence among growing crops is no 
longer tolerated. 

Early settlers had considerable to contend with, when they attempted to 
raise a corn crop. It is said that in the fall of 1822 the squirrels traveled 
much and ate nearly all the corn in the county. But Decatur county pioneers 
were persevering folk, and the mere failure of a corn crop was not sufficient 
to daunt them. They cut their wheat with a hook, trampled it out with 
horses, cleaned it on a sheet and hauled it to Cincinnati, where they sold it 
for thirty-seven cents a bushel. They also found a market there for fox and 
coon skins at ten cents each, which helped a little in alleviating financial 
stringencies back home. 

The first steam threshing machine to be used in the county was tried 
out by Jackson & Butler on the J. E. Robbins farm, one mile south of Greens- 
burg, July 12, 1859. Several hundred farmers, coming from all parts of 
the county, were present to witness the test. 

The most important farm crop of pioneer days is no longer cultivated. 



380 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

This crop was flax. It is proljable that three-fourths of the present popula- 
tion of the county have never seen a flax patch. .\ curious characteristic of 
this crop was after it had been raised for a few years in the same place, the 
ground "ran out" and was rendered worthless for flax growing. The hemp 
was put through a \'arietv of processes before it was ready to weave. It 
was first pulled, bound into bundles and stored away to dry, after which the 
seeds were beaten out. It was then spread out in order to rot the woody part, 
after which it was "broken," "swingled" and "hackled." The fibre was then 
carded and threaded, after which it was ready for the spinning wheel. 

Another industry which has almost disappeared is the cultivation of 
sorghum cane. In 1870, J. G. H. Montgomery, who lived east of Greens- 
burg, produced one thousand three hundred gallons of sorghum. One acre 
alone produced three hundred and twenty gallons. 

One of the prize animals shown at Decatur county fairs forty years ago 
was the roan steer, "Decatur," owned by T. M. McCoy. He was eighteen 
hands high and weighed three thousand seven hundred pounds. It was 
claimed that by jMoper feeding he could ha\'e lieen made to weigh half a ton 
more. 

Each year there is a steady increase in the number of Decatur county 
farmers who are devoting their time and money to raising pure-bred live 
stock. For a number of years there has been a general awakening to the fact 
that it costs no more to keep a prize animal than it does a scrub, and that 
the rewards from fancy stock are out of all proportion to income derived 
from inferior animals. 

Among tlie leading breeders of fancy stock in the cmmty are the follow- 
ing : 

Hogs. — Poland China, G. S. Gilmore and Wright & Thompson, of 
Greensburg. Durocs, James Clark, of Clarksburg, and Mr. Redelman, Mr. 
Shafer and S. S. Cole, of Greensburg. Hampshires, John E. Robbins, M. E. 
Newhouse and W. H. Robbins, of Greensburg. Mulefoots, Charles Thomp- 
son, of Letts. Chester Whites. Walter Sharp, of Westport, and Adam Hess- 
ler, of Greensburg. 

Cattle. — Shorthorn, William Robbins Sons and Horace and Londa 
W'right, of Letts. Aberdeen Angus. Frank Baker, of Greensburg, and Ray- 
mond Pleak, of St. Paul. Hereford, W. A. McCoy, of Greensburg. Jersey, 
Henry Helmich, of Greensburg, and ^^^alter Sharp, of Westport. Holstein. 
John Hornung, of Greensburg. 

Under the laws of the state, all pure-lired mares and stallions in the state 
must be registered, with their general description and ccjudition. The latest 




CORN EXIIIIUT, GREENSBURG. 




1 




4^ 


m 


ii 


# 


9^1 


1 




JF ^^1 


H 




\ 







IIEUSCHKL OSTIXC. RALPH IIITE. 

AvixNi:r:s of corn thizes. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 38 1 

bulletin issued by Purdue L'niversity gives the following list of owners of 
Decatur county stallions and pure-bred mares : 

Belgians — Ralph Anderson, Letts ; J. W. Corya, Hope ; J. E. Davis, 
Westport ; Charles H. Ray, Greensburg; Morton Tanner, Adams, and Charles 
H. Thompson, Letts. French Draft — Ralph Anderson and Charles H. 
Thompson, Letts. German Coach — H. M. Redelman, Greensburg. Perch- 
eron — William Blake, Letts: C. M. Beall, Clarksburg; Jacob Black, Letts; 
J. B. Clark, Gxeensburg; LT. H. Flint, Greensburg; Frank Jordon, Letts; 
John Korte, Newpoint; Estal Pleak, Letts; H. M. Redelman, Greensburg, 
and Morton Tanner, Adams. Shire — W. A. Miers, Burney- Standard 
bred — G. A. Anderson, Greensburg, and J. D. Davis, St. Paul. 

The list of owners of pure-bred registered jacks in the county is as 
follows: R. Anderson, Letts; William Blake, Letts; J. B. Clark, Greensburg: 
H. C. demons, Greensburg; J. E. Davis, Westport; Bert Davis, Westport: 
Carl Johnson, Greensburg: Williard A. Miers, Burney; Charles H. Ray, 
Greensburg; Hill & Jordan, Letts; William Kincaid,' Greensburg; Charles H. 
Thompson, Letts, and Straughter V. Pleak, Greensburg. 

CATTLE FEEDING. 

Owing to a number of causes, but mainly through the growth of the 
silo in popular regard, the cattle-feeding industry has enjoyed a wonderful 
growth in Decatur county during the past few years. Now in almost every 
barn, which has a silo standing beside it, a few head of cattle are fed during 
the winter months, while a large number of farmers, instead of making cattle 
feeding a side issue, are devoting all their efforts to fattening cattle for the 
market. 

The marked growth of this branch of farming bespeaks much for the 
future prosperity of Decatur county. Every carload of cattle fed through the 
winter means many dollars to the feeder in the increased fertilitv of his soil. 
While there may be years when market fluctuations will cut the profits of 
the cattle feeder, he can always be certain of realizing pay for his labor 
through increased crop production. 

One of the most attractive branches of cattle feeding is fattening "l)ab\- 
beef." While sometimes a money-losing undertaking in the hands of the 
novice, this particular branch yields exceptional returns to the expert feeder. 
Among the successful producers of "baby beef" in the county are John 
Gartin, Burney: Harry Pavy, Burney: W. E. Jackson: J. G. Miller, Cliff 
Eward, George Osting and Bernard Duffy, Greensburg; Edward Moore and 
Milton Moore, Letts. 



382 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

There are a large number of farmers in the county who go 10 the Chi- 
cago and Kansas City stock markets each fall and purchase grass-fed cattle, 
to fatten on ensilage and cotton-seed meal during the winter months. An 
attempt to enumerate all such feeders in the county would be futile. Promi- 
nent among the more extensive feeders are the Hamiltons, ]\Ieeks, Donnells 
and Sefton and Aliers. 

Mule feeding is another Decatur county enterprise, in which several 
leading fanners are profitably engagetl. Among them are William i\Ioble\', 
of Clay township, who is one of the largest mule producers in the state. 
Marion I'-lliott, of Jackson township, also raises a large ninnber of mules. 
Hamilton, h~ee, Kincaid and Powers are other extensive mule breeders. 

THE TOMATO-GROWING INDUSTRY. 

The tomato-growing industry of Decatur county is still in its infancy. 
It was not until the fall of 1914 that any serious step was taken toward its 
development. At that time a contract was made by a few of the progressive 
citizens of Alert. Jackson township, with Frank and F. C. Doly. of Columbus, 
Indiana, to erect and ha\'e ready for the 1915 crop a canning factory at Alert, 
l^roviding that the proper, or rather necessary, number of acres could be 
secured. During the winter months the question of raising tomatoes for 
market was taken up with the farmers of the vicinity by Doctor Bamster, 
Mulford & Webb, Dr. T. J. Norton and others, with the result that about one 
hundred and fifty acres were contracted for. At time of writing (July, 
191 5) the site for the factory had been purchased and work started on the 
building. Experts who have examined the soil declare that Jackson town- 
ship should be second to none in tomato raising and the farmers of that com- 
munit\' have high hopes that the industry may be as successful as it has been 
predicted. 

THE COUNTY AGENT. 

The county agent is an outgrowth of a demand on the part of the farmer 
to keep in constant touch with the latest and best agricultural thought. The 
farmers' institute was the prime mover in this awakening, and the idea was 
hastened by the industrial trains and short courses in agriculture given under 
the auspices of Purdue University. The Legislature of 191 3 provided for a 
count)^ agent and since that time a large number of counties have taken advan- 
tage of the law and engaged such an official. 

Decatur county has had a county agent since August i, 191 3, and W. E. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 383 

McCoy has lieen in charge of the office since it was estabHshed. He is a 
graduate of Ohio State University and has taken special crmrses in Purchie 
University since coming to the connty. He has shown his vahie to the farm- 
ers of the county in scores of ways and it is safe to say that there is not a 
farmer in tlie county Init has been benefited in some way or otlier b\- his work. 
In general it may be said that the county agent is nothing more than an expert 
scientific farmer. In every case in Indiana he is a graduate of a recognized 
agricultural college and thus has the scientific training which makes him of 
inestimable \-aIue to the communit_\- which he serves. 

The first report of ]\Ir. McCoy appears in the report of the state statis- 
tician for 1914 and covers the year closing June 30, 1914. Some idea of the 
work done is sho\yn by the fact that he held 139 meetings, with a total attend- 
ance of 9,002 ; had 762 office calls and made 500 farm visits, with a total 
mileage of 5,703. The calls at the office and the visits to the farms over the 
county covered practically every phase of farm work and crops. 

During the winter of 1913-14 four farmers' institutes were organized in 
the county, in addition to the three which were already in operation. Mr. 
McCoy was \'ery successful in getting the teachers of the county to show their 
pupils how to test seed corn and clo\er. There was a hog campaign conducted 
during the latter part of March, which was \ery helpful. An alfalfa auto 
tour was held and in the course of his first year Mr. McCoy succeeded in get- 
ting the acreage of this crop doubled. During each spring office meetings are 
held and some s]iecial topic discussed each Saturday. It is known that a large 
part of Decatur county has acid soil and Mr. McCoy has taken much time in 
showing how this can be cultivated to the best advantage. Demonstration 
plots, where the soil is treated with limestone, have been established at various 
places and it, has been found that the soil is capable of raising clover with the 
proper addition of lime. Four such demonstration plots were established 
the first year ; a corn variety test plot, and three co-operati\-e fertilizer test 
plots. 

Summing up the first vear's work of the county agent in Decatur county, 
it is seen there is no longer a question as to the usefulness of the office. 
Among other valualile things which the first year has brought forth mav be 
mentioned the following: A farm-ser\'ice Inireau was estaljlished where stock 
and farm articles are listed for sale, farm help secured, etc. ; several boys' 
corn and poultry clubs were organized, with an average enrollment of forty 
each; a soil-fertility campaign was inaugurated; a men's five-acre corn con- 
test was conducted ; and lastlv, an interest has been aroused in better farm- 



384 



DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. 



ing througliuut the county whicli cannot help but be of great benefit to its 
agricultural interests. 

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS. 

The blanks of the township assessors schedule seven different items for 
taxation : Horses and mules, cattle, hogs, sheep, automobiles, farm imple- 
ments and household furniture. The last report (1915) of James Cline, 
county assessor, to the state statistician gives the following facts : 

Number. Assessed Value. Av. Value. 

Horses and mules 9-386 $801,210 $85.30 

Cattle 21,723 512,438 23.60 

Hogs 22,950 ■ 254,702 8.50 

Sheep 2,950 14.204 4.85 

Automobiles 437 119.317 270.75 

Sets of farm implements- 1,412 114,550 81. 

Sets of furniture 4-367 195,022 44.60 

The last item, sets of furniture, includes the household goods in the 
urlian as well as the rural districts. There is nothing in the report to indicate 
the respective number of sets in each district. There is no division of horses 
and in the report, although another report gives the county two thousand one 
hundred and one mules on January i, 1914. Decatur is one of the ten lead- 
ing mule-i)roducing counties of the state. 

The last (1914) state statistician's report gives the following crop sta- 
tistics for Decatur county : 

Wheat 30,542 acres. 516,068 bushels. 

Corn 51,444 acres. 2,015,946 bushels. 

Oats 4.925 acres. 64,700 bushels. 

Rye 1,511 acres. 16.486 bushels. 

Barley 20 acres. 370 bushels. 

Buckwheat 4 acres. 18 bushels. 

Berries 7 acres. 540 bushels. 

Potatoes 49 acres. 3,690 bushels. 

Tobacco 7 acres. 15 tons. 

Timothy lia_\' 14,203 acres. 9,787 tons. 

Clover hay 5,560 acres. 4,623 tons. 

Alfalfa 166 acres. 298 tons. 

Cow peas 22 acres. 32 tons. 



I 




KiiK S- JLrifELL 

feinWautg,* Indiana' 



•f. 







DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 38^ 

There are many other items of interest in this valuable report, a volume 
of which may be obtained b}- anyone upon addressing the state statistician. 
Among other things, it was noticed that Decatur county had one thousand 
seven hundred and iifty-seven separate farms, four hundred and six wind- 
mills and ninety-three silos. 

farmers' organiz.\.tions. 



DECATUR COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

Probably the first organization in the county which had for its object the 
improvement of farming conditions was the Decatur County Agricultural 
Society. A meeting of its directors is reported on January 3, 1859, for the 
purpose of electing officers for that }'ear. J. D. Pleak was elected president, 
J. Q. Adams, secretary, and J. V. Bemusdafifer, treasurer. R. R. Cobb was 
the retiring president. The secretary was allowed twenty-five dollars and the 
treasurer fifteen dollars for services during the }-ear. Resolutions were 
adopted commending the Indiana Fanner and urging farmers to read agricul- 
tural periodicals. 

WAYNESBURG FARMERS' CLUB. 

The Waynesburg Farmers' Club was organized, with Harry Carr as 
president and W'ilbert Thurston as secretary, in 1912. The organization 
meets twice a month for discussion of farm topics and home economics. 
Programs are laid out for the entire season by a special committee, composed 
of the ofificers and two others. Two successful corn shows ha.vt been held 
by the club and are strong factors in the social life of that community. The 
present officers of the clnb are : Wilbert Thurston, president ; John W. Smith, 
secretary, and M. M. Carter, treasurer. 

THE farmers' CLUB OF SPRINGIIILL. 

On Friday evening, November 27, 1914. a few friends met at the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scott, in Fugit township. After enjoying the usual 
six o'clock dinner and spending a social hour together, an organization was 
affected which was to be known as the Farmers' Club of Springhill. Plans, 
aims and purposes were discussed at the time and permanent officers were 
elected: President, Ernest Power; vice-president, Mrs. Elbert >\Ieek; secre- 

(25) 



386 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tary, Airs. Robert Scott; treasurer. Mrs. Nathan Logan. A committee of 
tlie execnti\'e officers was appi)inte<l tu draw up a constitution and set of 
by-laws. Alembership in the organization is hniited to twelve famihes. The 
regular meetings of the club are held on the third Thursday of each nicjuth 
and the annual business meeting and election of officers are held at the 
Xoveniher meeting. At the meetings there are usually talks on farm or 
household subjects, recitations by the children and a general discussion of 
topics of interest. Everything is kept as simple as possible. In order to 
make the work oi the clul) as practicable as possible, one day is set apart in 
each August to investigate some special farm problem. On this particular 
day the club repairs to the home of one of its members where a special study 
is made of some farm crop. The club also makes trips to county fairs and 
studies the agricultural exhibits. 

THE farmers' institute. 

The first session of the Decatur count}- farmers' institute was held on 
December 2 and 3, 1910, at Clarksburg. Despite the cold weather, tlie 
sessions were well attended and a great interest was manifested Ijv all of 
those present. In xiew of the fact that this was the first session of this 
organization the details are here given in full : 

The institute was opened Ijy dexotional exercises conducted by Rev. 
H. W. Edwards. Papers were read by Joe G. Miller and Bart McLaughlin 
on "Agricultural Education." J. J. Doan talked on "The L'se and Abuse 
of Corn Fodder." Miss Mary L. Matthews, of Wayne county, gave her 
views on "Planning Meals" and "Furnishing a Home," and Miss Edith 
Hamilton opened the discussion. 

Dr. Curtis Bland gave a ver}- interesting address at the evening session 
on "Pre\entable Diseases." 

The Saturda\' morning program was as follows : De\'Otional exercises, 
Re\'. W'immer; music; "Cattle as Money Savers," J. J. Doan; discussion, 
Henry Dravis; paper, Earl Gartin ; "Planning Meals," Miss Mary L. Mat- 
thews, Cambridge City; discussion, Mrs. Rollin Clark; music; "Furnishing 
the Home," Miss Matthews; discussion, Miss Edith Hanfilton ; adjournment. 

The Saturday afternoon program was efpially excellent and was as 
follows; Reading, Prof. Zetterburg; "Building and Using the Silo," J. J. 
Doan; discussion, William Jackson and Henry Hodges; "Poultry on the 
Farm," Miss Hannah Baker; discussion, Mrs. Walter Hite; "A Girl's Part in 
Countr\' Life," Miss Matthews; general discussion; adjournment. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 387 

The ladies of the Methodist Episcopal church served a bounteous repast 
each day at the noon hour in the Odd I'enows hall. 

PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY. 

Sixteen hundred Decatur county farmers are protected against loss from 
fire and lightning, through the Patrons of Husbandry Alutual Fire and Light- 
ning Insurance Company of Decatur County. The association takes its 
name from the order that effected its organization. It was organized on 
June 20, 1878. At that time there were many organizations throughout the 
county known as the Patrons of Husljandry, commonly called the Grange. 

On the date mentioned, 187S, delegates from Decatur county granges 
met in Greensburg at Hoosier hall and formed the compam' under provisions 
of an act of the Legislature passed in 1877, which authorized such organiza- 
tions to conduct an insurance business. Granges interested in the forma- 
tion of this compau}- were those at Flat Rock, St. Paul, Greensburg, Center, 
Washington, Alt. Vernon, Flora, Sand Creek, Alert and Bell. 

According to the by-laws of the company as organized, the insurance ' 
would not go into effect until policies amounting to fifty thousand dollars 
had been written. This amount was secured during the following Septem- 
ber and the company was then ready for business. The first officers were : 
Wesley GofI, president; M. L. Wright, vice-president; Woodson Hamilton, 
secretary; A. H. Hice, treasurer, and George Hogg, assessor. These officers, 
with F. P. Applegate and T. G. Power, constituted the first board of directors. 

In the beginning the company only insured members of the Grange, but 
later it was arranged so that an\' reputable farmer might share in its benefits. 
In 1887 the Alechanicsburg Mutual Fire Insurance Company united with this 
association. It was during this year that the company sustained its first loss, 
rendering an assessment necessary. Until 191 5 the company had made thirty- 
one assessments, amounting to a total of si.xty-seven mills on the dollar, thus 
gi\ing its members protection against loss through fire and lightning at an 
annual cost of about eighteen cents on the hundred dollars. 

At the close of the fiscal year in 191 5 the company had paid for fire 
losses, $93,983.93. The total number of persons now insured in the com- 
pany is one thousand si.x hundred and fifty-two and they carrv insurance 
amounting to $3,575, 595- 

The company is managed by a board of se\-en directors. Fifty-two 
farmers have served the organization in this capacity. Eleven others have 
served as its president. During its existence it has had but six secretaries, 



388 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

as follow : Woodson Hamilton, Lafayette Shellhorn, Roberl; \Miiteman, 
Matthew Porter, W. F. Robbins and S. W. Hillman. Present officers and 
directors are: M. E. Newhouse, president: Frank Brown, vice-president; 
S. \V. Hillman, secretary; J- F. Tenipleton, treasurer, Ovid House, W. A. 
McCoy and James F. Blackmore. 

Only farm buildings are insured by this company, which thus avoids 
dangerous risks and large losses. No business is solicited and it is neces- 
sary for a farmer to ask for a representative of the company to call upon 
him if he wishes to secure insurance. 

DECATUR COUNTY FAIRS. 

County fairs have had a rather \arying existence in Decatur county. 
They have thrived, only to die a natural death, rise and flourish, only to die 
again. The first fair was held in 1852 by the Agricultural Society of 
Decatur Count)', which was organized on September 13 of that year. The 
first officers were, James Morgan, president : W. W. Hamilton, vice-presi- 
dent; B. H. Harney, treasurer; Davies Batterton, secretary, and Seth Lowe, 
Robert Foster, Moses Rutherford, John Hillis, James Moody, Charles ^filler 
and James B. Foley, directors. This first fair was held just north of Hend- 
ricks street, between Broadway and Lincoln, in "Hendrick's woods." Its 
receipts were three hundred and twenty-five dollars and the profits were one 
hundred and twenty-eight dollars. The agricultural society continued to 
give annual fairs for many years, with ever-increasing success. In 1856 the 
society met an exception by losing considerable money, the receipts for that 
year being one thousand two hundred and fifty-eight dollars and ninety-eight 
cents and the expenditures two thousand, two hundred and forty- four dollars 
and fifty-eight cents. In 1857 the gate receipts totaled over eleven hundred 
dollars and eight hundred dollars were given in premiums, three hundred dol- 
lars of which was "in silverware." The greatest fair up to this time was 
held in 1858, when R. R. Cobb served as president, J. O. Adams as secre- 
tary of the society and John T. Hamilton as marshal of the grounds. Cur- 
rent accounts of the fair say that whisky was secretly sold on the grounds in 
spite of the marshal's efforts. Exceptionally good horse races were held 
on the last day, when "John Smalley," a grey pony tliat was the pride of the 
state, made a mile in the fast time of 3:11. Most of the races of the day 
were won in times between 3:18 and 3:48. In 1869 the society bought 
twenty acres of ground, part of which is now covered by the warehouses of 
the American Tobacco Companv, for fortv-seven hundred dollars. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



389 



In the late seventies a thorough reorganization of the society was under- 
taken by the Hon. Will Cumback and from that time until late in the nine- 
ties the fair flourished. Then the fairs were discontinued because they 
proved a money-losing proposition and the fair grounds were lost on a mort- 
gage. 

On August 8, 1905, Uriah Privett, A. A. Magee, Goddard & Deem, I. 
Carl ]\Iitchell, Phil H. Spohn, C. B. Ainsworth, Gregg Alyea, John W. 
White. James E. Caskey, Pulse & Porter, George S. Littell, Elmer E. Roland, 
Willis Q. Elder, E. E. Doles, Williams & Clemons, Oscar M. Elder, A. M. 
Willoughby, John G. Zollener, Luther D. Braden, Mike Conner, R. S. Meek, 
J. Y. Hitt, George Saunders, C. H. Reed, J. C. Davis, J. B. Kitchin, Walter 
W. Bonner, John \V. Rhodes, C. W. Woodward, Orlando Lee and Williard 
A. IMiers, all prominent citizens of the county, incorporated themselves as 
the Decatur County Fair Association. They rented the old fair grounds 
north of the city, built an amphitheatre and some buildings and continued 
the old fairs. Five or six years later they were reorganized as the Greens- 
burg Fair Association. The last fair was held July 23-26, 1912, when they 
were discontinued because of lack of popular support. At that time the 
officers were: President, W. C. Pulse; vice-president, George S. Littell; 
secretary. Dr. C. B. Ainsworth ; treasurer, E. E. Doles, and Will A. McCoy, 
a director. The association is still in existence, but its assets have been 
liquidated and it is inactive. Whether another fair will ever be held is a 
C|uestion which only the future can tell. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION. 

When the first settlers came to Decatur county, there were no roads 
north of the Ohio river. There were rough, half-opened wagonways lead- 
ing back from the river to points ten to twenty miles distant, but no real 
roads. Three of these wagon ways extended into the woods from Vevay, 
j\Iadison and Lawrenceburg. After running for a few miles, they became 
nothing but blazed trails and all three came together at Jericho, located two 
miles southeast of Napoleon. 

On account of its then ad\"antageous transportation facilities, Jericho 
had high ambitions of sometime becoming a great commercial center. Its 
hopes, however, were ultimately blasted by its more lucky neighbor. From 
Jericho northward there was but a single trail. 

This trail was known as the Wilson trace, starting at Jericho and run- 
ning almost on the site of the Michigan road to the Cobb settlement. It then 
crossed what was later the Clarksburg pike and, swinging south, entered 
Greensburg near what is now Lincoln street and Central avenue. 

At first this trace was not cut out at all points. Those first over it had 
to widen the path, remove limbs and sometimes cut down trees in order to get 
through. The roots made it rough riding, but they served one useful pur- 
pose — they kept the wagons from sinking so deep into the mud that they 
could not be mo\'ed at all. 

The first movement toward roads was after the county was organized in 
1S22, when Jonathan Dayton and others presented a petition asking for the 
laying off of a road running fr<im the Lawrenceburg state road, near St. 
Omer, to the Cliffy and Brookville road. This petition the board, after 
consideration, refused to grant, "on account of indefiniteness." .At that time 
the Lawrenceburg road had existence on paper only, and there was consider- 
able conjecture as to where it \\ould be eventually located. 

At the same meeting of the county commissioners William Henderson 
and others, of Fugit township, asked for appointment of viewers for a road 
beginning at the east county line and running southwest to the forks of 
Clifty. This pra\er was granted and William Custer, James Logan and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 39I 

Adam Rankin were appointed viewers. This was the same route later fol- 
lowed by the Sandusky, Springhill and Clarksburg pike. 

The road running from St. Paul to St. Omer and thence to Downey- 
ville was allowed at the next session of the lioard of commissioners, August 
12. Daniel Pike and others asked for a road from where the Flatrock 
crosses the county line to Robert CampbelTs house. This road was granted 
and is still in use. 

The early roads were not laid out according to any definite plan, but 
were run in such a way as to strike the high ground and keep away from 
the low lands and swam]3S, which would render them inipassaljle several 
months in the year. The following description of a new road found in 
Volume I, page 142, of the commissiijuers' records, is illustrative of this 
point : 

"Leading from Greensburg to tlie county line, beginning on the west 
bank of W. I. Lowry's spring branch, running west, crossing Cliffy with the 
open line, passing Eliza Craig's to the first branch west of Eliza Craig's, 
thence north of the line so far as to strike corner of small meadow, thence 
west with the fence of the farm of Lewis Craig's heirs to Laughridge's 
corner, then on open line Ijetween the heirs and Laughridge, continuing the 
open line to Elliott's corner where it strikes the old road." ( Approved 
July 31, 1 83 1.) 

TURNPIKES. 

Though the county had been continuously and rapidly growing in wealth 
from its earliest settlement, its roads were greatly neglected for a time and 
no provision was made for tlieir lietterment. L'ntil t1ie year 1847 "o improve- 
ments were made on the roads and travel in the rainy seasons was a difficult 
task. The Greensburg and Napoleon Turnpike Company was incorporated 
on January 24, 1847, with Ezra Lathrop, John T. Stevens, R. R. Cobb, 
Elias Connell, (ieorge Dart, M. D. Ross, R. H. Llarvey, J. B. Foley, John 
Glass, James Hamilton and Preston E. Hopkins as directors. The Greens- 
burg and Harrison Turnpike Company was incorporated on January 26, 
1847, with the following directors: A. R. Forsythe, Seth Lowe, John 
Thomson, G. B. Roszell, James Hamilton, Robert Ross, James Morgan, 
James B. Foley, John Hopkins and James Treinan. 

From 1847 i-intil 1863 there is no record of any further advancements 
in the matter of good roads. On December 2, 1863, John E. Robbins and 
fifty-one other citizens of Decatur county filed their petition with the board 
of county commissioners for an order allowing them to build a turn])ike 



392 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

along the line of the Vernon road from a point where it leaves the south line 
of the corporation of the city of Greensburg, to a point where it crosses the 
line between Washington and Marion townships. The capital stock of the 
company was fixed at three thousand dollars per mile, of which four thousand 
eight hundred dollars had already been subscribed by the petitioners. Their 
petition was granted, work was begun soon after, and the road was com- 
pleted in the year 1866. Since that time about sixty additional miles of 
turnpikes ha\e Ijeen Iniilt in this countv. reaching out in all the roads leading 
from Greensburg to distances of from fi\e to twelve miles. The list of these 
different turnpikes follows : To Clarksburg, twelve miles ; Kingston short 
line, four miles: Greensburg and iMilroy, six miles; Greensburg to Cliffy, 
five miles: Greensburg to county line, via INIilford, twelve miles: Greensburg 
and Irlartsx-ille, thirteen miles: Cireensburg and Sand Creek, nine miles; 
Greensburg and Layton's ]\Iill, six miles. 

These roads have done a great work in the development of the material 
interests of the county and in giving the citizens of the county means of 
travel, not only for pleasure, but also they served as a great aid in bettering 
the facilities for placing the products of this county on the different foreign 
markets. 

Some of the early acts of the Legislature concerning roads in and 
through Decatur county were as follows: January 20, 1820, an act establish- 
ing the Michigan road from Lawrenceburg to Indianapolis ; Januaiy 24, 
1824, a special act, providing for a road from Madison to Greensburg; 
January 12, 1829, an act locating the Vandalia state road. 

WATER TRANSPORTATION. 

Whether or not Sand creek was ever navigable depended largely upon 
the nature of craft that the navig'ator desired to use. As early as 1827, 
some enterprising citizens, for some unknown reason, conceived the idea 
that it was of sufficient size to float a water craft of some kind. This belief 
led the re])resentati\-e from Decatur to introduce a bill in the state Legis- 
lature looking toward its utilization as a waterway. 

On January 22, 1827, an act was passed to improve the navigation of 
Sand creek, requiring Bartholomew and Jennings counties to keep it clear 
of obstructions. By widening its channel and deepening it and providing 
it with additional water, as many present-day congressmen seek to do in 
order to get some creek back home improved, it might yet become an artery 
of commerce. Even in those days, however, Sand creek could hardly have 
been brought within the reach of a modern rivers and harbors appropriation 
bill. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 393 

Sand creek was not the only navigable river in Decatur county in those 
days. Flat Rock also had aspirations as a waterway. Dr. Jonathan Griffin 
and Alfred Major, in early advertisements of a St. Omer lot sale, called 
attention to the fact that the city is but "three quarters of a mile from the 
navigable waters of Flat Rock, where boats pass down to New Orleans." 

RAILROADS OF DECATUR COUNTY. 

As early as the year 1832, steps were taken by the citizens of this 
county to procure a railroad for Greensburg. The Lawrenceburg & Indian- 
apolis Railroad was incorporated on February 2, 1832, under the leadership 
of George H. Dunn. Three years later, at the 1835-36 session of the Legis- 
lature, an act of incorporation was procured for this same road, which was 
to pass through Greensburg and Shelbyville. The three directors of this 
road from Decatur county were Martin Adkain, James Freeman and Nathan 
D. Gulion. It was provided that construction should start within three years 
and that the road should be completed within ten years after the passage of 
the act. The route was to include Napoleon and Greensburg. 

Hon. George M. Dunn was chosen president and considerable stock 
was subscribed along the line. Work was immediately begun on this road 
at Lawrenceburg. The financial crash of 1837 stopped its operations, and 
this company later was wiped out of existence by the provisions of the time 
limit for the completion of this road as set forth in the act. 

In 1847-48 a charter was obtained for the Lawrenceburg & Rush\ille 
Railroad, and, on its organization. Judge Dunn was chosen its president. 
The projected line of this railroad passed about six miles northeast of 
Greensburg, and this aroused the citizens of the town, also those of the 
central and western part of the county, to the importance of securing a 
"branch" of that road through their section. After due consideration, a 
meeting was held in Greensburg on March 30, 1849, "to consider the pro- 
priety of carrying on the proposed road from Lawrenceburg to Greensburg, 
and on through Edinburg." The proposition, which was placed before 
the assembled citizens by Judge Dunn, was that there had been $70,000 of 
stock taken, $25,000 of which was in the eastern part of the county and 
the rest in Lawrenceburg. The sum required for an organization was 
$140,000, and, of this, he pledged the city of Edinburg for $30,000. He 
asked that Decatur county should subscribe, in its corporate capacity, the 
sum of $100,000 to the stock of the company, towit : $50,000 to the line 
between Greensburg and Lawrenceburg, and $25,000 each to the Rushviile 



394 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and Edinburgh brandies, payable wlien tlie road bed should be ready for the 
iron. 

The committee reported at the end of the meeting a series of resolutions 
indorsing the scheme and appointing a committee of three in each town- 
ship to circulate a petition in each township, asking the county commissioners 
to make a subscription to the capital stock of the company. At a meeting of 
the board of county commissioners, held the 5th day of June, the petitions 
were presented, signed by a majority of the freeholders of the county, 
whereupon the board made an order, that "the auditor of Decatur county 
be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to subscribe, on behalf of the 
county of Decatur, one hundred thousand dollars of stock in the Rushville 
& Lawrenceburg Railroad Company," uniler the conditions asked by the 
citizens' meeting. 

The road was opened as far as Greensburg in the early summer of 
1853. Judge Dunn died shortly after the road was finished and General 
Morris, of Indianapolis, became president, and by his energetic work the 
road was opened to that city the following year. Owing to a failure of the 
citizens along the Rushville and Edinburg lines to subscribe the required 
stock, the branches to these places were not built at this time, and the county 
was only called on for the fifty thousand dollars subscribed to the main line. 

Stephen Ludlow w-as an incorporator and director of the Lawrenceburg 
& Indianapolis Railroad (1836), and in his honor the dinky engine that 
was first put on the rails was christened the "Stephen Ludlow." Fred 
Lungen was the engineer and Jacob W. Mills was the conductor. 

Erom 1853 up to 1879 many efforts were made toward the building 
of other railroads, to all of which the county,- tlie townships and the citi- 
zens made liberal offers of subscriptions; but, from various causes, these 
failed to materialize. 

An organization was affected in Greensburg in 1879, which was known 
as the North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville Railroad Company. This 
company set to work at once to procure township and individual subscrip- 
tions for the building of a railroad from North A'ernon to Rush\-ille, through 
Greensburg. Their efforts met with such marked success that they were 
able, December 15th of the same year, to let the contract for the entire work 
of putting the road in readiness for the cars. Col. Horace Scott, of Louis- 
ville. Kentucky, was awarded the contract, and the road was opened to 
Greensburg on April 15, 1880, and to Rushville ou September 10, 1880. 

The first shoveful of dirt for the Cincinnati & Terre Haute Railroad 
was thrown on Monday. June 10. 1872, at a point one-half mile east of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 395 

home of Patrick Ewing, in Clay township. Mr. Ewing, "veteran sire of 
many iUustrions sons," sank the first spade into the right of way. Robert 
Bognell, the general contractor and a number of railway officials, were 
present. Col. J. S. Scobey presided and made a speech, as did Will Cum- 
back, James Gavin, Major Robbins and Judge Bonner. Others called upon 
to talk were : Dr. J. Y. Hitt, B. VV. Wilson, J. K. Ewing, Dr. S. McGuire, 
S. Forsyth and David Lovett. 

The Greensburg Lateral Railroad was finished to Harris City in 1876. 
This road was only six miles- long and was owned by the Harris City Stone 
Company. It was an outlet for the products of this quarry and was operated 
by the company, they having their own dinky engine to place the cars on 
the North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville tracks. This road originally 
ran into Greensburg, but when the Columbus, Hope & Greensburg road was 
built, this company took over their tracks from Quarry Switch into Greens- 



burg. 



GREENSBURG UNION DEPOT. 



The present union depot in Greensburg was thrown open to the public 
for the first time on Sunday, May 16, 1909. It was built at a cost of twenty 
thousand dollars, and is modern in every respect. 

The first depot in Greensburg was located on South Monfort street, 
where the freight depot is now located, and remained there from the com- 
pletion of the old Indianapolis, Cincinnati & Lafayette railroad to this place 
in 1853, until 1865, when it was moved to Franklin street. Now it is moved 
back two squares beyond the first location on Monfort street to the "Y," 
where it will probably remain permanently. 

The distance from the square is increased from one block to about six, 
a little less than a half mile. The new location is the proper one from the 
railroad point of view, as it is at the junction and obviates the former 
necessity of backing trains in on the Michigan division and out again, mak- 
ing about an extra mile for each train on that division. 

The change in location made it necessary for the postoffice department 
to deliver the mail between the station and the postoffice, as the distance is 
greater than eighty rods, being in fact about one hundred and seventy rods. 
The first mail messenger was Louis Fultz, who started in to carry the mail 
on the da}' the new station was opened. 



396 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

INDIANAPOLIS & CINCINNATI TRACTION LINE. 

The Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company owns the only inter- 
urban line coming into Decatur county. This is a direct line from Indian- 
apolis to Greensburg. The right of way for this line was purchased from 
August to December, 1905, and the first car was run in 1907. The total 
length of the line from Indianapolis to Greensburg is forty-nine miles, of 
which ten and one-half miles are in Decatur county. It touches the towns of 
St. Paul, .Adams and Greensburg, all limited cars stopping at principal towns, 
while the local cars stop at intermediate points. According to the present 
schedule, nine cars are operated each way between Greensburg and Indian- 
apolis. The first car leaves Greensburg at six o'clock A. ]M., and the last 
one at eleven o'clock at night. Regular service is maintained at intervals of 
one and one-half hours dailv. It is interesting to note that the car which 
made the initial run in 1907, is still in use. The internrban station is 
located at the corner of Main and East streets. 

RAILR0.\D ST.\TISTICS. 

The following is the complete valuation and mileage of the different 
railroads running through Decatur county as given in the 191 4 annual report 
of the Bureau of Statistics: 

The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad ( Big Four 
route) has 20.59 miles of main track, with a valuation of $29,500 per mile, 
totaling $607,405. There are 10.91 miles of second main track, valued at 
$8,900 per mile, totaling $87,200. Side-tracks of 13 miles are valued at 
$4,900 per mile, totaling $55,880. Rolling stock of 20.59 miles is valued at 
$4,000 per mile, totaling $82,360. The improvements on the right of way 
amount to $18,100. The total valuation is $851,025. 

The Chicago, Terre Haute & Eastern, Westport branch, has 6.46 miles 
of road, valued at $6,500 per mile; total valuation, $41,900. There are 1.98 
miles of side-track, valued at $2,000 per mile ; total valuation, $3,960. Roll- 
ing stock of 6.46 miles is valued at $1,500 per mile; total valuation, $9,600. 
The improvements on the right of way amount to $160. The total valuation 
is $57,250. 

Columbus, Hope & Greensburg Railroad has 8.98 miles of main track, 
valued at $8,000 per mile: total valuation, $71,840. Side-track of 0.27 mile 
is valued at $540. Rolling stock of 8.98 miles is valued at $1,500 per mile; 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 397 

total value, $13,470. The improvements on the right of way amount to 
$160. The total valuation of the road is $86,010. 

North Vernon, Greensburg & Rushville Railroad has 24.94 miles of 
main track, valued at $9,000 per mile ; total value, $224,460. Side-track of 
4.19 miles is valued at $2,000 per mile; total valuation, $8,380. Rolling 
stock of 24.94 miles is valued at $1,500 per mile; total valuation, $37,410. 
Improvements on the right of way amount to $1,505. The total valuation of 
the road is $271,755. 

Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company has 10.41 miles of main 
track, valued at $5,900 per mile; total valuation, $61,360. The side-track 
of 0.37 mile is valued at $550. Rolling stock of 10.41 miles is valued at 
$500 per mile; total valuation, $5,200. The improvements on the right of 
way amount to $2,400. The total valuation of the road is $69,515. 

The total valuation for all railroads in the county is $1,335,555. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. 



For at least thirty years before the opening of the Civil War there was. 
in parts of Decatur county, pronounced o]_)position to the institution of slav- 
ery. The early settlers of the Kingston anil Spring Hill neighljorhoods came 
from that i)rirt of Kentucky where there was a violent hatred of slavery and 
they had not been in Decatur county many years before they began to voice, 
in no uncertain manner, their opposition to the sla\e traffic. About 1830 
these worthy people took the lead in the organization of the Decatur County 
Colonization Society, a branch of the Xatiunal C(jlonization Society. The 
ostensible purpose of this organization was to assist in freeing men of color 
and providing them with the means of finding a home in a new country, where 
the colored man might have a chance to develop himself. A few years before 
this time, Liberia, Africa, had been prepared for the reception of such col- 
ored people of the United States as could Ije induced to make it their home. 
However philanthropic such a scheme might have been, it did not work out 
well in practice and only tended to alienate many people who were really 
opposed to slavery. The Suuth naturall_\- regarded the Colonization Society 
with an intense hatred and the result was that they watched their slaves 
only the more carefully and punished the more severely those who escaped 
and were recaptured. Many people in the North thought that there was too 
much stress placed on getting a few colored people out of the country, when 
the energy of those opposed to the traffic had better be given to ultimate 
emancipation. 

Many persons in Decatur county took the latter stand, with the result 
that, about 1835 o'' 1836, the more radical of the anti-slavery people of the 
county (most of wdiom lived in Fugit township) withdrew from the Colo- 
nization Society and united in the organization of the Decatur County Anti- 
Slavery Society. Among the leaders in this movement were Samuel Donnell, 
Sr., John C. McCoy, Thomas Hamilton, Alexander McCoy, Campbell McCov, 
Samuel A. Donnell, Luther .\. Donnell, Andrew Robison, Jr., Angus C. 
McCoy, and Cyrus Hamilton, of the Kingston neighborhood, and the Ran- 
kins, Andersons, Logans and others, of Spring Hill. The creed of the anti- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 399 

slavery people was, in short, that slavery was a sin — a sin for which the 
whole nation was responsible, and for which there was but one cure — imme- 
diate emancipation. The consequence of this second organization was a 
bitter and unrelenting fight between the supporters of the two societies, the 
creation of bickerings between neighljors, friends and relatives, and, finally 
schisms in the churches. It is not necessary here to say which side was in 
the right — they both hated slavery and dift'ered only in their methods of 
dealing with it. 

It is enough to say that abolitionism gradually grew and, notwithstand- 
ing the persecution and ostracism which its adherents were forced to undergo, 
they finally saw their fondest hopes realized. The Free-Soil party and the 
subsecpient Republican party, founded on the remnants of the Whig and 
Free-Soil parties, finallv forced the issue and Januarv i, 1863, saw the eman- 
cipation of all the slaves in the United States — and only thirty years after 
Decatur county had taken up the agitation in earnest. 

The purpose of the present article is to deal with one [ihase of the anti- 
slavery fight in Decatur county, the so-called "underground railroad." One 
of the main trunk lines of this famous railroad was through the eastern part 
of Decatur county. Its officers and conductors were sworn to secrecy and 
it was manv years after the close of the Civil War before some of these 
brave men and women told of the part which they had borne in helping 
to get the poor negroes through the county on their way to freedom. The 
story of the "underground railroad" has never been, and projjably never 
will be told in detail. Its work was done under cover of darkness and those 
who received negroes at one point often did not know who iiad brought 
them that far along the line. Southward from Decatur county, the railroad 
branched off into several different directions. The main crossing places 
from Kentucky into the southeastern part of Indiana seemed to have Ijeen 
near Madison, \^evay and Rising Sun. Those coming across near IMadison 
were shifted through New Marion, in Ripley county, and Zenas, in Jen- 
nings county; those landing at Vevay and Rising Sun were taken past Milan, 
in Ripley county. The three roads seemed to have effected a junction in 
Decatur county south of present McCoy's Station. From this place the route 
led northward along the Decatur-Franklin county line, through a small col- 
ored settlement a short distance east of Clarksburg, and thence northeast 
thri;ugh Fayette and Wayne counties. Fugitives, on crossing the Ohio 
river, were met by a trained conductor — sometimes one of their own color, 
but oftener by a white man — who took them to the next station. Here the 
runaways stayed in hiding all tlay and on the second night another conductor 



400 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

took the c(jlc)red passengers on to the next station. Thus was the journey 
made to Canada and freedom, the nightly trips being continued until the 
fugitis'es were safely over the border. How many negroes were thus trans- 
ported to Canada will ne\'er l)e known, but the number ran up into the thou- 
sands, and \-ery few of them were e^•er captured en route or apprehended 
once they set foot in Canada. The passage of the fugitive slave law in 
1850 so outraged the North that the business of the underground railroad 
increased by leaps and bounds and it became positively dangerous for slave- 
catchers to appear on free soil. In the escape of these runaways, the good 
people of Decatur county bore no small part and it is fortunate to find avail- 
able a personal account of one case which is typical of scores of others which 
took place. This particular case, known as the "Donnell Rescue Case,'' was 
described by the late William ]\1. Hamilton, who was one of the i)articipant<5 : 

"I will try to relate in detail the history of the escape, capture, rescue 
and final escape to Canada, of a colored woman and four children, claimed 
as the proiierty of George Ray, of Kentuck)-, in which ]\Ir. Donnell and 
myself became in\-olved in litigation before both the state and federal courts. 

"In the fall of 1848, probably in October, Caroline and her four chil- 
dren made their way across the Ohio river near the cit}- of Madison, Indiana. 
From there she was assisted on her way to Decatur county by a man named 
Wagoner, who was one of the regular conductors in charge of fugitives 
between Madison and this county. Wagoner delivered his passengers at 
what is now McCoy's Station, probably about two or three o'clock in the 
morning. Mr. McCoy at once mounted the poor woman and her four chil- 
dren on horses and started for the colored settlement near Clarksburg, which 
was not far from the home of Luther A. Donnell. 

"On the wav to the colored settlement, McCoy and his part)' came by 
way of my father's (Cyrus Hamilton) and asked me to accompany and 
assist him on to the colored settlement. W'hen we were within a mile and 
a half of Clarksburg we found that we could not make the desired goal 
Ijefore da\'light, so we stopped at the house of a colored man liy the name 
of Pernell. who lived near. McCoy then returned home. 1 'ernell was imeasy 
and seemed afraid to keep the fugitives, so I rode over to Donnell's and 
awakened him, telling him 'what was up,' and that Pernell was afraid to 
keep the people. 

"Donnell said he would go over to the colored settlement and ha\-e them 
come and get the woman and her children. W'hereupon I started back home, 
but soon met Pernell with the fugitives mounted on horses. It was then 
daylight, and he hurried on to the house of a colored woman, Jane Speed, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4OI 

who lived where George jMarlow now Ii\es. The woman and children were 
secreted in an old honse which had some hay in it. This house was located 
on a remote purtiun of her (Jane Speed's) place and not far from where 
Woodson Clark lived. 

"This Clark was reputed to he a slave-catcher and hunter and was ever 
ready to ohstruct the pathway of those seeking their freedom. During the 
dav Clark saw Jane Speed's boy come away from the old house, whither he 
had been sent to convey food to the fugitives. This was enough to prompt 
an investigation of the contents of the old house by Clark. lie took in the 
situation at a glance and told the woman she was in a very unsafe position 
and that he would conduct her to the colored settlement, but, instead of 
doing so, he took the colored woman and her children to his own house. 

"The colored woman, suspecting that all was not right, asked him 
(Clark) where the colored people were to whom he had promised to guide 
her. It was then late in the evening, and he, suspecting tliat her friends 
would miss her and the children from their place of concealment and that 
he would be suspected, resolved to secrete them in an old fodder house on 
the farm of his son. At the same time Clark decided the safest thing for 
him to do was to tell the colored people to come and get her and the children. 
After several hours of waiting in the focUler house, the woman concluded 
that she had been betrayed, and, knowing that there was a colored settlement 
in the neighborhood, left her children and started out in quest of her friends. 
The night was dark and she, a stranger to the, tields, soon lost her way. 

"Leaving the woman and her children for the time, the reader's atten- 
tion is called to what was being done by her friends. As soon as the fugitives 
were missed from the hut on Jane Speed's place (otherwise known as the 
Peyton place), the colored people tracked them to Clark's yard gate. They 
then informed Tuther .\. Donnell, who advised them to secure enough assist- 
ance to watch Clark's premises so as to prevent the escape of the fugitives. 
Mr. Donnell then held an interview with my father, and they determined to 
apply for a writ of habeas corpus and by legal inc^uiry find by what authority 
the fugiti\-es were detained by Clark. 

"By this time darkness was setting in. My father and Mr. Donnell 
applied to John Hopkins, then associate judge of Decatur county, for the 
required writ, which was granted. But it was found necessarv.to go to 
Greensburg to obtain the seal of the court and the attendance of the sherifif 
to serve the writ. The sheriff was Michael Swope, who sent the writ to a 
deputv named John Imlav, then living in Clarksburg, with orders to serve it. 
" (26) 



r' 



402 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

When my father and ]\Ir. Donnell started for Greensburg I was detained to 
look after the jjarty who were watching Clark's premises. I found about 
twenty colored men assemljled. They were very much e.xcited and were 
armed with corn knives, clubs and, maybe, more deadly weapons. It was 
with difficult)- that I restrained them from making a forced search. 

"At length the deputy sheriff came, and with him Robert Hamilton, to 
assist in the execution of the writ. It had been arranged to have the colored 
men rush in a body on to the sheriff and take the fugitives by force as soon 
as they could be brought out of Clark's house. But the search proved fruit- 
less and we were all 'chop fallen,' as it looked as thought we had been out- 
generaled. Clark appeared greatly offended and said he would see some 
one through with this business. He went to Clarksburg and tried to get a 
writ from a justice of the peace, by which he could take the slaves back to 
Kentucky, but, of course, failed to get one. 

"Mr. Donnell, R. A. Hamilton, myself and the colored people then held 
a council and decided to extend the search to the premises of the two sons 
of Clark, who lived, one on the north and the other on the south of their 
father's farm. ^Meanwhile Mr. Donnell and myself went to Mr. Donnell's 
house to await dex-elopments. A short time before daylight a scpiad came 
and reported that they had found the woman near one of the Clarks. She 
was rambling aliout the fields in a state of liewilderment and did not know 
where her children were. She told the story of her removal to the hut and 
subsequent concealment in the Clark fodder house. Of course, the colored 
men soon found the children, and the party was once more intact and with 
friends. 

"The colored men took the fugitives down into their neighborhood and 
secreted them in a deep ravine on the Bull fork of Salt creek, in Franklin 
county, intending to start them on their way the next night. We were 
greatly rejoiced at the turn things had taken, yet we felt assured that the 
slave-catchers would press hard after their game, ba\-ing once had theiu in 
their possession. 

"R. A. Hamilton returned home as soon as the search was over. After 
remaining at Donnell's house until the colored men had reported, I started 
for home, and on my way met four or five men whom I knew were slave 
hunters. Some were from Greensburg, and one was a stranger, who, as I 
afterwards learned, was the man Ray, of Kentucky, who owned the slaves. 
A son of Clark ami a man by the name of Hobbs had been to Greensburg 
for a writ to enable them to secure possession of the fugitives and had given 
the alarm. All this had happened while the woman and children were being 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O3 

found and while I was at the home of Donnell, as before related. I hur- 
riedly changed horses and kept a watch over the slave hunters. They went 
through Clarksburg, and I went to Donnell's house and reported what I had 
seen. He proposed that we mount our horses and skirmish around the 
Clark premises and the colored settlement in order to see what might happen. 

"We went to a horse-mill in the edge of the colored settlement. There 
we remained some time, but learned nothing more than that there was quite 
a party at Clark's house. In the afternoon the slave hunters made some 
demonstrations in and about the settlement and did attempt to search one 
or two houses, but, finding it an unsafe business, they aband(jned the 
expedition. 

"The colored people were naturally very much e.xcited and determined. 
The woman was almost helpless, encumbered as she was with her children, 
the youngest of which was a nursing babe. They could not be moved like 
adults. Now, there was a colored man and his wife who had recently moved 
from Union county to the settlement, who had two children about the age 
of two of the fugitive children. Accordingly they made a bold daylight 
trip, with the slave woman's children instead of their own, and arrived 
safely at the home of William Beard, an underground railroad man and a 
godly Quaker, who lived l^eyond the reach of the pursuers. 

"But the woman and two of her children were still to be disposed of. 
About sunset, word came that the slave hunters had discovered the hiding 
place of the remaining fugitives, and again we were disconsolate. We rea- 
soned that they would bring her to Clark's house for safe keeping over night, 
and we resolved to try our writ again and see if it would not give us posses- 
sion of the fugitives. 

"Meanwhile, we had assembled at Donnell's house for supper. Wliile 
wx were thus mourning over our ill luck, a colored man came and announced 
that matters were all right — that the man who was on guard had mistaken 
a party of men who were returning home from a 'raisin' for the slave hunt- 
ing party, but that they passed by without observing the woman's hiding 
place. Again our drooping spirits revived and we set ourselves to the task 
of planning the successful evasion of the pursuers. 

"The route over which the underground railroad passengers were con- 
veyed was through Laurel and Blooming Grove (Franklin county), crossing 
the East fork of White river at Fairfield, and thence on to William Beard's 
home in Union county. This line had been discovered by the enemy and was 
well watched ; besides, the excitement was running high and spreading wide 
by this time, while our rescuing party was more determined than ever. 



404 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Heretofore we had depended upim tlie colored people to do the work, while 
we made the calculations, but Donneirs determination was now fairly aroused, 
and he proposed to me that we take this matter in hand and see the slaves 
safely through, let it cost what it might. 

"Accordingly, we instructed the cohjred people to disguise the woman 
in male attire and for three or four of them to accompany her, mounted, 
and others on foot, to Peyton's corner, where we would meet them. They 
executed the details promptly and were on hand in time. We found it 
necessary to press through Clarksburg to reach the point wc had in mind. 
It was a dangerous place to enter, as there were plenty of watchful slave 
hunters there, so we instructed her to ride to the middle of the road, tianked 
by a trusty colored man on either side. We had the' children taken around 
the village of Clarksburg to about one mile beyond the town. The exit was 
easily made and the proposed point reached without any trouble. We then 
dismissed the colored men and resolved to keep our own council. 

"The woman was mounted on a horse with one of us and the children 
with the other, and thus we rode through Spring Hill and to the home of 
Thomas Donnell, about one mile west of that village. Day was breaking 
and Luther A. Donnell awakened his brother, Thomas, who assisted him in 
hiding the slaves in an out-of-the-way building, while I took charge of the 
horses. During the ne.xt day the refugees were fed by two children of the 
Donnell family. Luther Donnell and myself returned to our homes with 
the understanding that we were to meet at the house of John R. Donnell 
that night at ten o'clock for the purpose of making tinal disposition of the 
fugitives. 

"We met pursuant to our agreement and at this juncture we pressed 
Lowry Donnell and John R. Donnell into service. The latter entered into 
the arrangement with a hearty good will b_\' bringing out his tine carriage, 
with closed top and side curtains. The woman and children had been pro- 
vided with plenty of warm woolen clothing, and, being doubly veiled, were 
placed in the carriage and started on their way to freedom. 

"The party was composed of Luther .\. Donnell, John R. Donnell, 
Lowry Donnell, Roljert Stout, Nathaniel Thompson and myself. Stout and 
Thompson only went with us as far as New Salem, Rush county." 

The narrative of Mr. Hamilton goes on to tell of the details of the 
journey, wliich was devoid of any striking incidents, .\fter a drive of 
twenty-four hours, with only a short rest to feed the horses, the party 
arrived at William Beard's home in Union county, where thev received a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O5 

wann welcunie. The rescuers returned home the next day, with men and 
horses worn and jaded, carriage springs broken, and with the experience of 
one of the most interesting incidents of the underground railroad which 
ever occurred in the state. The poor slave woman was given her four chil- 
dren, reached Canada eventually, and in after years wrote to Donnell, 
expressing her great thankfulness for his assistance. 

But Donnell was not yet through with his connection with the case. 
The slave hunters were determined to ha\c their revenge for the shrewd 
way in which they were outwitted. Having lost their chattels and been 
defeated in their attempts to recover them, the slave owner and his sym- 
pathizers resolved to take advantage offered by a state statute then supposed 
to be in force in Indiana. Accordingly, a few days later, a grand jury of 
Decatur county indicted Luther A. Donnell for "aiding and abetting the 
escape of fugitives from labor," etc. The case came up for trial at the 
March term of court, 1849. George H. Dunn was the presiding judge and 
John'Hopkins and Samuel Ellis, associate judges. The jury was composed 
of twelve men of the county. The state was represented by John S. Scobey, 
prosecuting attorney, and Andrew Davidson, later a supreme judge 
of Indiana. The defense was in the hands of John Ryman, of Lawrence- 
burg, and Joseph Roljinson and Philander Hamilton, of Greensburg. 

On the calling of the case, the defense moved to quash the indictment 
on the grounds set forth in the case of Prigg vs. Pennsylvania, in which it 
was held that state legislation for the recover)^ of fugitives from labor in 
other states, or for aiding the escape of such, was unconstitutional. The 
motion was overruled and the trial proceeded. Idle evidence is too volumi- 
nous for the purpose at hand and only a summary of it will be given. The 
evidence in the case seemed to turn du the positive statement of Richard 
Clark (one i.f the sons mentioned), who testified that the woman and chil- 
dren were placed in his fodder house about two o'clock of Monday and that 
between three and four o'clock the next morning they were taken out by 
Luther A. Donnell and William Hamilton, which the reader will notice is 
widely at variance with the facts, as stated in Haiuilton's account. But in 
those days, a man could not testify in his own behalf, neither could a col- 
ored man testify in a case where a white man was interested. There was 
some conflicting testimony in this case, but the popular voice was unfavor- 
able to the defense and the verdict was against the defendant. Donnell 
appealed the case to the supreiue court of Indiana. The result is here given 
in the words of the record: 



406 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

"Donnell vs. State. 

"Perkins, Judge. Error to the Decatur Circuit Court. 

"This was an inchctment against Luther A. Donnell, containing two 
counts: one charging liini with inducing the escape of, and the other with 
secreting a woman of color, called Caroline, then being the slave of and 
owing service to George Ray, of Kentucky. The defendant was convicted. 
The section of the statute of our state upun which the indictment was 
grounded, according to the decision in I 'rigg vs. Pennsylvania, is unconsti- 
tutional and void. The con\-iction on it was, therefore, erroneous." (Por- 
ter's Indiana Reports, Vol. Ill, page 480.) 

Encouraged by the advantages gained here in a criminal action, and 
by the popular clamor, Ray brought suit in the United States court at Indi- 
anapolis, to recover the value of his property, and obtained a judgment for 
fifteen hundred dollars, which, with costs, amounted to about three thou- 
sand dollars. This was promptly paid by the defendants to the last dollar. 
It is interesting to note that this full amount was refunded to the defend- 
ants by the anti-slavery men of the state and neighborhood, aided by some 
who were pulilicly known to be in sympathy with the movement. 

Thus ended one of the most exciting legal contests ever held in the 
state; in fact, the effect on the popular mind was rather unfavorable to the 
slave-catching interests here, and caused many who had before been indiffer- 
ent toward the anti-slavery agitators to take a decided stand for or against 
that issue. No other eft'orts were made to recover escajied slaves in Deca- 
tur county, although from then to the outbreak of the war the "underground 
railroad" was in full operation. It is said that not one slave in a thousand 
was ever recovered by the owners in the decade preceding the Civil War. 

The fugitive slave law of 1850 was heartilx' denounced in many pul- 
pits in Decatur county immediately after its passage, and a minister of 
Kingston probably voiced the sentiment of a majority of the people of the 
county when he said in the pulpit at the end of one of his .sermons : "It is 
well known to you that the fugitive slave bill has become a law. To a law 
framed of such iniquity I owe no allegiance. Humanity, Christianity and 
manhood revolt against it. For myself — I say it solemnly — I will shelter, 
I will help, I will defend the fugitive with all my humble means and power. 
T will act with any body of decent and serious men, as the head, or foot, or 
hand, in any mode not involving the use of deadly weapons, to nullify and 
defeat the operation of this law." While this courageous preacher undoubt- 
edly expressed the sentiments of most of the people of the county, yet there 
were not a few wlin had no sympatln' whatever with the slave. ]\Iany of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O7 

the early settlers of the county came from Kentucky and Tennessee and, if 
the facts were known, it could he shown that some of these Southerners 
brought slaves here with them and iield them as such. The government 
census of 1830 disclosed the startling fact that there was one negro girl 
in Decatur county who was returned as a slave. 

The Knights of the Golden Circle had a large following in Decatur 
countv during the Civil War and were especial!}' strong in Jackson t(jwn- 
ship. They were responsible for most of the depredations committed in that 
township during the latter part of the war. Apropos of this traitorous 
organization, an interesting story is told of old "Uncle" Dan Pike, who 
lived in Jackson township near Alert. The worthy old gentleman was an 
avowed Southern sympathizer and a great lover of fine horses, of which 
he had a large number. At the time Morgan made his raid through south- 
ern Indiana in the summer of 1863, Uncle Dan had some misgivings about 
the safety of his fine horses. He thought, however, that he was too far 
north for Morgan, but he was destined to change his opinion of the safety 
of his horses. On a sweltering day in July a detachment of Morgan's men 
actually appeared before his home and in no uncertain manner demanded 
some of his fine horses. Southern sympathizer that he was, he was deter- 
mined that no horse of his should leave the barn if he could help it. Taking 
his trusty old flint-lock in his hands, he stationed himself near the stable 
door and defied a man to attempt to take a single horse out of the stajjle. 
"The first man who goes into that stable door gets a slug of hot shot." The 
soldiers told him that he would only bring about his own death and in no 
way save his horses. "That don't make no difference — it will not save the 
man who goes into my stable," retorted the old man. The upshot of the 
matter was that they left Uncle Dan safe in the possession of all of his 
beloved horses. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



DECATUR COUNTY S MILITARY RECORD. 



SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

The following is an authentic list of soldiers of the Revolutionan- War 
who lived and are buried in Decatur county, Indiana, the list having been pre- 
pared in May, 1901 : 

Thomas Hooten, buried in Sand Creek cemetery, near Grcensburg, has a 
tombstone stating that he was a soldier of the War of 1776 to 1783. He died 
on July 26, 1 84 1, aged eighty-nine years, two months and twenty-six days. 

John I'emberton was also buried in Sand Creek cemetery and has a tomb- 
stone stating he was a soldier of the War for Independence. He died on June 
5, 1845, aged eighty-two years, ten months and fifteen da3's. 

Samuel Brown is buried at Wesley Chapel cemetery. There is a broken 
slab, the inscription being almost entirely defaced. It is believed that he was 
a soldier of the Revolution. 

A soldier, named Kirljy, was known to be a soldier of 1776 by several 
person in this cotmty and the grave can be located. He is buried in what is 
known as Burke Chapel cemetery, five miles south of Greensburg. No head- 
stone. Command unknown. 

Hugh Montgomery is buried in a private cemetery on a farm owned by 
William M. Hamilton, formerlv known as the Antrobus farm. He was a 
soldier of the Revolntionar}- War, and also of the War of 1812. He had three 
sons, Thomas, Henry and William, in the War of 1812. William was killed 
in battle. Henry died and is buried near his father in Antrobus cemetery. 
The headstone was placed by descendants. 

J(.)hii Ciilleland, who served in the W'ar of 1776, is Ijuried on what is now 
known as the Gilmore farm, in a small country cemetery. The grave is grown 
over with brush and briars, but a small tombstone, with the inscription almost 
obliterated, marks the grave. 

George King, Iniried in the cemetery at Milford, is known to have been a 
soldier of the \\'ar of the Revolution. Tlip gra\'e can be located by grand- 













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Mil. AM) MUS. JOUX FIXXEIiX. LATE OF (iREKXSHriM;. TIIK OXI.V MAKlilKD 
COri'LE WHO SKKVEl) TOCJETHER DritlXO THE CIVH, WAR. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4O9 

children and others. The headstone was furnished by the war department and 
placed under charge of William Tateman, sexton. 

James Crawford, also of the W&r of 1776, is buried alongside King. 
There is a headstone, giving name, also that he died in February, 1836, aged 
seventy-nine years. The headstone, placed by ^^'illiam Tateman, sexton, was 
furnished, on requisition, by the war department. 

Wheeler is the last name of another soldier of 1776, who was buried in 
the group. None of his relatives are in this part of the country. These three 
men just mentioned were well acquainted and associates before they died. 
They are buried southeast and a few feet from a beech tree. It is not known 
whether or not King, Crawford or Wheeler were pensioners. 

Joseph Morris, born in 1761, died in Greensburg, Indiana, in 1849. 
He was buried in the old cemetery and the remains were removed, but the 
grave cannot be located. His wife also died in Greensburg. He was nine- 
teen years old when he enlisted and it is known that he served to the end 
of the Re\"olutionary War. Parties lived in this county who knew this sol- 
dier. The above information was given by a relative. 

Thomas Meek, Sr., father of Adam R. Meek, a soldier of the War of 
1812, was a soldier of the War for Independence. He came from Virginia 
and is buried in the cemetery at Springhill, Indiana. He was born in 1756, 
and died in 1838. A good stone marks the grave, from which the abo\-e 
dates are taken. 

John Collins, born in 1757, died near Kingston in 1848, and is buried 
in the cemetery at Kingston. It is believed he was a soldier in the Re\'olu- 
tionary War. The dates are taken from a headstone at the grave. 

John DeMoss was Ijorn in South Carolina about 1760, removed to Vir- 
ginia and i)robably went as a soldier from that state. He came to Indiana 
with his family and died in a cabin on what is now known as the Robert 
Braden farm, owned by Jeremy Braden, being jjuried on the adjoining farm, 
owned by Milton Byers, located in Clav township, this county, in an old 
cemetery. The grave was located Ijy Ralph Pavey, who was at the inter- 
ment. There are two stones, without inscription, that mark the grave. It 
is confidently believed that he was a soldier of the War of ]nde])endence. 
The headstone was furnished by the war department and placed by a 
descendant. 

Lovejoy, initials not known, was buried at the Dovvneyville cemetery. 
It is thought he was a soldier of the War of 1776. No headstone. Prob- 
ably of the War of 1812. 

Joseph Lee, l^elieved to have been a soldier of the Revolution, went from 



4TO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

New Jersey and is Iniried at Shiloh cenieten-. The headstone bears the 
date of death, etc. 

John O. Gulhon, it is said, was a solcHer of the War of 1776. He went 
fnini Virginia. He is Ijtiried on the Spillnian farm near Shiloh. The grave 
cannot he located, no headstone remaining. 

Levi Weston is buried in South Park cemetery, Greensburg, on the east 
side, near two pine trees. There is a headstone stating that he w-as a soldier 
of the War of 1776. He died on June 9, 1852, aged ninety-nine years and 
thirteen days. 

Ichabod Parker, of the War of the Revolution, was buried in Sand- 
creek cemetery. There is a headstone, on which is inscribed the fact that he 
was a soklicr of the Revolution, giving date of death, etc. 

Jeremiah I. Dogan, of the War of 1776, was a pensioner. He drew 
his pension througli the Madison agency, at an early day. He died on April 
14, 1857, aged about ninety years. He was a Virginian, and was buried at 
Mt. Carmel cemetery. There was a headstone. The grave could probably 
be located. 

HUGH MONTGOMERY. 

Hugh Montgomery and wife are buried in the Watts graveyard on the 
Lanham farm. Before the war, he came to the colonies from Ireland with 
two brothers. His brothers fought with the P.ritish, but Hugh Montgom- 
ery cast his lot with the thirteen colonies. lie served for three years in the 
conii)any commanded by John Sulli\-an, of Colonel Russel's Ninth Virginia 
Regiiucnt. 

When the war was over, Hugh Montgomery moved to Ohio, and later 
to Decatur county, and, on October 7, 1822, applied for a pension, claiming 
that he was no longer able to support himself. In his application for a pen- 
sion he listed his worldly possessions as follows: One mare, $2~,: one cow 
and calf, $12; four sheep, $4; two shoats, $3; two pots and bed, $17.50; 
total, $61.50. He then makes the following declaration: 

"In pursuance of the act of May, 1820, I do solemnly swear that I was 
a resident of the United States on the i8th day of May, 1818, and that I 
have not since that time, by gift, sale, or in any manner, disposed of mv 
property, or any part thereof, with intent thereby to diminish it, so as to 
bring myself within the provisions of an act to provide for certain persons 
engaged in the land and naval forces of the United States in the Revolu- 
tionary War, passed on the i8th day of March, 1818." 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4I I 

Concerning- the application of Montgomery for a pension, the follow- 
ing letter is still preserved : 

"War Department, Pension Office, March 29th, 1824. 
"Hon. James Noble, Senate, United States : 

"Sir — I have, on examining the papers in the case of Hugh Montgom- 
ery, every reason to belie\-e that the one who now lives in Decatur county, 
Indiana, is the same person who resided in Ohio three years ago and whose 
application for a pension was then rejected on account of his property. You 
will perceive, by referring to your letter to him, which is herewith returned, 
that he was required to prove that he was not the same person who lived in 
Ohio; instead of which, all the evidence that has any bearing on the sub- 
ject goes to show that he lived in the very same county and state (Butler, 
Ohio) from which the first application was made. The claim, of course, 
cannot be allowed. The papers which you sent to me will remain upon our 
files, agreeabl}' to the regulations of the war department. 

"I am respectfully, 

"Your Obt. Servt., 

"J. L. Edwards." 

Three sons of Montgomery fought in the \Var of 1812. Thev were 
Thomas, William and Heniy Montgomery. William was killed in battle 
and Thomas is buried in South Park cemetery. Henry Montgomery is 
buried beside his father in the Antrobus cemetery. 

.SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF l8l2 IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

David Bailey, a pensioner of the War of 1812, was paid through the 
Indianapolis agency. He served in Captain Hawkins' and Captain Gray's 
companies, the Seventeenth and Third United States Infantry. His pen- 
sion certificate, which liore the number 3255, came into the possession of 
his daughter, Mrs. Perry Tremain, residing near Greensburg. Da\-id Bailey 
died in the city of Greensburg on March 6, 1879, aged eighty-one years 
and ten months, and was buried in South Park cemetery. There is no 
headstone, but there is a stafif and the grave has been decorated. Applica- 
tion was made to the war department for a gravestone. 

George Myers was a pensioner of the War of 1812 and on the list 
of pensioners in the Indianapolis agency. No service given. He was buried 
in a cemetery near Harris City and has a monument with inscription of 
himself and wife. He had a son living in the county named "William ]\lyers. 



412 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

This inf(_irmation was secured tlirough a granddaughter, Mrs. L. E. John- 
son, in Greensburg. 

Wihiam Bilhngton ( written "EelHngton" on the rolls of the Indian- 
apolis pension agency), belonged to Capt. Harr}- Ellis's Kentucky militia 
antl was in 1 lull's surrender. lie was born on September ii, 1788, died on 
September 20, 1874, and was buried in the cemetery at "Union church. 
There is a broken slab at the grave. 

Joseph Frakes, a soldier of the War of 1812, belonged to the "Ken- 
tucky Rangers." He went from 3vIason county, Kentucky. He was born 
on June 6, 1771, died on June 9, 1854, and was buried in the cemetery at 
Union church, near the grave of R. M. Hayes. There was a slab at the 
grave, Ijroken in fragments, from which this data was taken. 

Daniel S. Perry, a pensioner on the roll of the Indianapolis pension 
agency, was born in Scott county, Kentucky, on October 9, 1791. He was 
a son of Henry Perry, a soldier of the Revolutionary A\"ar. He enlisted 
and served in the Kentucky militia, command not known. In the }ear 181 1 
he was in a cavalry branch of the United States service. He ser\-ed under 
General Harrison. He came to Decatur county on ]\larch 3, 1823, and 
died on October 2~. 1872. He is buried in what is known as the Ross 
cemetery, three miles east of Greensburg. His grave is marked by a head- 
stone, in good condition, but there is nothing on it to indicate that he was 
a soldier of the War of 181 2. A son and other descendants resided in this 
county. 

George Silva, known to ha\"e been a soldier in the \\'ar of 1812, was 
Ijorn near Fredericksburg, \'irginia. He died in April. 1840, and is buried 
in the cemetery at Clarkslmrg. There is no stone, but the gra\'e was located 
by a granddaughter, Mrs. Burns, of Clarksburg. 

William Butcher, a soldier of the War of 1812, was captured at the 
battle of Ri\er Raisin. He is liuried at ]\Iount Carmel. but the grave can- 
not be located. It is not known whether he was a pensioner or not. but 
it is probable that Ire was. 

Henry ]\liller, a pensioner of the War of 1812, Avas biu'ied at r^Iount 
Carmel. There is no information as to his services. There is a monument, 
and the age and date of l:)irth are on that. John S. ^filler stated that Henry 
Miller was captured at the battle of River Raisin and W. A. Donnell knew 
he was a pensioner. 

William Beetem, a pensioner of the War of 1812, was buried at 
Clarksburg. There is no headstone at this time and the grave cannot be 
located 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



41; 



John Butler was a soldier of the \\'ar of 1812. It is not known to 
what eominand he belonged; perhaps the Kentucky militia. He moved to 
Indiana at an early day and settled on his farm, six miles east of Old \'er- 
non. His wife dying, he married Mrs. Editha M_yers, widow of Thomas 
H. Myers, and li\ed and died on the old Myers homestead, one mile east 
of Mil ford. He was buried in what, to the old settlers, was known as the 
Douglas graveyard, later called the Wesley Chapel cemetery, located on 
the Nelson Mowrey home farm. There is a slab at the grave, broken near 
the ground. He came to Decatur count}- in 1847 «i"J ^l'*^'! '" i860. A 
daughter of John Butler, by the name of Nancy Neal, lived near Lelianon. 
Boone county, Indiana. John Butler was the father of John F. Butler. 
deceased; Col. Harvey Butler, and stepfather of John L. Evans, Sanford 
Myers, Mrs. Bean and ]Mrs. Margaret Jackson. 

Thomas Cami)]3ell, of the War of 1812, Captain Deshold's Virginia 
militia, was a pensioner on the roll of the Indianapolis agency; his post- 
office was Westport. He died on May 26, 1879, and is buried in the 
McCammon cemetery, five miles south of Westport. There is a headstone. 

John P. Oakley, a soldier of the War of 1812, lived in this county 
for a number of years. He was buried in Antioch, old Christian church, 
alongside his wife and several children. There is a headstone. 

Israel Gibson was a soldier of the War of 1812. His wife was a pen- 
sioner. He was buried in South Park cemetery, Greensburg, about one 
hundred feet south of the vault. There is a slab on which is inscribed his 
name and a Masonic emblem, but no other inscription. He belonged to a 
Pennsylvania command. 

William Hood, a pensioner on the Indianapolis rolls, belonged to Cap- 
tain Mathews' Kentucky Militia. He is buried at Spring Hill and has a 
monument. There was a son, Thomas Hood, and two daughters, Mrs. Riley 
and Mrs. Foley, residing in Decatur county, Indiana. 

Mackie Elliott, a soldier of the War of 18 12, is buried in the cemetery 
one-half mile west of the Nauvoo school house, and has a monument. 
Mackie Elliott and his brother, Robert, served alternately during the War 
of 1812. Two S(jns, John and Robert Elliott, resided in the city of Greensburg. 

Henry Critzer, of the War of 181 2, is buried in the Milford cemetery. 
He has a monument on which is inscribed the fact that he was in Hull's 
surrender. He served during the war. His wife, Martha Critzer, drew a 
pension. 

Hartwell Knight, of the War of 1812, was not a pensioner, but received 
a land warrant for services during that war. His resting place, in the Mil- 



414 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ford cemetery, is marketl with a small headstone, with inscription of age 
and death. 

Henry Barr, a pensioner of the War of 1812 and buried on the home 
farm in Clay township, has a monument. Mrs. Achsah Harrell, of Mil- 
ford, this county, was a daughter of Henry Barr. 

Andrew Robinson, Sr., born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, on the ist 
of January, 1793, died on August 28, 1884, and is buried in the Kingston 
cemetery. He was a soldier in Captain Hutchinson's company, of Ken- 
tucky volunteers, and was on the rolls of the Indianapolis agency. There 
is a monument. 

John Robertson, of Captain Gray's Kentucky ]\Iilitia, was a pensioner 
on the rolls of the Indianapolis agency. He was also a captain of an artil- 
lery company in the Indiana Militia in the l'"ifty-tifth Regiment. His pen- 
sion certificate, dated December 6, 1871, is in [Mssession of his descendants. 
He was born on March 15, 1796, and died on December 2, 1881, being 
interred at Downeyville, this county. There is a good tombstone. 

It is almost certain that Joseph Mazingo was a soldier in the War of 
1 81 2. He was in a Kentucky battalion, name or number unknown. This 
■ man was buried in what is known as the McConnell cemetery, located on 
the Greene Barnes farm, two miles southeast of Greensburg. There is a 
rough stone, but no inscription. The grave was located and a staff placed 
at the grave, which was decorated on May 30, 1901. 

Thomas Mazingo, a brother of Joseph, also lived and died in this 
county. He was a soldier of the W^ar of 1812, went from Virginia, and 
was an officer in his company. He lived one-half mile south of the village 
of Smyrna, on what is now known as the Martin farm. He is buried in an 
old cemetery on that farm, on a knoll, southwest of the house. His wife 
was known as "Aunt Milla" and was buried beside her husband. These 
graves were located Ijy Mr. Martin from personal knowledge of the parties, 
whom he knew when a young man. There are two rough stones at the 
heads of these graves without inscriptions. 

Joseph and Thomas Mazingo were the sons of Spencer Mazingo, who 
was a soldier of the War for Independence, and went from Culpeper 
county, \'irginia. Thomas Mazingo's grave was decorated on May 30, 1901. 

John Sanders, who is buried at Mount Pisgah, this county, is thought 
to have been a soldier of the War of 1812. 

William Evans, who is buried at the Union church, near Forest Hill, 
it is thought was a soldier of the War of 18 12. William Evans moved to 
Jackson township, this county, in 1833, and he died in 1864. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4I5 

Owen \V. Blackinore, of Captain Ireland's Virginia Militia, War of 
181-', was un the rolls of the Indianapolis agency. His postofifice was 
Kingston and he is probably buried at that place, though the grave has not 
been located. 

Valentine Pollard, of Captain Ireland's Virginia Militia, was on the 
Indianapolis Pension Agency rolls. His postoffice was Greensburg. He 
was probably buried in the old cemcter}-, at the southeast corner of the pres- 
ent boundaries of the city of Greensburg. If the remains were e\er removed, 
it is likel}' the grave was not marked. 

William Bird was a soldier in the War of 1812. His widow, Maria 
Bird, drew a pension. He is buried at Shiloh and has a monument. There 
are numerous descendants of William and Maria Bird residing in Decatur 
county. 

William W. Pierce belonged to Capt. John Howe's New York Militia 
and was on the pension rolls of the Indianapolis agency. His postoffice was 
St. Paul, in the neighborhood of which he lived until his death, on March 4, 
1876. He is probably buried in a cemetery located on the farm formerly 
owned by "Colonel" W. W. Pierce. The cemetery is east of Mill creek 
and north of the Michigan road. 

Richard Wells, a soldier of the War of 1812, is buried in the Wesley 
Chapel cemetery on the Nelson Mowery farm. It is impossilile to locate 
the grave with certainty. 

James Truitt, a soldier in the W^ar of 1812, was also a pensioner. He 
lived at St. Omer, but, so far, it has not been possible to locate the grave. 
It is certain he was a pensioner. 

Jacob Forrey, of the War of 181 2, was a native of Lancaster county, 
Pennsylvania, and served as a private in Capt. A^alentine Geesey's com- 
pany of Pennsylvania Volunteers, called the "Brownsville Blues." In the 
year 1845, li^ came to Indiana and bought some land in Fugit townshpi, 
this county, two and one-half miles east of Clarksburg, where he remained 
until his death, January 2"], 1865, aged seventy-nine years. He received 
two land warrants. Under the Act of March, 1878, his widow was granted 
a pension, which she received until her death, January 16, 1884. He was 
buried in the Clarksburg cemetery. There is a monument but nothing on 
the monument to show he was a soldier. The father of Jacob Forrev and 
an uncle were soldiers of the Revolutionary War, and are buried in this 
state. This information was furnished by Mrs. Sarah E. Winker, a daugh- 
ter of Jacob Forrey. 

John Caldwell is known to have been a soldier of the War of 1812. 



4l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Charles Keml^le, of Greensburg, knew liim for man\- years. He lived and 
died in Adams township. He was buried in the Union Church cemetery. 
Caldwell was taken captive l;)y the Indians and adopted. After three years, 
he made his escape and returned to Kentucky, his former home. There is a 
small m(.)nument, broken, fri,)m which the following ilates are taken: Born, 
January 20, ijyo, died April 20. 1874. 

Isaac Fisk Stine was a soldier of the War of 1812, and is buried in 
South Park cemetery on the "old lot" of Barton H. Harney. He was buried 
in the cemeter}- at the southeastern Ijortler of the present city of Greensburg, 
and, later, was removed to South Park. He entered the war from Greene 
county, Pennsylvania, and was captain of a "Light Horse Company." He 
died in June. 1833. There is no headstone, but application has been made 
for one, of the War Department. The grave was decorated on I\Iay 30. 1901. 

Christian Hegersweiler, who is believed to have been a soldier of 1812, 
ivas buried at Rossburg cemetery, but the grave cannot be located. 

George Marlow was a soldier drafted into the War of j8i2. His colo- 
nel was named Ballon and was in the command of General Portersfield. He 
was born in Culpeper county, X'irginia, on August 28, 1787, and died on 
December 11, 1859, being buried at Clarksburg alongside his wife. There 
is a small headstone, giving date of birth and death. He came to Indiana 
about 1 82 1, located on a farm in I'Tigit township, on which he lived until 
his death. He never applied for a pension. 

Samuel Marlow, a brother of George 2\Iarlow, was also drafted in the 
War of 1812, was in the same company and under General Portersfield, 
and served until his discharge, at the close of the war. He came to Indiana 
the last of h'ebruary, 1821, settled in Fugit township, and lived on his land 
until his death, December 25, 1821. He was buried on the same farm, near 
two trees which are still standing. There is no headstone, liut the grave can 
be located. 

Daniel McCormack was a soldier of the War of 18 12, belonged to the 
Kentucky Militia, is buried at Union church, five miles south of Greens- 
burg. There is a monument on which the age is given. 

James Elder, a soldier of the War of 1812, is buried in the Sand Creek 
cemeter}'. He has a monument for himself and two wives. 

John Ammermon, a soldier of the War of 181 2, lived in this county 
several years before his death. Xo relatives are known to be in the county, 
neither can the grave be located. He was buried at Rossburg. 

Elisha Adams was a pensioner on the Indianapolis roll. There is a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



417 



good gravestone from w hich tlie following inscription is taken : "Born 
April 7, 179^. Died November 9, 1883." The pension roll shows that 
he was a private in Captain Ogden's Battery, Third New Jersey Artillery, 
lie was buried at Clarksburg. His widow li\ed in Greensburg and drew 
a pension. 

Robert Hamilton was captain of a company of Kentucky riflemen in 
the War of 1812. He was born on June 17, 1768, and died on June 17, 
181 7. He served in the garrison at Vincennes, Indiana. Buried at Old 
Concord, Kentucky, he was removed to Decatur county by his grandson, 
I-Jobert A. Hamilton, and rests by the side of his wife in the cemetery at 
Kingston. There is a good tombstone. 

William Robbins, Sr., a soldier of the War of 1S12 and probably of 
the War of 1776, died in 1834, and was buried at Alt. Pleasant cemetery, 
alongside his wife. There is a headstone with an inscription to some extent 
obliterated. He was the father of William Robbins, Jr., who was the father 
of John E. Robbins, deceased ; James G., Merritt H. and Mrs. William 
Styers, all residents of Decatur county. This family came to Kentucky 
from A'irginia, and to Indiana at an early date. 

Adam R. JNIeek was a soldier in Captain Metcalf's company, in Colonel 
Bosweli's Regiment, "Kentucky Rifles," under General -Harrison at the 
battle of Thames. He was a native of Fayette county. Kentucky, born on 
December 15, 1789, and died in Decatur county, Indiana, Ijeing buried at 
Springhill alongside his wife. He was a pensioner, as was also his wife 
after his death. There is a headstone in good condition. 

John Gray was a soldier of the War of 1812. After his death his 
widow married ^\'illianl Walters. After the latter's death she drew a pen- 
sion as the widow of John Gray and lived se^•eral }'ears near the city of 
Greensburg. John Gray died on April 5, 1836. He has a large, erect slab 
in good condition, from which the dates given above are taken. 

Byard Elmore, a pensioner on the rolls of the Indianapolis agency, 
belonged to Capt. James McOuire's Indiana militia. He was born in April, 
1790, and died on October 15, 1S78, aged eighty-eight years. Has a head- 
stone, and is l)uried in the Kingston cemetery. 

Thomas I. Glass was a soldier of the War of 1812. He was buried in 
the Kingston cemetery. He has a headstone, from which these dates are 
taken. He died on No\-ember 16, 1855, aged seventy-se\-en years. 

Joseph Mitchell ser\ed in the \Var of 1812 as a private under General 
Harrison. He was buried at the Kingston cemetery. He has a good head- 
(27) 



4l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

stone, which shows that he died on October 7, 1868, aged eighty-three 
years. There are no descendants known to be living in this county. 

Wilhs Gulley, soldier of the War of 1812, came to this county from 
Kentuckii-. It is known by residents of Decatur cuunty that he was luiried 
at the Downe}\ille cemetery. 

John Moulton was a soldier of the War of 18 12. The most of his time 
while in the serx'ice was spent in a Ijlock house at the mouth of Laughery 
creek, on the Ohio river, in this state, for the defense of the few settlers 
in that vicinit)-. He was Ijorn in Pennsylvania, March 24, 1793. His 
parents came to Kentucky and located in Nicolas county. He was married 
to Susannah Ricketts in 1814, and came to Decatur county in 1824, locating 
four miles east of Greensburg. He was killed by a horse, on May 8, 1844, 
and was buried in the Ross graveyard, three miles east of Greensburg. The 
headstone and grave are in good condition. John ^loulton was a noted 
hunter in his daw He and two others cut out the Brookville road from 
near Greensburg to the Franklin county line. He has descendants living 
in Decatur county. He was probably not a pensioner, but it is possible that 
his wife was. 

Thomas Martin. 

George Kerrick is said to have been a soldier of the War of 1812. He 
is buried at Mt. Carmel and has a good headstone. 

Seth Wilder served in Captain Clark's militia in the War of 1812. His 
name was on the pension rolls of the Indianapolis agency. His postoffice 
was St. Paul. He died at St. Omer and is Iniried at that place. There 
is a headstone. 

Samuel Ferguson, a soldier of the War of 181 2, li\-ed ami died at St. 
Omer, and was buried in the cemetery at that place. 

Frederick W. Dillman, a soldier of the War of 181 2, li\-ed and died in 
Decatur county, but is buried just over the line in Bartholomew county. He 
was the father of Jacob A. Dillman, of this county. 

Mason Watts, known to have been a soldier of the War of 181 2. lived 
in Jackson township, in this county. He was Iniried in Ripley count}-, In- 
diana. 

James Wise, a son-in-law of Alason \A'atts, was also a soldier of the 
War of 1812. He lived in Decatur county for several years, afterwards 
moving to Brown county, where his death occurred. 

Samuel Eli was probably in the War of 1812. He died in Jackson 
township, Init it is not known where he is buried. 

Brumheld Boone, born on November 6, 1791, served in a garrison in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4ig 

Kentucky. He died near Greensburg. Indiana, at the home of his daughter, 
Airs. Thomas Kitchen, who lives in Greensburg, on January 19, 1875, and 
was buried in the old Methodist cemetery, now part of the wSouth Park 
cemetery. Enlisting at the beginning of the War of 1812, at the end of his 
term he re-enlisted, as a substitute. He served in the brigade commanded 
by General Gano, in General Harrison's army, until the end of the war. 
He was in several battles, but the papers giving the names of the battles 
and other facts are mislaid and cannot be found. The family came from 
North Carolina, and were related to Daniel Boone. Mrs. Turner, another 
daughter, also lived in Greensburg. 

John Pritchard, of the War of 1812, was buried in Sandcreek ceme- 
ter\-. He died in 1841, aged sixty-seven years. 

MEXICAN WAR. 

Decatur county furnished a small cjuota of men for the Mexican War 
(1846-48) and, although the state did not keep the record of volunteers 
by counties, it has l^een ascertained that from fifty to seventy-five men en- 
listed from Decatur county during the progress of the war. Indiana fur- 
nished five regiments, totaling four thousand four hundred and seventy offi- 
cers and privates, to the government. 

Capt. Morgan L. Payne raised a part of a company in the county and 
secured the rest of his company at Lawrenceburg. This was Company C, 
l-'ourth Regiment of Indiana \'olunteers, and when it was mustered into 
the service it was placed under the immediate command of Col. Willis A. 
Gorman. J. A'. Bemusdaiter was the first lieutenant of this company and 
W. W. Lo\e was also a member of the same company. 

Lieut. William P. Sanders was a student at Hano\'er College when 
the war opened, but he immediately left college, volunteered, and later be- 
came an officer in the mounted infantry of Kentucky. He was killed at the 
battle of Cerro Gordo, April 18, 1847. Sanders was a brother of Mrs. P. 
T. Lambert, of Greensburg, and the late Mrs. R. A. Hamilton. 

Alajor J. M. Talbott was another prominent man from Greensburg 
who won distinction in the Mexican War. He raised a company here known 
as the Decatur County Volunteers. Governor Whitcomb had asked for 
thirty companies, and Talbott's company being the thirty-eighth to report, 
it was not needed. Talbott was elected captain of his company ; J. E. 
Housier, first lieutenant ; J. B. Lathrop, second lieutenant. Houser rode all 
night as soon as the company was full in order to report to the governor 



420 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

that Decatur county had a company ready to go to the front. Init he was 
five liours too late to get the company in. Talljott later joined the Sixteenth 
Regiment of United States Regulars, was promoted to major for meri- 
torious work on the field of battle, and died in 1848. while in the service 
in Mexico. 

Other men fnim this county who served in the war included ]\IcHenry 
Pumphrcy, Robert Favors, Robert. J-'li and Joseph Critser, Benjamin Jen- 
kins, l'^. L. Floyd, Benjamin Ricketts, James ^Morgan, Alexander lulwards. 
John Larrison, Robert Myers. Tarlton Caldwell and Elijah Ilines. There 
were others. ])robabl_\' rift\' in all. wlio served in the war from this county, 
but their names ha\'e not l.ieen preser\-ed. 

CIVIL WAR. 

On Saturday morning, April 12, 1861, the first shot from the Con- 
federate batteries in Charleston harbor fell on the rampart of Ft. Sumter. 
Young men, middle-aged men, old men. stood around the telegra])h offices 
all over the United States on that day. waiting to hear the result of the 
attack, \\hen it was known that the fort had fallen, a cry went up through- 
out the North — an insistent cry that active steps be taken at once to crush 
the incipient rebellion. On that Saturday night men stood in groups, with 
clenched fists and beating hearts, from the knobs of the Ohio to the sand 
hills of Lake Michigan, patiently waiting to hear whether the brave seventy 
in the fort could withstand the ten thousand raging Reljels who were attack- 
ing them. At ten o'clock that night, the news was flashed over the country 
that "Sumter has fallen." 

On the Sunday morning following there was scarcely a pulpit in the 
North but what spoke of the terrible e\'ent. Indiana ministers, with few 
exceptions, were loyal to the Union and demanded from the pulpit that the 
country's honor should be upheld at all costs. On the morning of April 15, 
Governor Morton telegraphed President Lincoln an offer of ten thousand 
men. On this same day the President issued a proclamation calling for 
seventy-five thousand volunteers. Every county in the state was called upon 
by the governor for troops, and, although the state's quota was only four 
thousand, six hundred and eighty-three, yet within ten days there were 
twelve thousand men in Indianapolis ready for ser\ice. 

For the three-year service Decatur county furnished twenty-six com- 
panies of infantry and cavalry, and one battery. The following is the roster 
of the commissioned officers, with the regiments in which they senxd : 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 42 1 

SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

Colonels, James Gavin and Ira G. Grover; lieutenant-colonels, James 
Gavin and Ira G. Grover; majors, Benjamin C. Shaw, Ira G. Grover and 
Merritt C. Welsh ; surgeons, George W. New and John L. Wooden. 

Company D — Captains, Merritt C. Welsh and Charles Griffith; first 
lieutenants, Robert Braden, Charles Griffith, Henry Knight and James Leg- 
gett; second lieutenants, Charles Griffith, Henry Knight and James Leg- 
gett. 

Company E — Captains, Ira G. Grover, David W. Hamilton, George P. 
Clayton and Jenkins F. Anderson ; first lieutenants, D. W. Hamilton, W. D. 
Jocelyn, George P. Clayton, Charles F. Atwater, J. F. Anderson and Robert 

F. King; second lieutenants, William D. Jocelyn, John M. Hazen, George P. 
Clayton and Charles F. Atwater. 

Company G — Captains, Benjamin C. Shaw, Wilson C. Lembert, Mar- 
tin W. Richardson and John A. Meek ; first lieutenants, W. C. Lembert, M. 
W. Richardson, John .\. Meek, Orville Thomson, Samuel L. Anderson, 
David B. Gageby and Milo Robertson ; second lieutenants, M. W. Richard- 
son, John A. Meek, Orville Thomson, S. L. Anderson and D. B. Gageby. 

SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT. 

Colonel, John T. Wilder, promoted to brigadier-general ; surgeon, Dr. 
J. Y. Hitt. 

THIRTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

Adjutants, William B. Harvey and Livingston Howland. 

Company E — Captains, Mahlon C. Connett, Frank Hughes and William 
B. Harvey ; first lieutenants, Frank Hughes, William B. Harvey and George 
Hungate ; second lieutenants, Andrew J. Hungate, William B. Harvey and 
George W. Hungate. 

Company H — Captains, William H. Tyner, Ouartus C. Moore, George 
W. Dye, James H. Burk and John L. Hice; first lieutenants, O. C. Moore, 

G. W. Pye. James H. Burk, John L. Hice and Augustus H. Tevis; second 
lieutenants, George W. Pye, J. H. Burk, J. L. Hice and A. H. Tevis. 



422 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

FIFTY-SECOND REGIMENT. 

Major, William T. Strickland. 

Company B — Captains, ^\^ T. Strickland and William T. Stott : first 
lieutenants, James A. Cunningham, William T. Stott, James C. Alden and 
William B. Robbins; second lieutenants, William T. Stott and Edwin Alex- 
ander. 

SIXTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT. 

Colonel, John S. Scobey ; lieutenant-Colonel, B. C. Shaw : major, John 
S. Scobey: chaplain, David Monfort; surgeon, John L. Wooden. 

Company A — Captains, John S. Scobey and Giles E. White; first 
lieutenants, Giles E. WHiite and Reuben Jones ; second lieutenants, Reuben 
Jones and Moses Bailey. 

SEVENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT (THIRTY DAYS.) 

Colonel, James Gavin; lieutenant-colonel, John T. ^\Mlder : adjutant. 
Irvin Robbins ; quartermaster, Samuel A. Bonner. 

Company A — Captain, Luther Donnell ; first lieutenant, Hugh Weston ; 
second lieutenant, B. H. Harney. 

Company B — Captain, Benjamin Jenkins ; first lieutenant, Samuel 
Walker; second lieutenant, Peter Norris. 

Company C — Captain, Robert M. Higgins; first lieutenant, William 
Alyea; second lieutenant, William M. Fletcher. 

Company D — Captain, Charles Bell ; first lieutenant, John H. Braden ; 
second lieutenant, John H. Kirliy. 

Company E — Captain, Thomas H. Butler; first lieutenant, William P. 
Marsh ; second lieutenant, William A. Mandlove. 

EIGHTY-THIRD REGIMENT. 

Adjutant, George R. Robinson ; first lieutenants, William R. Lanius 
and Darius H. Dodd ; second lieutenant, Behjamin Bridges. 

NINETEENTH REGIMENT ( FIFTH CAVALRY.) 

Colonel, Thomas H. Butler; lieutenant-colonel, Thomas H. Butler; 
quartermaster, W^illiam H. Duncan. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 423 

Company H — Captains, Thomas H. Butler and William H. St. John: 
first lieutenants, William H. St. John and John P. Whitlow ; second lieu- 
tenants, James Kennedy and John P. Whitlow. 

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT. 

Colonel, John C. McOuiston ; lieutenant-colonel, DeWitt C. Walters; 
majors. D. C. Waters and Irvin Robbins. 

Company A — Captains, Irvin Rol)bins and Hugh Weston ; first lieu- 
tenants, Hugh Weston, John H. Kirby, Nathan Thorp and William H. 
Stout; second lieutenants. Green B. Roszell, Nathan Thorp, William H. 
Stout and John Castor. 

Company B — Captains, D. C. Walters, William H. Dolby and John A. 
Merrill; first lieutenants, William H. Dolby, John A. Merrill and Ephriam 
T. Allen ; second lieutenants, John A. Merrill, E. T. Allen and John Davison. 

Company D — Captain, Angus F. McCoy: first lieutenants, James Jef- 
fries, Joseph Carter and Ira E. Stark; second lieutenants, John Case and 
Harvey Connett. 

ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIXTH REGIMENT. 

Colonel, Merritt C .Welsh ; major, Thomas P. Spillman. 

Company A — Captains, Thomas P. Spillman, George W. Reed : first 
lieutenants, George W. Reed and Christian J. Henry; second lieutenants, 
C. J. Henry and John W. Moore. 

Conipany F — First lieutenant and ca|)tain, B. W. Cole. 

Company G — Second lieutenant, Enoch Allen. 

Company K — Second lieutenant, John F. Hobart. 

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT (ONE HUNDRED DAYS.) 

Colonel, James Gavin: adjutant, A. J. Hungate; quartermaster, Charles 
H. Wright; chaplain, D. R. Van Buskirk; assistant surgeon, John M. Craig. 

Company B — Captain, Joseph Drake ; first lieutenant, Robert F. Con- 
over ; second lieutenant, Hurum M. G. Dugan. 

Company C — Captain, William D. Jocelyn; first lieutenant, Thomas P. 
Spillman ; second lieutenant, John B. Mallett. 

Conipany D — Captain, Charles C. Bell : first lieutenant, Adam Sam- 
ple; second lieutenant, Isaac Seeright. 






424 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Company E — Captain, William T. Marsh; first lieutenants, A. J. Hun- 
gate and William M. Friedly; second lieutenants, William M. Friedly and 
William M. Johnson. 

ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

Quartermaster, John C. Blake. 

Company C — First lieutenant, William H. Reddington. 

THIRD B.ATTERY. 

First Lieutenant. Adolphus G. Armington. 

WILDER BATTERY. 

Captain, S. F. Rigby: tirst lieutenant, William H. Carroll, Jacob R. 
Stewart, William K. \Yilson, C. W. McLaughlin, Charles H. Porter and 
Robert H. Randall ; second lieutenant, Jacob R. Stewart, William K. Wil- 
son, Matthew E. Jackson. Benjamin M. Ricketts. C. W. McLaughlin. 

By referring to the summary of Decatur county's representation in the 
Civil War, above given, it will be seen that the county had men in twelve 
regiments of infantry and two batteries of artillery. Undoubtedly there 
were also men in other regiments, not only in this state, but in other states 
as well. The most important regiment from this county was probably the 
Seventh, which first went out for the three-month service, and then re-en- 
listed for a period of three years. The other important regiments from 
this county were the Thirty-seventh, Sixty-eighth, Seventy-sixth, One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-third, One Hundred and thirty-fourth and One Hundred 
and Forty-sixth. These six regiments will be treated in this order. 

THE SEVENTH REGIMENT (tHREE MONTHS' SERVICE). 

Decatur county began enrolling troops as soon as the governor issued 
his call, and on ^Monday, April 21, two companies were oli their way to 
Indianapolis. The Grccnshurg Standard, in its issue of April 26, gives the 
full list of the men composing these two companies, later assigned to the 
Seventh Regiment as Companies B and F. Owing to the fact that but 
eighty-four would be received in a company, not all who went to Indian- 
apolis were permitted to go to the front at that time. Company No. i 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 425 

(later Company B, Seventh Regiment ) went to Indianapolis with the fol- 
lowing officers: James Morgan, captain; I. G. Grover, first lieutenant; Ben- 
jamin M. Rickets, second lieutenant; H. H. Talhott, third lieutenant; D. W. 
Hamilton, orderly; R. M. Higgins, second sergeant; G. B. Rozell, third 
sergeant ; Edward Carlisle, fmirth sergeant : John Roling, ensign. The pri- 
\'ates of this company were as follows; J. H. .\lyea, Milton Bryan, John 
Bennett, R. F. Conover, J. B. Carter. M. C. Connett, Benedict Brown, Will- 
iam Burk, Josiali Crume, William Catterson, Richard Craycraft, William 
G. Dunn, Alex. Edwards, Josiah Hockersmith, John T. Hazen, William D. 
Jocelyn, Fred Ketchum, \\'illiam B. Loyd, James Leggett, William J. 
McAttee, John C. McKim, \Villiam McDonald, William T. Neshit. Will 
Pound, William D. Rossell, Thomas Rust, John W. Sullivan, H. M. G. 
Dugan, John Edwards, H. H. Harvey, Bennett Heck. J. B. Israel, Andy 
Eudwick. J. H. Loyd, James H. Lathrop, Joshua Magee, Will T. Marsh, 
Lewis McGoughy, John W. Pullen, John Pine, Ed T. Ricket, Calvin C. 
Sisco, John Slawson. William .Saunders, John Topky, James B. White, 
Orville T. Welch, G. W. Walker, W. T. Stott, William Tarkington, William 
Wolverton. Joseph Welch, William L. Alyea, H. T. Bush. J. M. Bodine, 
Smith Craig. Will Cumback, Harrison Barklv, Benjamin Bridges, Henry 
Bennett. H. C. Conner, H. B. Carter, James Demoss, Joseph Devoy, James 
M. Fugit, Newt. Hazelrigg, Edgar Henry, Robert Imlay, Peter Lohner, 
Samuel Lee, Richard Lewis, Frank Mackey, Thomas McMahon, James 
Neilus, John S. Pritchard, Thomas Perry, James G. Ricketts. James Smith, 
William H. Snook. Hugh Draper, William T. Green, Lee Holman, William 
M. Jones, G. W. H. Kemper, H. W. Lanham, George Lee, Charles Lewis, 
William S. McKim, James S. McFeeters, Joel G. Nicum, Isaac T. Phares, 
C. M. Rosczell, James T. Ricketts, M. D. Smith, Wentworth Sackett, H. 
H. Talhott, Jr., John Tucker. C. J. Wilson. J. B. Wright, S. A. Wallace, 
John Toothman, Nathan W^ithers. Richard West, John W. ^\^Ttkins, ^^'iIliam 
A. Whitton, a total of one hundred and twelve. 

Company No. 2 (later Company F, Seventh Regiment) had the follow- 
ing officers : J. V. Bemusdaffer, captain ; James Gavin, first lieuatent ; B. C. 
Shaw, second lieutenant ; A. G. Armington, third lieutenant. The privates 
were as follows : J. G. Adkin. W. T. Baldwin. Samuel Barkley. Henry Baker, 
Daniel Coy, W. A. Donnell. Frank Devoy. David Frelander, J. Fosset. W. 
A. Glass, Bnison Brosier. J. F. Baett. Ed. A. Blair. G. D. Clayton. Harvey 
Connett. G. G. Dement. W. L. Edwards, Lafayette Ford, J. L. Griffits, 
Hamilton Grinold. J. N. Hann. Z. Inkle, S. Kirby. Polk Long. John Maple, 
John H. Meek, Stephen Maston. J. J. Loan, T. B. Peery, Isaac Price, C. 



426 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Rowe. C. D. Reece, W. H. Stewart, E. Southwick, H. S. Stewart, Ed 
S'peer, J. Y. Hitt, W. B. Hai'vey, Ross Jones, James King, Elisha Kirk, 
Samuel Lo\all, John Morris, Jesse Miller, William McLaughlin, T. D. 
Purely, Virgil Pultz, ^>l. W. Richardson, W. B. Risk. William Roberts, W. 
T. Smith, D. N. Smith, A. Shires, H. Skillman, J. L. Tucker. T. E. Weston, 
J. C. Thomas, C. Warriner. Samuel Anderson, H. Baley, Samuel Bishop. 
James Cones, J. R. Canfield, W. A. Doyer, James Day, William A. Fortner, 
Samuel Garrison, Lew"is Bennett, \\'. G. Hays, W. T. Bagley. Thomas E. 
Banes, John Coy, T. S. Da\is, D. H. Dodd, J. W. Foster. James Gainor, 
W. H. Goddard, Joseph Hill, Frank Hughes, John Jones, Abram Knapp. 
Marion Linville, Joseph McCartney, Thomas Miles. Mathew ^IcElvoy, John 
McConnell, Richard Phillips, Robert Patterson, W. Ryan, Indn Robbins, 
C. C. Snodgrass. G. \\'. Sheffield, B. Shires, J. Shaw, William Hutcherson, 
Daniel Hendrickson, ^V. Jackson, James Kirkpatrick, Carter Loyd, Burnard 
Mullen, George D. Miller, James Elroy, Thomas Mozingo, William Potter, 
James Phillips, George R. Rhiver, Jeremiah Robertson. Robert Smith, J. 
B. Sharp. D. M. Smith, John Springer, Orville Thomson, H. Weston. D. C. 
Walters, G. W. Walker, T. F. ^^'alters, a total of one hundred and twenty. 

As only eighty-four men, rank and file, were necessary to form a com- 
pany, only one hundred and sixty-eight could be mustered in. This left a 
surplus of sixty-four men, who had to return home. There were some, 
however, whose names were not in the printed list who were mustered in. 
How many is not known. So there were prol.iably. in round numbers, two 
InuKh'ed and fift_\- l)ecatur county men who \-olunteered at the first tap of the 
drum, or enough for three companies, which wnuld have been two hundred 
and fifty-two men. 

The two companies from here were organized as follows when sworn 
into the service at the old fair grounds at Indianapolis on April 2^ : 

Company B — Captain, James Morgan; first lieutenant, Ira G. Grover; 
Second lieutenant, Benjamin M. Ricketts. 

Company F — Captain. J. V. Bemusdaffer; first lieutenant, B. C. Shaw; 
second lieutenant, J. L. Tucker. 

These men remained in camp at Indianapolis from April 22 until April 
29, when they marched down Illinois and Washington streets to the union 
depot and took the cars for West Virginia. There they remained for three 
months and participated in the three first battles of the war: Pliillipi, on 
June 3; Laurel Hill, on July 8, and Carrick's Ford, July 13. 

It is a matter of history that Company B led the advance at Phillipi 
and fired the first vollev in the first battle of the great Civil War. The onl 



&' 



iv 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 427 

casualty was the wounding of Colonel Kelly, of the First Virginia Regi- 
ment. Two of the enemy were hurt, one man by the name of James E. Han- 
ger, had his left leg shot off by a cannon ball, and Dr. G. W. New, a former 
Greensburg doctor and surgeon of the Seventh Regiment, amputated the 
leg and the man recovered. 

James Gavin, wdio enlisted in Company B, became adjutant of the regi- 
ment when it was organized, and when it was reorganized three months 
later for the three-year service he became lieutenant-colonel, and on Novem- 
ber 3 was promoted to the colonelcy, which he held until Ajiril 21, 1863. 

In the battle of Laurel Hill, on July 8, John Smith, of Company C, 
which was raised in Shelby county, was killed. He was the first Union 
soldier killed in the war. Upon their return nearly all of the Decatur men 
re-entered the service, either in the three-year Seventh or some other regi- 
ment, and many of them became officers. 

The ladies of Greensburg sent the boys bountiful provisions for a fine 
cHnner at their camp in Indianapolis on April 25. Captain Morgan presided 
at a meeting following the dinner and Will Cumback acted as secretary. 

The Standard, in its issue of April 26, in speaking of the soldiers going 
to Indianapolis, goes on to say that, "The volunteers are mostly from this 
city and township and are the best men of the community. Their departure 
on Monday was witnessed by the largest crowd ever convened in Greens- 
burg. Almost every man, woman and child was affected to tears. Strong- 
men and affectionate women, loving husbands and fond wives wept bitterly, 
but firmly submitted to the bitter necessity of parting and to the call of 
their country. It is indeed a sad sight to witness the departure of a father, 
husband or son for the battlefield, when perha]K naught but suffering and 
death await them, and it is truly a sad reflection when looking upon their 
manly forms to know that some of them will never return alive. May the 
Lord ]:)less and protect them is the prayer of e\'eryone. 

"The \-olunteers reached Indianapolis at twelve o'clock, Monday, marched 
to the state house and from there to Camp Morton. They are comfortably 
quartered, have plenty to eat and of the veiy best articles, and when we saw 
them last they were exercising their jaws in 'double-quick time,' laughing, 
joking and yelping for the Union. May they ever feel and fare as well and 
return safely home to their friends." 

ARTILLERY AND RIFLE COMPANIES. 

In addition to the two companies above mentioned, Greensburg raised a 
company of artillerists and one of riflemen. Captain \\'ilder was head of 



428 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the artillery compan\-. The StaiuUinl. o\ April 26, says that "The hoard of 
commissioners has appropriated six hundred dollars to purchase a cannon 
for Wilder's artillery company. Good!" The artillery company was at once 
accepted by Governor Morton and was told to hold itself ready, "awaiting 
the orders of the government." The rifle company met on Tuesday night, 
April 23, and elected the following oflicers : Captain, Giles White ; first lieu- 
tenant, W. H. Reed ; second lieutenant, David Endailey. This was what was 
known as a "home guard" company. 

GREENSBURG BAND GOES TO FRONT. 

The Greensburg regimental band, one of the best bands in the state, 
offered its services, which were promptly accepted. The names of the mem- 
bers of this band who volunteered in the service of their country were as 
follows : W. H. Lybrand, Joseph Tarkington, F. M. Tackett, William Christ, 
W. M. Fletcher, A. C. Withrow, William Withrow, John Hoffman, A. A. 
Annington, A. B. Armington, Emanuel Zorger and Samuel Bigger. The 
band went to Indianapolis Saturday, April 20, and the two companies of 
volunteers followed on Monday, April 22. This band enlisted with the 
Seventh Regiment for the three-year service, but was at the front only 
about one year of their second enlistment. It was found that the band was 
not as essential to the success of arms as it had been supposed. The fife 
and drum took the place of the band in nearly all regiments before the end 
of the war. Most of the members of the Greensburg band returned home 
in 1862. 

THE SEVENTH REGIMENT (THREE-YEAR SERVICE). 

A complete history of the Seventh Indiana Regiment was written and 
published by one of its members from Decatur county, Orville Thomson. 
It is interesting to note that this veteran of the Civil War, as well as veteran 
of the newspaiier fraternity of Decatur county, set all nf the tvpe by hand 
for this volume of two hundred and forty-two pages. 

As has been stated, Decatur county had two companies in the three- 
months service. The regiment left Virginia on July 23, 1861, and reached 
Indianapolis three days later. Idiey were discharged on August 2 and at 
once returned to their homes in Decatur county, but practically all of them 
had agreed among themselves to re-enlist for the three-year service. 

To f|uote from Comrade Thomson's history, "The conception of the 
three-year Se\'enth occurred while the train bearing the three-months men 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



429 



homeward lay switched off at a station on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, 
at Cameron, some twenty miles southeast of Wheeling. It was there that 
we first learned of the Bull Run disaster of a day or so previous, and that 
President Lincoln had issued a proclamatinn calling for three hundred thou- 
sand volunteers to serve for three years. This intelligence had a most 
depressing effect upon the men, hut this feeling was but for a moment. 
When the train was again under way a bevy of officers was gathered in the 
head(|uarters car engaged in considering the situation. When each had had 
his say, the colonel wound up the conference with this suggestion: 'Com- 
rades, let us reorganize the regiment, retaining its present number. Seventh, 
under this three-year call and fight it out to the grand finale." " 

Thus came into existence the re-organized Seventh for the three-year 
service. This regiment had a glorious historv and, without disparaging any 
other regiment, it may be said that it stands pre-eminently in the first rank. 
Some regiments saw more service and met with heavier losses, but that was 
later in the war and did not attract the attention that the deeds of the Seventh 
did. 

Thirteen davs after the men from this regiment returned from Virginia, 
in August, iS'6i, word came from Indianapolis to Decatur countv that the 
Seventh Regiment was being reorganized. On Monday, September 2, the 
men began to arrive in camp at Indianapolis and eleven days later the regi- 
ment was mustered into the United States service by Major Wood of the 
regular army. 

The field staff' and non-commissioned staff' officers of the Seventh Regi- 
ment were as follows : 

Acting colonel, Ebenezer Dumont ; ])rom()ted brigadier-general United 
States Volunteers, September 2, and assigned to that duty on November 3, 
1861. 

Lieutenant-culonel, James Ga\in; j^romoted to colonel, November 3, 
1861 : resigned April 22. 1863; re-entered service as colonel of the One 
Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment. 

Major, John F. Cheek; promoted to lieutenant-colonel, November 3, 
1861 ; resigned Alarch 15, 1863. 

Adjutant, John ]\1. Blair: promoted to captain and acting chief surgeon 
United States Volunteers, April 14. 1862. 

Quartermaster, Richard P. Johnson: mustered out August 2, 1862. 

Chief surgeon, George W^ New : mustered out with the regiment. 

Assistant surgeon, \\'illiam C.illespie: transferred to Eighty-third Regi- 
ment, August 14, 1862. 



430 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Risden D. ]\Ioore ; no date. 

John L. Wooden : promoted surgeon of the Sixt}--eighth Regiment. 

James T. Duffield ; mustered out witli the regiment. 

Caniel P. Linegar, mustered out with the regiment. 

Chaplains, John Kiger, resigned IMarch 15, 1863: \\'iniam R. Jewell, 
mustered out with the regiment. 

Sergeant-major, Cyrus B. Goodwin; discharged to accept commission 
in Sixty-eighth Regiment. 

Quartermaster-sergeant, William A. Curran : discharged January 24, 
1863, by special order. 

Commissary-sergeant, Joseph M. Wallace; mustered out in .\pril, 1862. 

Hospital steward, Frank C. Xew ; transferred to Twentieth Regiment. 

REGIMENTAL BAND. 

( Under a general order of the war department, of about the last of 
April, 1S62, all the regimental bands were mustered out, the Seventh's being 
the thirtieth to be discharged). The principal musicians were as follows- 
George W. Rhiver, died at home, .Vpril 21, 1862; Joseph B. Pepper, Charles 
M. Green, Nelson C. Lawrence, Joseph A. Tarkington, Francis M. Tuckett, 
Aaron C. Withfowe, John Floffman, Alfred Beard, Charles H. Doan, James 
T. Howard, Joseph B. Isreal, James King, Henry C. Reece, John A. Howard, 
Nathon ^^'. Sargeant, Jo.seph D. Patton, William H. H. Withrowe, William 
H. Snook, John T. Wheatley, William H. R. Tarkington, Harrison F. Bush, 
W'illiam H. Criss (died at Cumberland, February 13, 1862), John H. How- 
ard (died at Elkwater, December 6, 1861), and John C. Slawson. 

L. D. Braden, in the Sfaiulard of September 17, 1909, printed a six-col- 
umn history of this regiment and it is deemed well to quote from this excel- 
lent article for the remainder of the discussion of this regimeiU. 

"The .Seventh had not long to wait until it was into war in earnest. 
After three months' skirmishing around Elkwater, the regiment was shifted 
to the upper Potomac and, after some more skirmishing around Cheat 
Mountain, thev finallv got into a severe l)attle at Kernstown on March 22, 
1862, where thev lost nine men killed and tliirteen wounded, of whom six 
died. This was the beginning of a series of battles in wliicli the regiment 
fought like heroes and sustained heavy losses. 

"On June 8, they were in the thickest of the fight at Port Republic, 
where they lost fifteen killed, thirty-four wounded and eight prisoners. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



43' 



Speaking of this engagement, the "Indiana Roll of Honor" says: 'It was 
here that the Se\enth Indiana won immortal glory.' 

"Then followed Cedar Mountain, Manassas, South ^iuuntain, Antietam, 
Chancellorsville, Gettysiwrg, Cold Harbor, Wilderness, Petersburg and, 
ending with the battle at W'eldon Railroad on August 23, 1864, the Seventh 
gave a good account of itself and reflected glory upon the great state of 
Indiana. About September 15, 1864, the regiment left Old \'irginia for 
home and, on September 2(), the\' were mustered out. 

"General Hoffman, of Pennsylvania, who had command of the brigade 
of which the Seventh was part, gives the Seventh Indiana credit for saving 
the Union ami}- from defeat at Gettyslnirg. On the night after the first 
day's battle, July i, 1863, Colonel Gro\er obser\ed there were no troops 
on our right on Gulp's Hill. Taking a squad of men, he proceeded to investi- 
gate the gap and, while there, ran up against a rebel scouting party with the 
same intent. Colonel Grover ordered them to 'Halt! Surrender!' and the 
enenn-, thinking it was the main body of the Unionists, surrendered. In the 
]>arty brought in were a captain and a lieutenant of the Forty-second Vir- 
ginia. Colonel Grover was breveted a brigadier for his clever play. He 
had found the gap and his prompt action kept the rebels from jire-empting it 
and flanking the Union right wing, which would have meant defeat of the 
entire army. 

"In all, the regiment participated in twenty-se\'en battles and lost two 
hundred and thirty-five men. .\bout one hundred and fifty of the men whose 
term of office had not expired in September, 1864, were transferred to the 
Nineteenth and Twentieth United States regiments and were present at 
Appomattox when Lee surrendered. So the men of the Seventh were in the 
fray from first to last." 

DECATUR COUNTY LOSSES. 

Following are losses sustained by the companies from this county : 
Killed in action during the war, 24; died of wounds, 5: died in ])ris()n, 17; 
died of disease, 33; total deaths, yq. Wounded in battle: Company D, 14; 
Companv E, 9; Company G, 11 : tntal, 34. Total deaths and wounded, 113. 

KILLED IN ACTION. 

Companx D — Lieutenant Roliert Braden, Henderson, Kentucky, July 
26, 1862; Henry Bartee, Winchester, May' 12, 1863: Asa Chapman, Spottsyl- 



432 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

vania, June g, 1864: James C. Kelly. Port Repiiljlic. June 9, 1862; Joab 
Shirk, Port Republic. June 9, i86j : \\'\\\ S. Owens, Petersburg, June 18, 
1864; Oliver A. Owens, Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864; Samuel Thornburg, 
Wilderness, May 12, 1864. 

Comically E — Capt. George 1'. Clayton, Wilderness, May 7, 1864; 
Albert \\'. Vorris, Wilderness, May 5, 1864: George \\'. Michael, Port 
Repuljlic, June 9, 1862; John ]\I. Young, Port Republic, June 9, 1862; John 
Theod(M-e, Uniontown, No\ember, 1861; James W. Young, Laurel Hill, 
May 8, 1864. 

Company G — Sergeant David C. Gageby, North Anna River, May 27, 
1864: Joseph Beetem, Petersburg, June 18, 1864: Benjamin Higdon, Yellow- 
House, May 3, 1864; James Higdun, Cliancellorsville, I\lav 3. 1863; Charles 
Jones, Wilderness, May 5. 1864; Thomas McLaughlin, Wilderness, May i^, 
1864: Daniel J. McCoy, Wilderness. May 5, 1864; John Patterson, Manas- 
sas Plains, August 29, 1862: William T. Ryland. Gettysburg, July 3, 1863; 
McCowan H. Smith, Wilderness, Alay 5, 1864. 

DIED Oi'- WOUNDS. 

Company G — John McCain, Port Republic, June 9, 1864: John A. Small, 
Spottsylvania, May 14, 1864. 

Company E — George W. Meek, Petersburg, A.ugust i, 1864. 

Company G — John N. Hann, wnunded at South [Mountain, September, 
1862; Sydney R. Griswdld. Winchester, May 5, 1863. 

DIED IN PRISON. 

Company D — Will Clendenning, Florence; Isaac Higgs, Wilmington; 
George W. Johnson, Wilmington ; George \\'. Shirk, Florence. 

Companv E — Daniel W. Anderson, Andersonville ; Uriah Bartclay, 
Andersonville ; John W. booster, .Vndersonville ; Peter L. Hamilton, Ander- 
sonville; John H. Horn, Andersonville; Amzi Demaree, Andersonville; Sam- 
uel Lexel, Andersonville; John Tremain, Salisbur}-. 

Companv G — Orion W. Donnell, Salisbury; Bazil G. Boyce, Salisbury; 
Newton J. Land, Salisbury; William Paul, Andersonville. 

Besides furnishing three companies for this regiment, Decatur county 
also furnished the regimental band of twenty men, which was with the 
regiment until April "30, 1862. Three of these died while in service: G. W. 
Hiver. bibn W. Howard and ^^'illiam H. Criss. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



OFFICERS IN COMMAND. 



433 



The Seventh was in the command of the following colonels : April 
22 to July 22, i86i, Dumont; September 13 to November 3, 1861, Duniont : 
November 3, 1861, to April 22, 1863, Gavin; April 22, 1863, to September 
20, 1864, Grover. The lieutenants were Ga\iu, Cheek and Banta. The 
majors were Cheek, Banta and Welsh. 

On Ala}- 4, i8r)4. Colonel Grover and forty- four of his men were cap- 
tured in the Wilderness, and he was away from the regiment for four 
months. During this time Lieutenant-Colonel Banta was ill antl the com- 
mand of the regiment fell upon Major M. C. Welsh, who kept up the reputa- 
tion of the leaders of. the regiment and was a favorite with the bovs. 

The next day after the capture of Colonel Grover — Mav 5 — the Sev- 
enth got into a hard tight with the I-'iftietli Virginia, and captured practically 
all the regiment, including the colonel and the flag. It is claimed the capture 
of the flag was made by Perry S. Tremain, Robert L. Alyea and T. M. 
RIozingo, of Company E. although the records credit it to J. N. Opel, of 
Companv G. All were Decatur count}- men. 

THIRTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. 

The Thirty-seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers went into camp at 
Lawrenceburg in August, 1861, and, after drilling about a month, was 
mustered into the service on September iS. Decatur county had two com- 
plete companies, E and H, in this regiment, and also a number of men in 
Companv K. 

The commissioned officers of Company E were as follow : Captains, 
Mahlon C. Connett, Frank Hughes and William B. Harvey; first lieuten- 
ants, Frank Hughes, William B. Harvey and George W. Hungate ; second 
lieutenants, Andrew J. Hungate, William B. Harvey and George W. Hun- 
gate. The non-commissioned officers of this company were : First sergeant, 
William B. Harvey ; sergeants, Lafayette Ford, Thomas B. Peerv, \\'illa 
Raynes and George W. Hungate; corporals, William A. Whitlow, Philip 
S. Guthrie, Daniel J. Ballard, Abraham B. Cook, Charles W. Sherman, 
Martin F. Sidener, James K. Gully and Wesley N. Barnes; musicians, 
Nicholas A. Butler and William Stopper; wagoner, Benjamin F. Price. 

The privates were James G. Adkins, Wesley H. Adkins. Columbus 
Ballard, Toshua Barton, Frederick Beck, Hiram Bowling, Martin Brooks, 
(28) 



434 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Lewis C. Brooks, George W. Buffington, Matthew Buell, Thomas H. Carter, 
William E. Clark, Albert B. Connet, Andrew J. Cook, Edward Coleman, 
Reuben H. Conner, James R. Conner. James Cox, \\'illiam J. Crisler, 
Howard Creed, Samuel Davidson, William Dean, Andrew Ensinger, George 
H. Eubanks, Robert Favour, George W. Fleming, Joseph Ford, Benjamin 
Ford, Oscar J\I. Garrett, John T. Glass, George W. Gullion, James A. 
Hanger, Robert F. Heaton, Henry Hogan, Charles Hogan, Gideon Hornice, 
Addison Hughes, Charles T. Hunt, James T. Johnson, James Jordon, 
Abram Knapp, Thaddeus Knight, Stephen Lewis, James C. Lewis, Milton 
Martin, \\'illard R. Marsh, Jacob Maharry, Joseph A. Marks, William 
McKeeon, James C. McKee, Bert McNeely, John T. Morgan, Jacob ^V. 
Neeb, John Parson, Dudley Price, William Richy, Enoch Rickets, Arthur 
O. Scull, Alfred C. Scull, Philip Slifer, John Slifer, Reuben Smawley. 
Lewis Smawley, John H. Smith, Benjamin R. Smith, John B. Stogsdell, 
Bethuel G. Stark, Solomon Swango, Thomas S. Tevis, James Tillison, Will- 
iam H. Thompson, James Tracewell, Lafayette Walker, Samuel Wells, 
Buckner C. Whitlow, Milton ^L Wilson, James Kimber, Wesley Wilder, 
James H. Wooley, Albert Woofers, John F. Wolverton and Thomas J. 
Wood. Recruits. Thomas J. Stevens, Samuel Scott and Charles W. 
Woodard. 

The commissioned officers of Comijany H. are here given: Captains, 
William H. Tyner, Ouartus C. Moore, George W. Pye, James H. Burke 
and John L. Hice ; first lieutenants. Ouartus C. Moore, George C. Pye, 
James H. Burke, John L. Hice and Augustus H. Tevis ; second lieutenants, 
George W. Pye, James H. Burke, John L. Hice and Augustus H. Tevis. 
The non-commissioned officers were: First sergeant, James H. Burke; 
sergeants, John S. Douglas, Levi Smith, Benjamin D. Fowler and John L. 
Hice; corporals, Augustus H. Tevis, Joel M. Proctor. John N. Jones, John 
J. Paul, John M. Roop, David B. Sutton and Joseph W. Garrison; 
musicians, Isaac J. Tyner and James J. Cunningham; wagoner, ^lilton G. 
Moor. 

The [jrivates were Noah L. Brunton. \Villiam H. Burk, Newton Burk, 
William Baldwin, James Buck, Squire H. Cowen, Harrison Cowen. John 
Cowen, Benjamin F. Clark. Edward Davis, Samuel Dickson, James C. Day, 
David Douglas, Benjamin L. Demoss, Henry Day, Barton N. Dailey, 
George C. W. Diggs, Stephen Enos, Robert Ewbanks, William S. Ford, 
Thomas S. Ford, James P. Ferguson, Pliram Fredinburg, Alfred Fry, 
Samuel Harper, Lewis M. Hunter, John Hoter, Jacob A. Hutchinson. John 
Hunter, Daniel Harry, William Homsher, William Harrell, John S. Har- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 435 

rell, Jolin A. Johnston, William Laforge, Martin Moor, Francis F. Mc- 
Cracken, Samuel Miller. Richard Martin, William R. Murray, James 
Miller, Samuel M. McClure, James T. Mitchell, Anderson Owen, Warren 
Patrick, Elisha G. Patrick, James Patrick, James Pettit, James W. Peak, 
Absalom Robbins, Harrison Robbins, Anderson Rutherford, David Stone- 
cypher, Nathaniel Shattuck, Theodore L. Stout, James R. Scott, William 
G. Shafer, Thomas W. Shera. Benjamin Starrett, Thomas A. Shirk, Zemry 
Shaw, Henry J. Steward, Martin J. Snook, William A. Thompson, Andrew 
Waggoner, Samuel Williams, Alfred Watson, John D. Woodall, John C. 
Wimmer, Robert Whittaker, Isaac Yauger. Recruits, Benjamin T. Den- 
ham, James B. Denham and James \Vard. 

On the evening of Saturday, October 19, 1861, the regiment marched 
through Lawrenceljurg and took boats down the ri\-er to Louisville, where 
they arrived the next morning. After spending a few weeks there in a drill, 
it moved on to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and from thence to Bacon Greek, 
Kentucky, where they spent the months of December and January. Early in 
February it moved against Bowling Green, Kentucky, and on the Confed- 
erates' retreat from that town, proceeded to Nashxille, Tennessee, and went 
into camp. From there they proceeded by easy marches to Huntsville, 
Alabama. From there they went to the rescue of the Eighteenth Ohio at 
Athens, Alabama, and then returned again to Fayettesville and from there 
proceeded to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Thirty-seventh first saw heavy 
fighting in the battle of Stone's Ri\er on December 31, 1862, where its losses 
were severe. It was then detailed to guard Murfreesboro and from there 
started on the Tullahoma campaign. Aliout the last of August, 1863, a for- 
ward movement was ordered and the Thirty-Se\'enth took part in the Chick- 
amauga campaign, with its great battle at Chickamauga. No campaign or 
battle of the Civil War did greater honor to the fighting cpiality of the 
Northern soldier, or accomplished more for the crushing of the rebellion 
than the battle of Chickamauga. When they arrived at Chickamauga on 
the morning of the 22nd of September, the}' went into camp and ])repared for 
the siege of that place. During this siege they nearly starved, li\'ing on corn, 
cowtails and acorns. But Chattanooga fell and early in May, 1864, the 
Atlanta campaign was ushered in. In this the Thirty-seventh did its part 
in helping to push the Confederate forces back to Buzzard Roost, to Rocky 
Face and on to Resaca. From there it moved forward to Calhoun, was 
present at the battle of Pumpkinvine Creek and helped Sherman take Atlanta. 

As the regiment had been mustered into the service on the i8th day of 
September, 1861, it was ordered on that day in 1864 to report at Indianapolis 



436 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

as early as possible. On the Kjtli it reported from Atlanta on a train com- 
posed mostly of stock and platform cars. They arrived in Indianapolis on 
the 2jnd, and on October _'7th were paiil off and mustered out of service. 

SI.XTY-EIGHTIl REGIMENT. 

The Sixty-eighth Regiment was recruited in the fourth congressional 
district under Benjamin C. Shaw. It was organized at Greensburg by Shaw, 
who later liecame lieutenant-colonel nf tlie regiment. It was mustered into 
the service on August 19, 1862, at Indianapolis, with E. A. King as colonel. 
It was taken to Louisville and shortly afterwards was captured at the battle 
of Mumfordville, Kentuck}-. It was paroled and sent to Indianapolis to 
await exchange. On Decemljer 26, iS(')2. part of the regiment went to 
Louisville, where it was joined on the last day of the year by the remainder 
of the regiment. It was then taken to Alurfreesboro, Tennessee, and until 
after the fall of Kno.x\'ilIe it was fighting in that state. It was in the three 
big battles of Hoover's Gap, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. At the 
Iiattle of Chickamauga the regiment lost one hundred and thirty-five, killed, 
wounded and missing, out of a total of three liundred and fifty-six men and 
officers. This frightful casualty list was due to the fact that it was one of 
the last to leave the field. On August 14, 1864, the regiment went to Dalton, 
Georgia, and for the next three months was fighting in Georgia, Alabama 
and Tennessee, returning to the latter state in time to take part in the battle 
of Nashville, on December 15. 1864. It stayed at Nashville until the second 
week in January and was then taken ti5 Chattanooga, where it did guard 
duty from January to June. It was mustered out of the service at Nash- 
ville, June 20, 1865. 

SEVENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT. 

Decatur county had more men in the Seventy-sixth Regiment of Indiana 
Volunteer Infantry than in any other regiment, having furnished five full 
companies, as well as several commissioned officers in addition. This regi- 
ment was probably organized on shorter notice than any other, with the 
exception of those which went to the front in the spring of 1861. 1die 
Reliels were threatening to cross the Ohio river into Kentucky during the 
summer of 1862 and when a band of thirt_\- actually crossed the river into 
Warrick county, the \\liole state of Indiana was aroused as it has never 
been lie fore or since. They plundered Newburg, in Warrick county, and 
the frightened inhabitants of the southern part of the state were in a state 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



437 



of terror, not knowing, of course, Init that a larger force was making ready 
to make a descent on the state. 

It was this incident wliich led to the organization of the Seventy-sixth 
Regiment. Colonel Ga\in. of Greensburg, who was home on a furlough at 
the time, telegraphed Governor Morton on Frida}-, July 18, 1862, tendering 
his services and three hundred men to drive these "bushwhackers'' out of 
that region. A fa\-orable reply was received at eleven-thirty that night and 
the city was aroused and enlistments began at once. By nine a. m. the next 
da}- two hundred and fifty men were ready, but lack of transportation made 
it necessary to wait until afternoon, when five hundred left for the capital, 
having been raised in eighteen hours. This shows the temper of the times. 
Decatur county had alread\- sent three companies in the Seventh, one in the 
Thirty-seventh, Rigby's battery, and others in other commands, amounting 
to probably five hundred men in the service when these "minute men" 
responded so nobly. When the}- reached Indianapolis, men from other parts 
of the state joined them and formed the Seventy-sixth Indiana Regiment. 
This was one of the most exciting times during the whole w-ar. At three 
P. M., Sunday they left Indianapolis for Evansville, where they arrived on 
Monday. They crossed the ri\er and marched eighteen miles to near Peters- 
burg, Kentucky, in the hottest of weather. Many of the raw troops were 
o\-ercome with heat. After scouring the country south of Henderson for 
three da}s. they were unable to find any considerable force — they having 
taken wings to other parts. On July 24 Lieut. Robert Braden was killed by 
bushwhackers while riding w^ith Colonel Gavin, Doctor Worz and Delos 
Thompson. Colonel Gavin was shot through the left hand. On August r 
the regiment was ordered from Henderson to Morganfield, where a force of 
.eight hundred was reported, but when they got there the enemv had fiown. 

The officers of the Seventy-sixth Regiment were as follows : Colonel, 
James Gavin; lieutenant-colonel, John T. Wilder; major, D. W. Elliott; 
adjutant, Irvin Robbins; surgeon, J. T. Duffield; cjuartermaster, S. A. 
Bonner. 

The five companies from Decatur county ^vere officered as follows : 

Company B — Captain, Robert Higgins ; first lieutenant, W. L. Alvea ; 
second lieutenant, \\'. AI. Fletcher ; orderly, J. B. \\'right. 

Company C — Captain, Luther Donnell : first lieutenant, Hugh Weston; 
second lieutenant, B. H. Harney ; orderly, I. N. Shirk. 

Company D — Captain. Charles T. Bell ; first lieutenant, John H. Braden ; 
second lieutenant, John H. Kirby ; orderly, \\'illiam Caldwell. 



438 DECATUK COUNTY, INDIANA. 

CoiiijHiiiy E — Captain. T. 11. lintlcr: first lieutenant, \\'illiani .Marsh; 
second lieutenant, William AlaiKllove; orderly, Robert Inilay. 

Comf'aiiy F — Captain, Benjamin Jenkins; first lieutenant, Peter Wal- 
ker; second lieutenant, William Smith; orderly, j. McLean. 

I hit little has been written aljnut the Seventy-si.xth Regiment. Some of 
the men \\ho saw lonj^er and more difficult service have spoken lightly of 
the "gallant Seventy-sixth." and yet it did a good job in clearing the Ken- 
luek\- woods ol the ])esti I'erous guerrillas, murderers and outlaws who preyed 
u])oii the people. Ihev captured a number of them and scared the others 
away. Many of the officers and men in the Seventy-sixth had seen service 
in other commands, and if it had been necessary the regiment could ha\e ])ut 
u]) a bard fight, e\en if the\- were hastily gathered together and the majoritv 
of them without training. History offers a word of praise for them. 

The body of Lieutenant Braden was brought back to his home near 
Milford by John H. Braden and Joseph 1). Pleak, and on Sunday, July 29, 
the funeral was held in the presence of one of the largest audiences ever seen 
ill that loralitw The burial was in charge of the Masons. 

ONE HUNDRED .'VND TWENTV-TIIIRD REGIMENT. 

The One lluiuhed and Twenty-thirtl Regiment was recruited from the 
fourth ami seventh congressional districts and rendezvoused at Greensburg 
during the winter of 1863-64. It was mustered into the service on March 9. 
1864, with John C. McOuiston as colonel. On March 18 the regiment left 
for Nashxille, Tennessee, and shortly afterward was ordered to join Sherman 
in his attack on Atlanta, .\fter remaining with Sherman for most of the 
summer in (leorgia. the regiment returned to Tennessee in pursuit of Hood 
and i)articipated in the battle of Nashville, December 15-16, 1864. Within 
a few weeks it was taken to \\'ashington, D. C., en route to Fort Anderson, 
North Carolina, where it remained through bV'bruary and .March, iS()3. It 
w.is then taken to Newbern and later through the central ])art of the state 
until it joined Sherman at Goldsboro. It was eventually mustered out, 
.August 25, 1865, at Raleigh, North Carolina, autl left for Indianapolis on the 
same da\-, arrixing there September 4. 

ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT. 

The One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment was mustered in at 
Indianapolis, May 25, 1864, with James Gavin as colonel. It spent its short 
time at the front doing garrison and guard iluty in Tennessee. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 439 

> 

ONE HUNDRED AND FOKTV-SIXTII REGIMENT. 

The One Hiiiulred and l-'orty-sixth Regiment was recruited in the first, 
third and f<inrth congressional districts and mustered into the .service at 
Indianapohs on March 9, 1865. witli Merit C, Welsh as colonel. It was sent 
to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and during its hundred days at the front was 
engaged in guard and post duty at Charlestown, \Vinchester, .Stevenson Sta- 
tion, Gordan Sprnigs and Summit Point, Virginia. It was nnistered out 
at Baltimore, August 31, 1865, and arrived at Indianapolis on Septemher 8. 
It engaged in no fighting of consecjuence and returned with the thirty-two 
officers and seven hundred and seventy-one men with which it went into the 
field. 

DECATUR COUNTY AND MORGAN's RAID. 

The long-e.xpected invasion nf Indiana by the Rebels i.iccurrcd in fuly, 
1863, and for a few days the wildest and most exciting times of the whole 
war took place as far as Indiana was concerned. The men in tlie state were 
in the harvest fields, but, as one man, they rose to defend their state. Satur- 
day. Sunday and Monday, July 11, u and 13, 1863, are three memorable 
days in the history of Indiana, for it was then that Morgan with his band 
of freebooters was riding through sflutheastern part of the state. It is 
supposed that he intended to get as far north as Indianapolis, liberate the 
Rebel prisoners there, devastate the city, and gather as much booty as his 
men could carry away with them. He had counted on help from the mem- 
bers of the Knights of the Golden Circle, but, as far as is known, he received 
absolutely no aid whatever from them. A few of Morgan's men were in the 
southern part of Decatur countw l>ut no s])ecific acts of depredation can be 
charged to them. They had too little time to do any mischief. The Grccns- 
burg Standard, in its issue of July ig, 1863, has a graphic accmmt of the 
raid as it affected Decatur county, and the same is here gi\-en in full : 

"Sunday and Monday (July 12 and 13) last, our city appeared more 
like a military camp than anything else. Companies had gone from here 
upon the reception of the first news of the invasion below, but not until 
Saturday night did we suppose Morgan intended making so extensive a trip 
as he had projected. 

"At that time we learned of his moving farther north and east, threat- 
ening the counties south of here. The people were aroused, and preparations 
for defense commenced. Sunday seemed like no Sunday at all, but certainly 



44" DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

like no other day we had ever seen. Arms of all sorts were gathered up 
and conii:)anies organized. 

"Men came in from the count}', singly and in squads, mostly mounted, 
but coming anyway to get here. About half past two Colonel Gavin's regi- 
ment of militia, including the companies from this county, arri\'ed from 
Indianapolis and were met at the depot by vast crowds of people and large 
(juaiuities of provisions. 

"They remained until nearly four o'clock, when they left for Lawrence- 
burg, or where\'er their services were needed. About two hours afterward. 
Colonel Shryock's regiment from Wayne and adjacent counties arrived. In 
this regiment Judge Gooding and a brother-in-law of General Burnside were 
"high privates." They expected for a time to remain here o\'er night, 
but about nine o'clock got news that hurried them on, it being reported that 
the advance regiment had been skirmishing- with the enemy about Sunman, 
twenty-three miles distant on the railroad. A battery also passed thrcjugh 
in the night. 

"In the meantime, people came into town from all directions, with all 
sorts of weapons. Scouts were sent out in every direction and pickets were 
stationed on all roads. News came in and rumors of all sorts were cir- 
culated. During all this time almost everybody appeared cool, though there 
were some exceptions. 

"Monday's operations were a repetition of those of the previous day, 
only on a larger scale. Men continued to come in and new companies were 
organized, though quite a number of men appeared to rely upon bushwhack- 
ing on their own account. 

"Business was totall\' suspended and the stores remained closed. Toward 
evening reliable news came that the rebels had crossed the railroad about 
twenty-five miles laelow and were pushing into Ohio. Many at once started 
for home, but a large number remained until night and some till morning. 
At this time the treasurer's office was stored full of provisions of all sorts, 
enough to feed ten regiiuents at least. Another alarm was given Monday 
night, but it was soon discredited, and by Tuesday business commenced 
again." 

The first company left Greensburg on Friday morning, ha\'ing been 
recruited in about ten hours' time. The officers were : Irvin Rolibins, cap- 
tain; James S. McPheeters, first lieutenant: G. M. Hamilton, second lieu- 
tenant; James Alexander, orderly sergeant, and O. B. Scobey, company 
clerk. 

The regiment organized here was known as the One Hundred and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 44I 

Fourth Indiana. There were six such regiments in the state, beginning with 
the One Hundred and Second. They were known as "minute men" and 
were to serve ten days. The One Hundred and Fourth was organized July 
10, and after Iieing- taken to Sunman the following day, and from there, in 
Lawrenceburg, it marched toward Harrison, but gave up the chase and 
returned home July i8th and was mustered out. 

Six of the companies were from Decatur count)-. The officers were 
as follows: Colonel, James Gavin; lieutenant-colonel, James S. Buchanan; 
major, M. \V. Richardson; adjutant, A. G. Armington; quartermaster, W. 
S. Woodfill ; surgeon, Dr. L. C. Thomas ; assistants, Dr. James McLain and 
Dr. John Wheeldon; sergeant-major, James S. Halsey; quartennaster-ser- 
geant, John M. Tucker; commissary sergeant, Rufus Hinkley. 

Company A — Rush county, captain, Franklin F. Swain, Milroy. 

Company B — Captain, Charles T. Bell, St. Omer; first lieutenant, Isaac 
Seright ; second lieutenant, James A. Rankin. 

Company C — Captain, Luther Donnell, Kingston; first lieutenant, G. 
B. Roszell ; second lieutenant, A. F. McCoy. 

Company D — Captain, Hugh Weston, Newpoint; first lieutenant, Adam 
Sample ; second heutenant, O. T. Briggs. 

Company E — Captain, W. T. Marsh, Milford; first lieutenant, A. J. 
Hungate ; second lieutenant, R. C. Benson. 

Company F — Captain, W. A. Donnell, Clarksburg; first lieutenant, 
James F. Smith ; second lieutenant, Edward Speer. 

Company G — Madison county. 

Company H — Captain, Irvin Robbins ; first lieutenant, James S. Mc- 
Pheeters ; second lieutenant, G. M. Hamilton. 

Company I — Marion county. 

Company K — Fa}'ette county, captain, J. P. Orr, Benton\ille. 

A WAR-TIME CONVENTION. 

Proi:)al)ly the biggest political gathering held at Greensburg during the 
war was a union county convention held February 2\. 1S63. Samuel Bryan 
presided and J. J. Hazelrigg acted as secretary. Speakers were United States 
Senator Joseph H. Wright, Senator Brown, of Delaware county, and Dr. 
Ryland T. Brown, of Indianapolis. Resolutions adopted called for vigorous 
prosecution of the war and denounced all schemes for a compromise as 
treasonable. 

Senator Wright declared that leff^ Davis could not justifv his cause as a 



442 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

revolt against tyranny, as n(.)t one single right belonging to any state had 
been taken away from it. l-'nr this reason, he said there were no gronnds 
for secession and rebellion and no wrongs to redress. 

"This war was brought on by designing men thirsting for power,"' he 
said. "If the right of secession is established, our government is gone and 
we w ill have nothing left but anarchy and ruin." 

.Vt the conclusion of the meeting the following county central commit- 
tee was appointed: Washington township, B. H. Harney, J- V. Woodfill 
and Charles Hazelrigg; Fugit township, L. A. Donnell ; Clinton township, 
Charles Kemble ; Adams township, Charles Woodward ; Clay township, W. 
S. Tillson ; Jackson township, Columbus Trimble ; Sand Creek township, 
\\'illiam McCullough: Marion township, G. \Y. Patrick, and Salt Creek 
township, James j\Iorgan. 

.\ CI\'II.-W.\R RIOT IN GREENSBURG. 

In the latter part of i8'6j and the early part of 1863 there began to be 
organized in Decatur county, as well as in other counties in the state, groups 
of men who were opposed to the further prosecution of the war. So pro- 
nounced and rebellious were their views of the way the war was being 
conducted that they often came into conflict with the military author- 
ities. The first general organization of these men was known as 
the Knights of the Golden Circle: later they were known as the 
American Knights : still later they denominated themselves the Sons of Lib- 
ertv. While many good men were led to join them, it is doubtful whether 
more than a mere handful, comparatively speaking, ever knew the extent 
of their secret designs. The leaders of the Knights of the Golden Circle 
in 1863 claimed to have forty thousand members in Indiana, and before the 
end of the war this number must have reached nearly seventy-five thousand. 
Locally, they were known as "Butternuts" and "Copperheads" and the loyal 
Union men hated them worse than they did the Rebels. In the spring of 
1863 the memliers began wearing butternut emblems openly and defying 
public sentiment in such a way as to invite trouble. If the}- were looking- 
for trouble they had no difficulty in finding it and numerous personal 
encounters were staged between the wearers of the hated emblem and the 
loyal Union men. 

Greensburg witnessed a riot on Saturday, April 25, 1863, on which day 
there was a great political rally in the county seat. Hundreds of peo- 
ple were in town on that eventful day and very many of them had 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 443 

on butternut emblems. It could hartlly liave been expected that the day 
would pass \\ithout some violence and it seems that the "Butternuts" were 
courting troulile. And they found it. Before the day was over numerous 
shots were fired, fist fights were engaged in on every corner and more e.xcite- 
ment prevailed around the public s(|uare than Greensburg has ever seen 
before or since. The Greensburg Standard tells the story in its issue of the 
week following and as it was an eyewitness of the fracas, its account is given 
verbatim, as illustrati\'e at least of the style of discussion then indulged in by 
the newspapers, as follows : 

"The day had been extensively advertised amon.g those who opposed the 
war, and great speakers were here to criticise the government and influence 
the already e.xcited minds of the 'Butternuts' and 'Copperheads,' as they were 
called. United States Senator Thomas Hendricks. Judge Joseph E. Mc- 
Donald, Attorney-General Oscar B. Hord and Judge R. D. Logan, men of 
commanding ability, were here and spoke in the court house to an immense 
audience of men, many of whom came from distant parts of the county and 
adjoining counties armed and looking for trouble. They had boasted that 
they would 'take the town.' One delegation of eighty horsemen from Sand- 
creek, Jackson and Clay townships met at the Goddarcl school house and 
drilled for an hour before marching into town. Many of them were armed 
and wore butternut emblems. They rode into town and around the square 
just before noon. This was the only demonstration of the forenoon. 

"The first outbreak was about noon, when a man l)y the name of Finlev, 
wearing a butternut pin, challenged a Union man to take it ofi^, feeling that 
he had such strong backing that no one would dare attempt it. \\'hen the 
dust had cleared away Finley and 'his brother were badly used up and Ca]5tain 
Robbins was knocked down, but not seriouslv injured. The air was full of 
rocks, and things looked bad for a while. 

"The speaking was at one o'clock. Capt. J. Y . BemusdafTer, formerly 
a Union soldier, presided. Hendricks* spoke for an hour. McDonald fol- 
lowed. Both these men counseled against violence and adxised the men to 
obey the laws, but make their protests at the ballot liox. It remained for 
Judge Logan to fan the flame, and he did it successfully. His speech was 
highly inflammatory. He exhorted his hearers to preserve their God-given 
rights and not l)e trampled on. The war has degenerated into an aljolition 
raid. Hord followed Logan, attacking Governor Morton for squandering 
the people's money, etc. The meeting disjiersed quietly about three-thirtv, 
and about a half hour later the riot l^egan on the south side of the square, 
near the southwest corner. One Jesse Mvers, who was intoxicated, fired a 



444 DECATUR COUNTY, IXDIAXA. 

pistol at Sergeant John Pierce, of W'ilder's battery, who was here on detaclied 
duty. ]\Iyers was arrested and taken to the office of Squire Bryan, on the 
south side, where the crowd congregated. 

"About this time one Allen G. Robbins hred a rexolver at some one in 
the crowd and ran. He was l)ur^ued Iw Sergeant fierce. Deputy City 
Alarshal ]\lan Zorger and others, at whom he fired back three times. Rob- 
bins was shot in the thigh, and ran into Will Pound's law office, three doors 
east of tl:e southwest corner of the square, where Zorger disarmed him. As 
Zorger turned around with Robbins's revolver, he found a re\olver pointed 
in his face by S. H. Logan. Some one, said to be Joe Drake, knocked 
Logan's arm up and he was shot in the abdomen. 

"This closed the performance, and those of the Copperheads who were 
able to get out of town were soon making rapid advances toward home." 

It seems that Judge Logan should bear most of the blame for the trouble, 
since it was his inflammatory speech which stirred things up. Those who 
are still living tell how the cavalry brigade from "Jagneck" and "Sand 
Creek" made a most ludicrous get-away when the tide turned against them. 
Some jumped on their horses at the court house rack and forgot to untie 
them in their excitement. Others crawled on their horses backwards and 
groped blindly toward the tails of their faithful steeds in a \ain effort to get 
hold of the reins of their Ijridles. Some never took the trouble to find their 
horses, but took to their heels in the direction of the tallest woods. Looking 
at the performance from a distance of fifty-two years, it looks like it must 
ha\e indeed been an exciting day. 

SOME civil. WAR STATISTICS. 

Decatur county furnished twenty-six companies of infantry and one 
battery, making in all about twenty-five hundred men. Deducting those who 
enlisted twice or more, it would appear that the county sent at least two 
thousand men to the front during the dark days of the Rebellion. 

Fifty-eight men from the count}' were killed on the battlefield, dis- 
tributed among the different regiments as follows: Seventh, twenty- four; 
Thirty-se\enth, eleven: Sixty-eighth, seven: Fifty-second, three: One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-third, nine. Six men of the Fifty-second were frozen to 
death on the cold Xew Year's day, 1864. Twenty-two died of wounds 
received in the service; twenty-two died in prison; one hundred and forty- 
Line died of diseases; two were drowned — making a total casualty list of 
two hundred and fiftv-one. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 445 

During the progress of tlie war the comity Cdiiimissioners were aiitlmr- 
ized to offer bounties for enlistments and by the end of the struggle the 
county had expended one hundred seventy-one thousand six hundred dollars 
for this purpose. Some of the townships also oft'ered bounties for enlist- 
ments and tlie_\- cxpendeil twenty-li\-e thousand dollars along the same line. 

RELIEF FOR SOLDIERS' FAMILIES. 

A\'ithin the first week after the men went t(.) Indianapolis a subscription 
list was started for the support of soldiers' families. Amounts ranging from 
five to one hundred dollars, with a total of three thousand six hundred and 
seventy-five dollars, was raised in three days. The folhjwing subscribed 
one hundred dollars each to this fund: AI. D. Ross, B. H. Harney, J- F- 
Stevens, W. H. Reed, G. Woodfill & Sons, E. and L. P. Lathrop, T. M. 
Hamilton, Samuel Bryan, A. R. h'orsyth, David Lo\ett, D. and J. Stewart, 
J. P. Hittle, R. A. Hamilton, L. A. Donnell. J. S. Scoljey and John Ander- 
son. Our citizens deserve no small amount of credit for the liberal manner 
in which they contributed to the volunteers that went from this place. 
Besides the amount subscribed for the support of their families while the\' 
were gone, each one was furnished with a new blanket and two check shirts 
and four hundred dollars placed in the hands of the captains of the com- 
panies to be used to promote the comfort of the companies. All must 
acknowledge that Decatur did her whole duty. 

A relief committee, organized to look after the welfare of the soldiers' 
families, secured an order from the county commissioners that the county 
would pay a sum equal to that raised by pri^•ate sufiscription. This made the 
sum double $3,678, or $7,356, all of which was a\'ailable within the first week 
after the soldiers went to Indianapolis. B. H. Harney was secretary of the 
relief committee and A. R. Forsyth was treasurer. 

Because some advantages had been taken of the county commissioners 
in the matter of relief for soldiers' families, it was decided to discontinue this 
method of supplying relief and put the work in the hands of township 
trustees. This was done nine months after the war started, up to which 
time the sum of $7,777.89 had been paid out 1)\' the county commissioners. 

The county commissioners ]:)assed an order. August 14, 1861, for the 
relief of soldiers' families. Barton H. Harney, who hail been appointed 
chairman of the relief committee in April, was continued as such to look 
after Washington township. Commissioner John bloody was assigned Fugit 



446 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and Salt Creek townships, Daniel Beyer, Clinton, Adams and Clay and Wren 
Jackson, Sandcreek and Marion. 

As the war progressed it was found that a large number of the families 
were in need uf the necessities of life and provisions were made to take care 
of them liy the county at large as well as by the individual townships. Tiie 
county issued orders for relief to the amount of $128,582 and the townships 
spent Sjo.ogg more for the same purposes. Greensburg alone paid bounties 
to the amount of $6,000 and relief to the amount of $8,686. Besides these 
specific amounts paid out by the county, townships and the city of Greens- 
burg, the county and the city expended $1,500 and $40,000, respectively, for 
miscellaneous purposes. The grand total for the whole county, including 
the townships and city of Greensljurg, amounted to $401,863. 

A statement by the adjutant-general of the state on October 6, 1862, 
for Decatur county, discloses the followdng: Total men of military age, 
2,884; total \olunteers, 1.353: total exempts, 432; total opposed to bearing 
arms, i ; total \olunteers in service, 888; total subject to draft, 2,451. Under 
the call for troops made February 7, March 4 and July 18, 1864, Decatur 
county furnished 1,012 men and filled its quota with the exception of two — 
one from Marion and one from Jackson township. Under the last call of 
I^ecember 19, 1864, the county furnished 173 men, a surplus of 16 above its 
quota. 

DECATUR COUNTY OFFICERS IN THE CIVIL WAR. 

Decatur county furnished about twent_\ -five hundred men for service 
during the Civil War and, because of gallantr\' on the battlefield, a number 
of them rose from the ranks and became commissioned officers. The list 
follows : 

COLONELS. 

James (ia\'in, Seventh Regiment, November 3, 1861 ; Seventy-sixth 
Regiment, July 25, 1862; One Hundred Tliirty-fuurth Ivegiment, ]\la_\^ 20, 
1864. 

John T. Wilder, Se\enteenth Regiment, March 21, 1862; breveted 
brigadier-general, March, 1863; resigned, October 5, 1864. 

T. H. Butler, Fifth Cavalry, September 2, 1862. 

I. G. Grover. Se\'enth Regiment, .\]5ril 2T,. 1863: breveted brigadier-gen- 
eral, July 5, 1863. 

John S. Scobey, Sixty-eighth Regiment, September 21, 1863. 

W. C. Lemert, liightv-sixth Ohio, June, 1862. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. , 447 

John C. McQuiston, One Hundred and Twenty-third Regiment, Marcli 
7, 1864; hreveted hrigadier-generah March 13, 1865. 

Lemert was from Greenshurg and first enlisted as first hcutenant in Com- 
pany G, Seventh Indiana. He was promoted to the captaincy of his com- 
pany on December 20, 1861, and resigned his commission on June 3, 1862, 
to become the colonel of the lughty-sixth Ohio Regiment. 

MISCELLANEOUS OFFICERS. 

Ir\in Ixobbins, major, Se\enth Regiment; lieutenant-colonel, Sixty- 
eighth Regiment ; adjutant. Seventy-sixth Regiment. 

Thomas P. Spilman, major, One Hundred and Forty-sixth I^egiment. 

W. T. Strickland, major. Fifty-second Regiment. 

\\'. B. Harvey, adjutant, Thirt_v-seventh Regiment. 

Livingston Howard, adjutant. Thirty-seventh Regiment. 

D. C. Walters, adjutant and lieutenant-colonel, One Hundred and 
Thirty- fourth Regiment. 

A. J. Hungate, adjutant, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment. 

Dr. J. Y. Hitt. surgeon. Seventeenth Regiment. 

Dr. G. W. H. Kemper, surgeon, Seventeenth Regiment. 

Rev. David Monfort, chaplain. Sixty-eighth Regiment. 

Rev. D. R. Van Buskirk, chaplain. One Hundred and Thirty-fourth 
Regiment. 

Will Cumback, offered the lieutenant-colonelcy of Thirteenth Regiment, 
but declined it and took the rank of colonel, as paymaster in the army. 

DECATUR county's ROLL OF HONOR. 

No military histor}' of Decatur county would be complete without a 
complete list of its brave sons that ofifered up their lives on the altar of 
freedom that this nation might live. The following statistics show by regi- 
ment those who were killed in action, died of wounds, in prison or of disease. 

seventh infantry. 

Company D. 

Killed in action : Lieut. Robert Braden, by guerillas near Henderson, 
Kentucky, .\ugust. 1862, buried in Milford cemetery; Henry Bartee at Win- 
chester, March 2^^, 1862, Winchester cemetery; Asa Chapman, at Spottsyl- 
vania. May 12, 1864, Frederickslnirg cemetery; James C. Kellv. at Port 



448 . DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Rcpuljlic. June 9, 1862, bndy not recovered; Will S. Owens, at Spottsyl- 
vania. May 12, 1864, Fredericksbnrg national cemetery; Samuel Thornburg, 
in Wilderness, May 5, 1864, body not recovered; Joab Shirk, at Port Repub- 
lic, June 9, 1864, body not recovered. 

Died of wounds: John McCian, June 12, 1862, wounded at Port 
Republic and buried there; John .\. Small, at Spottsylvania, May 14. 1864. 
Fredericksburg national cemetery. 

Died in jjrison ; Will Clendeuning. captured in Wilderness, died in 
Florence, Alabama, prison gra\e }ard ; Isaac Higgs, captured on secret expe- 
dition, died at Wilmington, Xorth Carolina. May 8, 1S64, prison graveyard; 
George W. Johnson, captured in Wilderness, died in southern prison; George 
W. Shirk, captured in Wilderness, died in Florence, Alabama, prison, Flor- 
ence national cemetery. 

Died of disease ; Sergt. Francis M. Wadkins, at Elkwater, November 
2, 1861, buried there; Evan Armstrong, at Waynesburg, August 14, 1864, 
Waynesburg cemetery ; iMatthias Davis, at Cumberland. Maryland, March 
15, 1862, Cumberland cemetery; John S. Gibberson, at Elkwater, November 
9, 1861, buried there; John S. Lowry, near Milford, December 14, 1861, 
Dowry cemetery; Lsaac \^'. Pavy, at Culpeper, Virginia, Febrtiary 29, 1864, 
Culpeper cemetery; Will Smith, at Washington city, No\ember 17, 1863, 
Arlington cemetery; Sanuiel G. Wasson, at Elkwater, November 20, 1861. 
Inu'ied there; Prince Wimmer, at Strasburg, Virginia, April 12, 1862, buried 
there. 

Wounded, not fatall_\- ; Sergt. Anderson Griffey, at Petersburg, mus- 
teretl out with regiment; Pilgrim Cox. at Port Republic, discharged 
August 9, 1862; Andrew F. Flannigan, at Port Repulilic, discharged, dis- 
ability; William W'. Newton, at Petersburg, mustered out with the regiment; 
Thomas Mount, in Wilderness, mustered t)ut with the regiment; Isaiah 
Shafer, at Port Republic, discharged September 16, 1862; Andrew F. Simp- 
.son, in Wilderness, mustered out with the regiment; Lewis Striker, at Port 
Repu])lic, discharged, ilisability; Moses Sawyer, at IManassas Plains, dis- 
charged December 29, 1862; William Toothman. in W'ilderness, mustered 
out with the regiment; Joseph H. Voiles, at Cedar ^lountain, discharged, 
disability; Andrew J. AMieeler, in Wilderness, mustered out with the regi- 
ment; John W. Wolverton, at Port Republic, discharged h'ebruary 26, 1863. 

Co)iipaiiy E. 

Killed in action; Capt. George P. Clayton, in Wilderness, Ma}- 7. 1864, 
body not recovered; George W'. Michael, at Port Republic, June 9. 1862, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 449 

body not recovered; John Tlieodore, at Uniontown, Xovenilier, 1861 ; Albert 
M. \''orris. in Wilderness, May 5, 1864, body not recovered; James \V. 
Young, at Laurel Hill, May 8, 1864, Fredericksburg national cemetery. 

Died of wounds: George W. Meek, August i, 1864. at Petersburg, on 
battlefield. 

Died in prison : Daniel \Y . .\nderson, captured in Wilderness, died in 
Anderson\'iIle prison, date not known, .\nders(.)nville national cemetery; Uriah 
H. Barcla}-, captured in Wilderness, died in Andersonville prison, date not 
known, Andersonville national cemetery ; John W. Foster, captured in 
Wilderness, died in Anderson\-ille [prison, date not known, Anderson\'ille 
national cemetery: Peter L. Hamilton, captured at Weldon railroad, died in 
Anderson\'ille prison, September 6. 1S64. Anderson\-ille national cemetery; 
John H. Horn, ca])tured at \\'eldon railroad, died in Anderson\'ille prison, 
Februar}' 2. 1865, Andersonville national cemetery; Amzi T. Demaree, cap- 
tured in Wilderness, died in southern prison ; Samuel Level, captured in 
^^'ilderness, died in Andersonville prison, date not known, Andersonville 
national cemetery; John Treniain, captured in Wilderness, died in Salisbury, 
Xorth Carolina, prison, November 11, 1864, Salisbury national cemetery. 

Died of disease: Sergt. Joseph N. Self, at Elkwater, December 6, 
i8'6i, South Park cemetery; John W. Campbell at Cumberland, Maryland, 
December 15, 1861, Cumberland cemetery; Amos G. Connor, at Grafton, 
West Virginia, January 9, 1862, South Park cemetery; Robert W. Christian, 
at Phillipi, December 8, 1861, South Park cemetery; Nathan F. Fiscus, at 
Cumberland, February 2, 1862, Cumberland cemetery; James M. Huffman, 
at Cumberland. April 2, 1862. CumberlantI cemetery; John W. Lo\'e, at 
Knoxville, Maryland, December 10, 1862, South Park cemeterv; James 
!\IcGrew, at Cumlierland, February 2, 1862, Cumberland cemetery; William 
Orders, at Cumberland. Feliruary 2, 1862, Cumberland cemetery; George 
Rolan, at Cumberland, January 3. 1862, Cumberland cemetery; John H. 
Sefton. at Cumberland, February 5, 1862, Shiloh cemetery. Clinton town- 
ship; Calvin C. Sisco. at Greensburg, March, 1862, South Park cemetery: 
Lafayette Sparks, at Cumberland, May 27, 1862, Cumberland cemetery; 
Hinkey Zook, at Fairfax, \'irginia, 1862, Arlington National cemetery. 

Wounded, not fatally : Dyar C. Elder, in Wilderness, arm and shoulder, 
mustered out with the regiment; Mortimer Burtch, accidental, discharged 
March 15, 1863: William L. Ford, in U'ilderness, knee joint, mustered out 
with regiment: Da\id Heifner, at North Anna river, mustered out with 
regiment : Ezra L. Lee. at Petersburg, mustered out with regiment ; George 
(29) 



450 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Miller, at Port l\ei)ul)lic, discharged January i ", 1863; Matthew R. Porter, 
at Winchester, mustered out with rci^dnient : Perry S. Treinain, at Weldon 
railroad, in knee, discharged October 20, 1863. 

Company G. 

Killed in action : Sergt. David B. Gageliy, at North Anna river. May 
25, 1864, buried on field; Joseph Beetem, at Petersljurg, June 18, 1864, 
buried on field I Benjamin Higdon, at Yellow House, August 21, 1864, buried 
on held; James Higdon, at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1864, T^redericksburg 
cemetery; Charles Jones in Wilderness, ]\Iay 5, 1864, body not recovered; 
Thomas McLaughlin, in Wilderness, May 5, 1864, body not reco\'ered; 
Daniel J. AlcCoy, in Wilderness, INlay 5, 1864, body not recox'ered ; John 
Patterson, at ]\Ianassas TMains, August 29, 1862, Arlington national ceme- 
tery; William T. Kyland, at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, body not recovered; 
McCowan H. Smith, in Wilderness, May 5, 1863, body not recovered. 

Died of wounds; John X. Hann, wounded at South Mountain, died in 
hospital at Fredericksburg, Maryland, buried in .Antietam national cemeter_\- ; 
Sydney \\. Griswold, wounded at Winchester, died at Was]hngt<in city June 
22, 1862, Arlington national cemetery. 

Died in prison ; Sergt. Orion W. Donnell, captured at A'ellow House, 
August 19. 1864, died at Salisbury, North Carolina, prison, November 14, 
1864, Arlingt(jn national cemetery: Bazil (\. Boyce, captured at Yellow 
House, .\ugust 19, 1864, died in Salisbury prison, October 28', 1864, Salis- 
bury national cemetery ; Newton J. Land, ca]:)tured at Yellow House, August 
19, 1864, died in Salisbury prison, January 13, 1865, Salisbury national ceme- 
tery; George M. Burk, cajitured at Weldon railroad, died in southern prison, 
date not reported : William Paul, captured at Yellow House, died in Ander- 
sonville prison, date not reported, .Vndersonville national cemetery. 

Died of disease : Corp. John J. Robbins, at Elkwater, November 4, 
1861, buried there; Moses Coen, at Cumberland, January- 31, 1862, Cumber- 
land cemetery ; Charles S. Bailey, where and when, n<jt known ; William T. 
Kerrick, at W'ashington city. May 15, 1863, .\rlington cemetery: James H. 
Kerrick, at Wheeling, West \'irginia, February 10, 1862, Wheeling ceme- 
tery.; George Hamily, at Fairfax, Virginia, June 18, 1862, Arlington national 
cemetery; John Lewis, at Elkwater, Decemljer 2, 1861, buried there; Will- 
iam Wick Lewis, at Philadelphia, 1865, buried in Mt. Carmel cemetery: 
George Wise, at Beverly, West Virginia, September 2y. 1861, Beverly ceme- 
tery; Benjamin F. Worth, at Beverly, December 21, 1861, Beverly cemetery. 

Wounded, not fatally; George Brickler, at Cathett's Station, in breast. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 45 1 

discharged January 6, 1862: James Gaynor. at \Vinchester, veteranized in 
1864: George M. Meek, in Wilderness through breast, mustered out with 
regiment: James R. Cox, lost arm at Manassas Plains, August 29, 1862; 
William H. Perry, in mouth, in Wilderness, mustered out with regiment; 
Milo Robertson, in foot, at Gettysburg, mustered out with regiment; Henry 
Reddington, lost arm at Winchester, June 18, 1863, discharged, disability; 
John C. Roster, in leg, in Wilderness, mustered out with regiment; James M. 
Springer, through breast, in Wilderness, mustered out with regiment; Henry 
Thomson, through breast, at \\'inchester, lost leg in Wilderness, mustered 
out with regiment : ^^'illiam Walker, in leg at Fort Ro_\'al, mustered out with 
the regiment. 

GREENSBURG BAND. 

Died: George W. Rhiver, at Greensburg, April 21, 1862: \\'illiam H. 
Crist, at Cumberland, Maryland, February 12, 1862, Cumberland cemetery; 
John H. Howard, at Flk water, December 6, 1861, South Park cemetery. 

THIRTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY. 

Company E. 

Killed in action : James E. Conner, at Elkins liridge. near Athens. 
Georgia, May 9. 1862, buried in field; Robert F. Heaton. at same place and 
date, Adams cemetery: James Jordon, same place and date, on field: John F. 
Morgan, same place and date, on field; Alfred C. Scull, same place and date, 
on field. 

Died of wounds: Capt. Frank Hughes, February 2, 1862, Brownsville 
cemetery ; Sergt. Willa A. Raynes, at Elizabethville, Kentucky, December 20, 
1861, Vienna cemeterv. Rush county; Martin Brooks, at Macon, Georgia, 
August 20, 1862, Macon national cemetery: Nicholas A. Butler, at \\'ash- 
ington city. October 20, 1862. Arlington national cemetery; Will Deem, at 
Bacon Creek, February 15, 1862, South Park cemetery; Charles Hogan, at 
Adams, October 19, 1862, Adams cemetery; Jacob Maharry, at Murfrees- 
boro, Tennessee, April i, 1862. Murfreesboro national cemeterv: Joseph A. 
Markes, at Elizabethtown, December 18, 1861, Elizabethtown national ceme- 
ter}- ; Will Richey, at Chattanooga, August 10, 1864; Reuben Smawlev, at 
Bacon Creek, February 2, 1S62, South Park cemetery; John B. Stagsdill, cap- 
tured, died at Macon. October 14, 1864, Macon cemeten,-; Thomas S. Te\-is, 
at Charlotte, Xorth Carolina, October 12. 1862, Charlotte cemetery; James 
Whim]ier. at Bacon Creek, December 30, 1861, on field; James Trackwell, at 



452 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIAN.-i.. 

Elizabethtown, December lo, 1861, near C\ntliiana, Rush count}': Albert 
^\'ocJtnes, at Bacon Creek. January 9, 1863, on field. 

Wounded, not fatally : Capt. Mahlon C. Connett, seven wounds at 
Elkins bridge, May 9, 1862, resigned February 26, 1863: Marion Garrett, at 
Elkins bridge. May 9, 1862, through breast, discharged January 27, 1863; 
James A. Hanger, at Elkins bridge. May 9, 1862, deserted f-'ebruary 19, 
1863: James Tillison, at Elkins bridge. May 9, 1862, discharged August i, 
1862; Buckner C. Whitlow, at Elkins bridge. May 9, 1862, August i, 1862; 
John v. \\'olverton, at Elkins bridge, May 9, 1862, transferred to reorganized 
Thirt_\--se\-enth. 

Company H. 

Killed in action: Sergt. Joel M. Proctor, at Pumpkinvine Creek, 
Georgia, May 27, 1864, Marietta national cemetery: John S. Plall, at Stone's 
River, December 31, 1862, Stone's River national cemetery: William R. 
Murrav, at Stone's River, December 31, 1862, Stone's River national ceme- 
tery; James W. Pleak. at Dallas, Georgia, ^lay 2j, 1864, Marietta national 
cemeterv: Harrison I^obbins. at Stone's River, December 31, 1862, Stone's 
River national cemetery; Samuel \\'illiam, at Stone's River, December 31, 
1862, Stone's Ri\er national cemetery. 

Died of wounds. Capt. James H. Burk, at Pumpkinvine Creek, 
Georgia, [uly 9, 1864, Burk's Chapel; Sergt. Benjamin L. Demoss, at Chat- 
tanooga, May 10, 1862, Chattanooga national cemetery; James L. Buck, died 
at Nashville, January 10, 1862, Nashville national cemetery; Alfred \\'atson, 
at Nashville, July 24, 1864, Nashville national cemetery. 

Died of di.seases: William li. Burk, at Louisville, July, 1863, Eouis- 
ville cemetery; Sergt. John Jones, at Bowling Green, Kentucky, INIarch 14, 
1862, Bowling Green national cemetery; Corp. John J. Paul, at Jackson, 
Tennessee, March 5, 1862. Bowling Green national cemetery; George C. W. 
Diggs, at Bowling Green, March 2, 1862, Bowling Green national cemetery; 
Henrv Day, at Murfreesboro, March 12, i8r)3, :\Iurfreesboro national ceme- 
tery; Hiram Fredenburg, at Evans\illc, November 4, 1863, Evansville ceme- 
tery; Jacob A. Hutchinson, at Murfreesboro, February 11, 1863, IMurfrees- 
boro national cemetery ; William Laforge, at Camp Jefferson. Kentucky, 
January S. 1862, Camp Jefferson cemetery: Elisha G. Patrick, at Huntsville, 
July 13, 1862, Patrick's cemetery, Clay township: James R. Scott, at Nash- 
ville, October 9, 1862, Nashville national cemetery: Thomas \\\ Shera, at 
Stone's River, May 4, 1863, Mt. Olive cemetery, near Alert: Zemri Shaw, at 
Murfreesboro, April 14, 1863, ]\Iurfreesboro national cemetery. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ^eo 

Wounded, not fatally: Sergt. Cyrus A. Jackson, at Pumpkinvine 
Creek, discharged January 9, 1863; Corp. John M. Roop, at Stone's River, 
discharged February 9, 1863: Francis F. IMcCracken, at Stone's River, dis- 
charged March 2, 1S63; John L. Hice, at Stone's River, mustered out with 
the regiment ; William G. Sharp, at Stone's River, mustered out with regi- 
ment; David Stone Cypher, discharged June 6, 1862; William A. Thompson, 
discharged October 24, 1863. 

Company K. 

Corp. James H. Rankin, killed at Peachtree Creek, Georgia, July 2, 
1864, Spring Hill cemetery; William W. Hamily, died of disease at Louis- 
ville, June 8, 1863, Louis\ille cemetery. 

FIFTY-SECOND REGIMENT. 

Company B. 

Frozen to death: Capt. Edwin Alexander, at Island No. 10, December 
31, 1863, buried in South Park cemetery; David W. Dean, at Island No. 10, 
same date, at Fort Pillow; William M. Falconbury, at Island No. 10, same 
date, South Park cemetery; George W. Havelin, at Island No. 10, same, 
date, at Fort Havlin; William Tyler, at Island No. 10, same date, at Fort 
Pillow; George W. Wilson, at Island No. 10, same date, at Fort Pillow. 

Killed in action : Joshua Barnes, at Fort Blakely, Alabama, April 4,, 
1863, on field; John Pettit, at Durkams\'ille, Tennessee, September 2, 1862, 
on field; Joseph Regan, at Fort Donelson, February 15, 1862, on field. 

Died of wounds: Edward Roe, June 25, 1864, received at CoUinsville, 
Tennessee. 

Died of disease; Perry S. Brisbain, at St. Louis, April 2, 1862, St., 
Louis cemetery; Francis A. Barton, at St. Louis, October 6, 1864, St. Louis, 
cemetery; John Frost, at St. Louis, May 12, 1862, St. Louis; Martin Louthan, 
April 16, 1862, place not reported; Timothy Moore, at Murfreesboro, Janu-. 
ary 12, 1865, Murfreesboro national cemetery; Alfred Madden, at St. Louisj 
June 5, 1862, St. Louis; Jeremiah Morgan, at St. Louis. December 20, 1862, 
St. Louis cemetery; Ferrill Roark, at Memphis, October 2, 1862, St. Louis, 
cemetery; James Rupel, drowned, March 7, 1864, where, not reported; SylT 
vester Yoder, at Scipio, July 23, 1862, Scipio cemetery. 

Wounded, not fatally: James Alexander, discharged August i, 1862;, 
John Milholland, Sr., discharged October 29, 1862; William H. O'Donnell, 
discharged March 7, 1862. 



454 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Company C. 
Francis Corwin. August 3, 1863, not reported where. 

Company F. 

Horatio May, at Andersonville, Indiana, December 28, 1862, Anderson- 
ville cemetery; William H. Thompson, at .\ndersonville. May 5, 1862, Ander- 
sonville cemetery. 

SIXTY-EIGHTH INFANTRY. 

Killed in actiijn : William Griffin, Company D, at Chickamauga, Septem- 
ber 19, 1863, Chickamauga national cemetery; George G. Hankins, 1, at 
Chickamauga, September 19, 1863, Chickamauga national cemetery; John 
W. Gilmore, I, missing and supposed killed at Missionary Ridge; Solomon 
H. Patrick, I, at Chickamauga, September 19, 1863; William P. Suttin, at 
Chickamauga, September 19, 1863, Chickamauga national cemetery; h'rank- 
lin T. Showalter, I, at University, Tennessee, August 9, 1863; John P. 
Shumm, I, at Nashville, April 20, 1863, Nashville national cemetery. 

Died of disease: Samuel Hone, A, at Andersonville prison, July 14, 
1864, Anderson\ille national cemetery; Joseph H. Gantt, A, at Murfreesboro, 
April 15, 1864, Murfreesboro national cemetery; John H. Burns, A, cap- 
tured and died in Richmond prison, February 19, 1864; John T. Becraft, F, 
at Nashville, March 3,' 1863, Nashville national cemetery; Thomas Clenden- 
ning, 1, at Nashville, ^larch 4, 1864, Nashville cemetery; George C. Dement, 
A, at Xewpoint, December 14, 1864, Rossburg cemetery; Andrew J. Gil- 
more, I, in field, Tennessee, July 20, 1865 ; George W. Higgs, I, at University, 
Tennessee, August 8, 1863; Thomas Hooten, A, at Pennington Farm, Tenn- 
essee, July 20 1865; Samuel Hise, A, in Andersonville prison, July 14, 1864; 
Walter S. Lange, D, at Murfreesboro, May 19, 1862; Joseph L. Nelan, A, 
at Louisville, September 28, 1863; John W. Stafford, I, in Andersonville 
prison, June 25, 1864; William Shera, I, at Nashville, July 8, 1863, Nash- 
ville national cemetery; John F. Thompson, I, at Cowan, Tennessee, August 
15, 1863; James Wynn, I, at Nashvi'lle, March 26, 1863, Nashville national 
cemeterv; Robert Woodward, A, at Nashville, June 16, 1864, Nashville 
national cemetery. 

SEVENTY-SI.XTII REGIMENT. 

Lieut. Robert Braden was detailed to Company D. Seventh Indiana 
Lifantrv, and James M. I-'ierce was drowned at Cannelton, Indiana, July 26, 
1862. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 4:^5 

EIGHTY-THIRD REGIMENT. 

Company E. 

Lieut. Benjamin Bridges, killed at Viekshurg, December 28, 1862; Lieut. 
Darius M. Dodd, died at Memphis, October 2, 1863, Memphis national ceme- 
tery; William R. Lanius, died JaHuary 19, 1863; Oliver P. Andrews, at 
Momid City, Illinois, January 27, 1863; Huston J. Craig, at Young's Point. 
Louisiana, March 2, 1863; Matthew D. Evans, at St., Louis, March 29, 1863, 
St. Louis cemetery; Samuel Higgs, on hospital boat, January 21,, 1863; 
James Harrell, at St. Louis, January i, 1863, St. Louis cemetery; John W. 
Kelly, at Memphis, Novemlier 13, 1863, Memphis national cemetery; John 
M. Long, at St. Louis, May 14, 1863, St. Louis cemetery; Charles Lindsev, 
Company L at Cairo, Illinois, March 18, 1863. 

NINETIETH REGIMENT FIFTH C.\V.\LRV. 

Company H. 

John G. Aldridge, at Baltimore. Maryland, June i, 1864; Alfred .\ustin, 
in Andersonville prison, Xovember 2j, 1864; John G. Shew, at Lexington, 
Kentucky, March 19, 1863; William F. Sumpter, at Florence, South Caro- 
lina, February 9, 1865. 

GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC. 

The Grand .\rmy of the lvepul)lic has had si.x posts in Decatur count}', 
at Greensburg, Newpoint, St. Paul, Westport, Clarksburg and Sardina, but 
only two of these, Greensburg and Westport, are now active. Death is fast 
claiming the old veterans and Greensburg Post now has only seventy-si.x 
meml)ers out of a total mcnil)ership of over five hundred which it has 
enrolled during its career. 

"Pap" Thomas Post No. 5 was established at Greensburg, July 2, 1879. 
This was Ijefore the Grand Army of the Republic had a state organization 
in Indiana and the local post was organized by Col. E. R. Chamberlain 
under the auspices of the Illinois department of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. As a matter of fact, the Green.sburg Post claims to be the oldest 
in Indiana and should be No. i instead of No. 5. Thirty-five members 
were mustered in as charter memliers, and the following officers were elected 
on the initiator)' night; Captain commander, Dr. John L. Wooden; senior 
vice-commander, M. D. Tackett; junior vice-commander, C. W. Harvey; 
qiiartermaster, J. F. Childs; surgeon. Dr. Samuel Maguire; chaplain. Rev. 



456 DECATUR COUXTY, INDIANA. 

B. F. Cavins; officer of the day, G. H. Dunn; officer of the guard, A. J. 
Smith; adjutant, W. W. Dixon; quartermaster-sergeant, J. I\I. Stevens; 
sergeant-major, Allen Withrow. 

The names of the members are taken from the official records of the 
post in the order in which they appear : John F. Childs, Conrad Ehrhardt, 
George Higgs, John AI. Stevens, Stephen Miller, Jacob Tice, L. H. Mar- 
shall, James Leggett, S. F. Rigby, E. Anderson, B. F. Cavens, George San- 
ders, John W. Sanders, William Bruner, Thomas T. Brown, D. C. Elder, 
J. X. W'allingford, Daniel Davis, L. Worcester, Thomas Mozingo, John 
Kirby, James B. Carter, Josiah Crume, H. H. Talbott. Samuel Light, B. T. 
Black, J. W. Lanham, James B. White, B. M. Ricketts, Aquilla Edwards, 
Frank M. Dowden, Henry B. Carter, Lewis Fortune, Charles Barton, George 
W. Hightower, John F. Wolverton, John E. Rhiver, James H. Gallup, Will 
Cumback, James W. Purvis, John Beeson, Giles E. White, George A. Bower, 
John Pierce, Samuel Wimmer, William S. Johnston, Henry C. Snell, J. N. 
Adams, John A. Meek, John H. Brown, George W. Buffington, Hanibald 
H. Burns, Henry Leswig, B. F. Wells, Perry S. Freeman, S. F. Hearn. 
Robert W. Snyder, John W. Terhune, ^Martin \'. Bruner, Angus F. McCoy, 
William C. Dodd, Richard Braden, J. F. Kersey, George H. McKee, Will- 
iam Bruner, Jeremiah Evans, William L. ]\liller, William Footman, James 
Fortune, Jasper Maple, E. A. McWilliams, R. C. Hall, J. \\'. Garrison, 
Michael Grow, Samuel McCrory, James M. Hall, William Ma_\nard, A. B. 
Armington, Jolm Moulton, Richard Baker, Charles H. Little, Samuel L. 
Keeley, James Clemens, John J. Nesbit, John \\'. \\niipple, L^a Tanner, 
William Dwyer, Solomon K. Ames, Peter H. Huber, ]\Iilton S. Siling, W. 
H. A'andever, Jerry B. Forbes, James F. Stewart, A. S. Creath, Majenca 
Oldham, William A. Doles, John Tucker, I^ewis Graham, James H. Al_\'ea, 
Jackson S. Riley, Andrew J. Terrell, James I. Gageby, Van B. Straight, 
David A. Da\idson, Allen G. Bates, William H. Montgomery, William S. 
Ketcham, Henry Jones, David A. Tucker, Robert Miller, Jackson Isgrigg, 
David Short, James Endicott, John B. Hardeback, James R. Nicely, C. 
Anderson, John W. Stevens, James W. Fiscus, Taylor Meek, John W. 
Stout, Thomas Freel, R. Christian, H. H. Montgomery, John Foley, J. H. 
Kersey, Lewis J. LafYorge, William Harrell, Erastus S. Bussell, J. C. Bar- 
nard, Ezekiel Horstle}-, William Kennedy, G. ^^^ Brown, W. A. Dryden, 
B. D. Fowler, James McConnell, Frank S. Soper, Henry Thomson, Marion 
Fiscus, E. F. Herrick, Bernard Muller. W. F. Bird, Thomas Doles, Zephe- 
miah Lawrence, William Conquest, O. D. Martin, Elisha Chance, Matthias 
Herr, John R. Snook. James Kennedy, Robert H. Evans, E. K. Pond, N. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 457 

M. Higgins, W. H. Sedrick, Richard Literal, W. R. Elder, A. D. Reeves, 
James H. Pavy, James M. Berry, George Griffitts, F. W. Sisco. Isaac W. 
White, Alexander Ralston. John Suttles, Charles I. Ainsworth, Daniel Hig- 
don. J. W. Burney, W. H. Jussey, Myr(jn S. Harding, Merritt Dorsey, John 
Welsh, J. T. Applegate, W. D. Dailey, W. L. Hasbrouck, James H. Weeks, 
Jared S. Ryker, George W. Alorgan, W. H. Walters. Robert Tillman. John 
C. Riley, Brumfield Turner, Jesse Jones, Squire Hittle, Paul R. Stage, Alfred 
M. Hooten. Josiah Savage, Samuel Barbour, Milton G. Moore, Lafayette 
Dillman, John H. Weaver, George N. Vanostram, John T. Glass, M. C. Welch, 
Edward E. Rouse, Joseph Drake, Moses Knox, John H. Alcorn, William M. 
Miller. Felix Gartin, B. F. Cooksey, David Bruner. John Jones. John T. 
Hazen, Frank Rahe, John Coy, George S. Dickey, J. F. Osting, Absolom 
Robbins, William Jones, William S. Smith, Jasper Cobb, O. C. Elder, George 
Durk, Barney Murray, George \Vayner, William F. Marsh, Francis M. 
Kinney. James H. Conley, Robert B. Whiteman, J. W. Stivers, R. G. 
Adams, F. C. Eddleman, T. S. Hughes, R. H. Evans, J. S. Christy, James 
H. Cox. Jesse Miller. Charles Fromer, J. H. Kirkpatrick, Hugh D. Galla- 
gher. J. H. St. John, John T. Sturgis, Thomas Edmeads. Henry W. Vogle. 
W. H. Binning, Matthew R. Porter, James B. Conover, Benjamin Ketcham, 
Milton G. Alyea, Nottingham Bradljurn. B. F. McCoy, Samuel L. Ander- 
son, Francis M. Crumes, Lewis A. Sturgis, J. B. F. Reed. John W. Ta^'lor, 
Theodore Miller, W. A. Craig, William J. McClain, John Hunter, William 
N. Moberly, Joshua F. Cox, Thomas H. Kennedy, W. N. Rozzell, Judson 
Hays, James M. Hiner, Samuel F. Applegate, Charles B. Johnson, Daniel 
Miller, Spencer Clemmons, Thomas Hughes, Thomas Kratt, A. E. Hirsh- 
field, John S. Marsh, T. B. Peery, Charles Smith, William McCune, R. D. 
Black, Henry Duncan, W. A. Lawson, James M. McCoimell. Samuel 
Scott, James S. Elliott, Benjamin Ketcham. Isaac D. W'aits, Charles W. 
W^iley, Harry H. Dowden, W. H. Snodgrass, James P. Long, Reuben 
Smalley, Noah Moody, R. F. Thomas. James G. Adkins, ]\Ioses Butcher, 
John Mullenix, D. W. Sanders, Joseph W. Hubbell, Oliver Perry Ennis, 
John F. Hinman, John Ehrhard, Samuel Brown, James L. Powner, Jacob 
L. Doll, Elihu Tooley, Samuel Jones, Edmund A. Trusler, Hugh Brison, 
E. D. Smith, Eli Hase, I. G. Wolverton, James C. Bell, George C. Conk. 
George \Y. Mowrer. James Leggitt. W. M. McKay, H. F. W^itter, W^ J. 
Crisler, Isadore Strawback, Joseph F. W^ainwright, A. P. Bone, John Ran- 
kin, Daniel Coy, James W^elch, W^ S. Haycock, Ephriam Ashcraft, Edmond 
\l. Garten, J. M. Tobias, Orlando Hood, Monroe Marsh, A. G. Fisher, Will- 



458 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

iam R. Withers, John \Y. Boyd, Samuel Bruner, W. P. \V}-nkoop, William 
Douglass, J. J. Hazelrigg, G. B. Fleming, C. C. Ennis and James A. Wilson. 
The present officers of "Pap" Thomas Post are as follows : W. \V. 
Dixon, post commander: H. C. Snell, senior vice-commander; Benjamin 
Ketcham, junior vice-commander; O. C. Elder, chaplain; Samuel H. Stew- 
art, surgeon; J. F. Childs, adjutant; A. S. Creath, quartermaster; J. S. 
Short, quartermaster-sergeant; Jasper Cohb, sergeant-major; J. N. Annis, 
officer of the day; Reuben Smalley, officer of the guard; A. Murphy, patriot 
instructor. It should be mentioneil that the post has one living member, 
Reuben Smalley, who wears a medal of honor conferred upon liim I)}' 
Congress for distinguished liravery in the siege of Mcksburg. Air. Smalley 
enlisted from Ripley count}-, Init has lived most of his life since the war 
in Decatur county. He is the only living soldier in the county with such a 
medal and one of the very few in the United States who has been a recipient 
of official recognition on the part of Congress. One other Ripley county 
volunteer, and a later resident of Decatur county to receive this coveted 
honor was the late Jacob Overturf, 

THK G. A. R. CANNON. 

On May 19, 1897, the local Grand Army of the Republic post received 
a thirty-two-pound cannon, which was donated by the government. It was 
shipped to Greensburg from Portsmouth, Maine, and the post had to pay 
the freight charges of thirty-one dollars. It now stands in South Park 
cemetery and is flanked by the tifty thirty-two-pound balls which came with 
it. Major M. D. Tackett and Capt. Silas F. Rigby had charge of the plac- 
ing of the cannon at its present location. 

THE woman's relief CORPS. 

The cause which led to the organization of the Woman's Relief Corps 
can be traced back to the hrst battlefield of the great Rebellion. The 
work of American women in the great conflict for the preservation of the 
Union was. that of relief upon the field of battle, and in the hospital; 
relief for the wi\es and children of those at the front; relief for the widows 
and orphans of those who never returned. 

The Grand Army of the Republic was organizetl 1)\' the "boys in blue" 
soon after the close of the war, to perpetuate the principles of fraternity, 
charity and loyalty, and to relie\e the wants of their needy comrades. It 
soon became evident they needed the assistance which only loyal patriotic 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



459 



women coiiltl give. In response to tliis demand, many societies were formed 
under various names; 1iut it was not imtil July, 1883, hv invitation of Paul 
Vandervoort, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, that 
representatives of societies from sixteen states met with the national encamp- 
ment in Denver, and perfected a national organization to i)e known as the 
National Woman's Relief Corps, which was at once adopted by the encamp- 
ment as the auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic. From this little 
band of fifty-six members, the membership is now more than one hundred 
and sixty thousand. 

The objects of the Woman's Relief Corps are to assist the Grand Armv 
of the Republic in caring for the Union veteran and his dependent ones; to 
perpetuate the memory of their heroic dead, and to inculcate lessons of 




i^J^uxiliaryfethe 




patriotism and love of country among the children and in the communities 
in which they live. 

Patriotic teaching in the i)ul)lic schools was adopted in 1893. lliou- 
sands of flags. Declaration of Independence charts, oliographs of the origin 
and history of the Stars and Stripes, patriotic primers, flag drills and salutes 
have been presented the schools ; one thousand primers and five hundred 
oleographs were sent to the commissioner oi education in San Juan, Porto 
Rico, for distribution in their schools; one thousand primers and five hun- 
dred oleographs to Honolulu ; five hundred primers and two hundred and 
fifty oleographs, with hundreds of flags, to the schools in the South. Flags 
and patriotic literature have also been sent the schools of Panama and New 
Mexico. 

From the organization to Alarch 31, 1914, $4,428,064 have been 
expended for relief and Memorial day in the South. 



460 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

"Pap" Thomas Corps No. 113 was instituted at Greensburg, May 21, 
1888, with twenty-seven members, by Miss India Hackleman, assisted by 
Mrs. Een Smith, Mrs. Mary Conover, Mrs. Lon S. Havens and Mrs. J. B. 
Reeve, all of Rushville. The charter members were, Joanna Elder, Clara 
Creath, Louisa M. Bone, Ella Hightower, \>rsie Bell, Ella Straisinger, 
Jane Stage, ]\Iary L. Hearne, Elizabeth Leswing, Martha J. Alyea, Stella 
Alyea, Catharine Jones, Rose Bruner, Matilda Davis, Margaret Johnson, 
Flora B. Theis, Mellie D. Drake, Louisa V. Knox, Martha E. Garrison, 
Mar\- W. Scobey, Ella Childs. Eliza J. Crisler, Cyrena White, Margaret 
Trusler, Margaret Conquest, Alice M. Dowden and Lottie M. Ehrhardt. 
Of this number, eighteen are living, nine have been called home, and seven 
have withdrawn. 

Our blessed Lord framei! a nieniorial to perpetuate His own meniury 
throughout all time when He said, "This do in remembrance of me." And 
when, in 1868. Gen. John A. Logan, then commander-in-chief of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, designated the 30th day of May for the purpose of 
"strewing with ti(.)wers the graves of those who dieil in defense of their 
country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every 
city, village and hamlet cburch-_\-ard in the land," he builded for himself and 
them a memorial which will never disappear from American history. 

And, Ijelieving it fitting that the living should also be remembered, in 
1890 the blower Mission was introduced, and like the mustard seed it has 
flourished, its Ijranches reaching almost three thousand corps. By it, many 
darkened homes and sad hearts have been made brighter. 

"For who so careth for the flowers, 
Will nnich more care for Him." 

During the past year "Pap"' Thomas Corps has expended for flowers 
for sick comrades and funerals, $65.85. 

Fifty-one orphans have been placed in the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' 
Home at Knightstown, where they have every advantage of the children of 
well-to-do parents. .\ number of them now occupy positions of honor 
and trust. 

Six hundred and ninety (kjllars have been spent for relief, and nine 
hundred antl flfty dollars in necessaries for relief. Each year ten dol- 
lars is turned over to the post, and five dollars for ^Memorial day in the 
South and for the Christmas fund. 

The Greensburg schools have the ])roud distinction of being the first 
to adopt patriotic teaching as introduced by the Woman's Relief Corps. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 461 

Two large flags, ten by twenty feet in size, have Ijcen fnrnishcd city 
schools : one hundred patriotic primers, and one hundred oleographs of the 
origin and history of the Stars and Stripes, with flag drills and patriotic 
selections, have been presented the teachers of Decatur county; and Dec- 
laration of Independence charts furnished each school in Washington 
township. 

Through the Woman's Relief Corps, a law was enacted by the Indiana 
Assembly in 191 1, by which every school in Indiana may be provided with 
a flag, if the teacher asks for it. 

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. 

The Daughters of the American Revolution was organized on October 
II, 1890, in Washington, D. C, with eighteen members. The first presi- 
dent-general was Mrs. Caroline Scott Harrison, wife of Benjamin Harri- 
son, then President of the United States, which position she held at the 
time of her death, October 25, 1902. The late Mrs. Charles W. Fairbanks, 
also of Indiana, held this position from 1901 to 1905. 




The objects of the society are, to perpetuate the memory of the men 
and women who achieved American independence; the protection of histor- 
ical spots and the erection of monuments; the encouragement of historical 
research in relation to the Revolution and the publication of its results; the 
preservation of documents and relics, and of the records of the individual 
services of Revolutionary soldiers and jiatriots, and the promotion of cele- 
brations of all patriotic anniversaries; to carry out the injunction of Wash- 
ington in his farewell address to the American people, "to promote, as an 
object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowl- 
edge," thus developing an enlightened public opinion and affording to young 
and old such advantages as shall develop in them the largest capacity for 
performing the duties of American citizens; to cherish, maintain and extend 
the institutions of American freedom; to foster true patriotism and love of 
counlry, and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 



462 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Any woman is eligible for meniljership who is eighteen years of age, 
and is lineally descended from a patriot, man or woman, who aided in 
establishing American independence. 

On March i, 19 15, one hundred fourteen thousand one hundred and 
sixty-six had l)een admitted to membership. There were one thousand four 
hundred and thirty chapters in the United States, and one each in Culja, 
Mexico and the Philippines. 

Memorial Continental Hall, at Washington, D. C, erected b}- the Daugh- 
ters of the American Re\'olution, at a cost of m(.)re than ti\-e hundred thousand 
dollars, is the only such buikling erected by women, and was built by volun- 
tary contributions, the chapters of Indiana contributing almost ten thou- 
sand dollars. It is of Vermont marble and in design and general appear- 
ance is a copy of the classic buildings of our Revolutionary period. The 
corner stone was laid on April 19. 1904, under the auspices of the Alasonic 
fraternity ; the gavel used was the one with which George \\'ashington laid 
the corner stone of the national capitol in 1793. In this building all docu- 
ments and records of the society are preserved, also priceless relics of the 
past. It is furnished throughout with magnificent old-time furniture and 
rare paintings, the gifts of chapters and indi\iduals. The continental con- 
gress of the national society is held in this l.)uilding. 

Lone Tree Chapter Xo. 743 was organized in Greensburg by the state 
regent, Mrs. William Guthrie, April 6, 1907, with the following charter 
members: Mrs. ]\Iary jM. Tarkington Alexander, Mrs. Lida Montgomery 
Cobb, Mrs. Elizabeth Montgomery Craig, Mrs. Emma A. Donnell, Mrs. 
Eliza McNabb Eddleman, Mrs. Maude Kitchin Johnson, Mrs. Ella Robbins 
Kitchin, Mrs. Juliet Spliker Lemon, Mrs. Alice Gray Markland, JNIiss Sarah 
Gageljy Montgomery, Miss Sue M. Montgomery, Miss Rebecca ]\Iontgom- 
ery. Miss Elizabeth Fulton Shirk, ■Mrs. Lizzie \\'oodtil Turner, Mrs. Pearl 
Kitchin Woodfil, Mrs." Eliza Talbott W'olverton, Annetta Wampler Shan- 
non, Mrs. Ensebia Craven Stimson and Mrs. Rose Hendricks Zoller. 

The first officers were Mrs. Ensebia C. Stimson, regent ; Mrs. Lizzie W. 
Turner, vice-regent ; Emma A. Donnell, secretary ; Pearly K. Woodfil, cor- 
responding secretary; Mrs. Eliza T. W'olverton, treasurer; Elizabeth F. 
Shirk, registrar, and Sue M. Montgomery, historian. The past regents are, 
Mrs. Stimson, Mrs. Turner, and Miss Donnell. The present (1915) officers 
and meml)ers are : Mrs. Jessie Riley, regent ; Mrs. Maude Kitchin Johnson, 
vice-regent; Mary \\'olverton, secretary; ]\Irs. Oliver Dickey Gilham, cor- 
responding secretary; Mrs. Irma Cory Douglas, treasurer; Rebecca ]\Iont- 
and Anna L. Riley, historian; Airs. Mary M. Tarking- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 463 

ton Alexander, Mrs. Mabel Kennech- Bainbridge, Sadie Baker, Hasnah Baker, 
Mrs. Elizabeth Gavin Bryan, Mrs. Lida Montgomery Cobb, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Montgomery Craig, Mrs. Eliza J. Stagg Crisler, Emma A. Donnell, Winona 
Crisler Deiwert, Mrs. Mollie Stoner Fogg, Mabel D. Foley, Mrs. Mary 
Spliker Haines, Grace E. Haines, Mrs. Flora Gaines Haas, Gertrude Haas, 
Airs. Ella Robbins Kitchin, Sue M. Montgomery, Mrs. Stella Green Rucker, 
Patience Rucker, Mrs. Etliel Riley Ryan, Mrs. Laura Gates Sefton, Flor- 
ence Sefton, Elizabeth Inilton Shirk, Mrs. Sarilda Robbins Smiley, Mrs. 
Ensebia Craven Stimson, Mrs. Lizzie Woodfil Turner, Pearl A. Williams, 
Mrs. Eliza Talbott Wolverton, Mrs. Pearl Kitchin Woodfil and Mrs. Rose 
Hentlricks Zoller. 

The chapter has lost, by death. Miss Sarah Gageby Montgomery, Mrs. 
Juliet Spilker Lemon, Mrs. Sarah Ann Gageby Montgomery, Mrs. Mary 
Jane Quick Mendenhall, Miss Bessie Craig and Mrs. Amanda Gagebv Sil- 
ing; by withdrawal, Mrs. Eliza AI. Eddleman, Mrs. Alice G. Alarkland and 
]\Irs. Mary Hendee Fradenburgh : Iw transfer, [Mrs. .-Vnna G. Stagg Magill. 

At the last state conference. Miss Emma Donnell was elected state 
vice-regent, an honor well bestowed, and appreciated by the local chapter. 
On July 4, 1908, a large flag was presented to the public library, at which 
time an appropriate program was rendered. Markers have been provided 
for the graves of four Revolutionary soldiers, and ninety dollars contributed 
to the Memorial Continental Hall at Washington, D. C. The Michigan 
road, the most historic in Decatur county, will be marked with a handsome 
boulder bearing a bronze inscription tablet, to be presented to the citv on 
Flag day, June 14, 1916, as Lone Tree Chapter's part in the celebration 
of the anniversary of Indiana's admission into the Union. The committee 
in charge is Pearl A. Williams, Mrs. Eliza J. Crisler and Mrs. Ensebia C. 
Stimson. The jjoulder will adorn the triangular lot at the intersection of 
North Michigan avenue and Ireland street, and will be a lasting tribute 
to the honored pioneers and a spot where the present and future generations 
may pause in reverence to the memory of the sturdy ancestors who opened 
the way to the present advanced civilization. 



CHAPTER XTX. 

GERMANS AND THE GERMAN INFLUENCE. 

An account of the growth and development of Decatur county would 
be incomplete did it not make more than passing mention of the German 
influence that has been exerted there during the past three-quarters of a cen- 
tury. Germans were not the first settlers of the count}'. They were not the pio- 
neers who first wielded the ax and felled the forest trees. Their voice was 
not heard in the formative period of the county, their arri\-al being consid- 
erably later. 

German emigration from the Fatherland started in 1848, after the 
revolution there, and continued until the formation of the empire in 1871. 
In this score of years thousands of strong, self-reliant young men from 
Prussia, Hanover, Bavaria and the other German states poured into the 
United States. Dissatisfied with conditions at home and seeking a more 
perfect freedom, they came to this country intent upon establishing homes 
and remaining here. Local records of tiiese immigrants show that most of 
them remained. 

The Teuton came to the United States with the intention of following 
so far as possiljie the same occupation by whicli he made his livelihood in 
Germany. This was either in agriculture or in liusiness. Thrifty, industrious 
and frugal, all he needed was a chance to establish himself and his success 
w-as assured. 

Decatur county owes much to her German settlers. They came at a 
time when the best lands of the county were under culti\'ation and were 
producing profitable crops. The Germans did not seek this kind of land. 
What the}' wanted was that which could be purchased for a few dollars an 
acre,, land which was generally regarded as almost worthless at that time. 
They made their settlements in ^^larion and adjacent townships, where the 
poor woods-land abounds,. and started in to wrest from stubborn soil a liv- 
ing that would be adequate for their needs. 

A less self-reliant race would have flinched from the undertaking; a 
less competent people would ha\e failed entirely. But they persisted, build- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 465 

ing up the soil as best they could, guarding their slender savings and dili- 
gently striving to increase their stores. Today, a second or third generation 
has replaced many of these immigrants, and, practicing the same thrifty 
precepts inculcated by their sires and grandsires, ha\e made the soil respond 
kindly to their efforts, ha\e reared commodious barns and comfortable 
dwellings and made the one-time barren places resplendent with the yellow 
and gold of harvest time. 

Some who had busied themseh'es in the marts of trade in the F"ather- 
land, sought the city in preference to the rural community, engaged in mer- 
chandising and exchange, and built for themseh'es a reputation for honest 
dealing that is a dominant characteristic of the Teuton's contribvition to 
the great American "melting pot." 

The annals of Decatur county's Gernian-.\mericans are brief. Their 
names appear infrequently in the court docket. They ha\e rarely held or 
sought public office. They have industriously gone their several ways, 
minded their own Inisiness and permitted their neighbors to do the same 
without assistance or hindrance ; ha\-e reared strong sons and daughters and 
prepared them for efficient and useful citizenship. 

From the time Ala.ximillian Schneider laid (lUt the Uiwn of Alillhousen 
and named it Muhlhousen for the ancient niunicipalit\' in .\lsace, German 
influence in Decatur county has been none the less marked because of its 
indirectness. A people that does nothing Ijut set standards of living for 
the emulation of others has done enough. ' 

The roster of these German-American residents of Decatur county is too 
long for indi\idual discussion, but there are a few who may be taken as illus- 
tratixe of the entire list. One of the first among those living might be Louis 
Zoller, vice-president of two financial institutions and a successful Inisiness 
man. Born in Ijaxaria. he worked for a time in Berlin, and then came to 
the United States to try his fortune in this country. He engaged for 
twenty-one years in the butcher business and then became a partner in a 
Greensburg dry goods store. He is now retired from active business pur- 
suits, Init the example of his fine success cannot be altogether lost upon a 
younger generation. 

Barney Zapfe was one of the early settlers at JVIillhousen. He opened 
a store, made that store earn monew invested the money wisely and died 
possessed of a comfortable fortune. Barney Hardabeck — another early 
German-American — bought the first mill built at Millhousen. conducted a 
store and woollen mill and achieved financial independence. Joe and Tnlius 
(30) 



466 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Rothschield, at Mil ford, conducted a store and woollen mill, treated the 
public fairly and honestly, and died wealthy. 

John Johannes, president of the St. Paul Building and Loan Associa- 
tion, started the manufacture of wagons and buggies there upon a small 
scale, worked earl}- and late, and is now possessed of a comfortable financial 
rating. John Puttmann, a leading citizen of Nevvpoint, owning a store and 
stone quarry and other property, started in life with nothing but the desire 
to succeed. George Metz, another Newpoint merchant, is also of Ger- 
man blnod. as is also John Hoff, successful business man of that place, 
Henry Schroeder, Sr., the oldest resident living in Salt Creek township, came 
from Germany to Decatur county, through Louis\-ille. Kentucky, a poor boy, 
and made his wealth by honest toil. 

Jc)hn Zollner and H. Kaby, who together monopolize the bakery busi- 
ness of Greensburg, are German-Americans. Daniel Silberberg, a German 
Jew, who recently died in New York City after accumulating a fortune, 
obtained his start to success in Greensburg. John Weimar came to the 
United States with little more than the shirt he wore upon his liack. He 
became a shoemaker in Greensburg and stuck to his last so consistently 
that when he retired a few years ago he found himself comfortably well-off. 

Charles Zoller was elected county treasurer in 1874. Henry Metz 
became one of the wealthiest farmers in Fugit township and once failed to 
be elected county commissioner by just one vote. Joe Herbert purchased 
the Millhousen ffour-mill from Barney Hardabeck and managed it with suc- 
cess and profit. 

And so the list might be run through its entirety. None of them 
achieved more than local distinction, but none of them fell into disrepute 
at home or abroad. They ran their mills, they garnered their harvests, they 
watched their tills and yet, withal, found plenty of time for recreation and 
for service. 

Decatur county's naturalization records exist only from 1867, when 
German immigration was at high tide and almost ready to subside. Since 
then two hundred and eighty men of foreign birth have been admitted to 
the pri\-ileges and duties of citizenship. Of this number, all but eighty- 
se\'en were born in Germanv. Following is the list complete: 

NATURALIZED CITIZENS. 

1867 — Caspar Menkhans. Germany; Leopold Bahn, Russia; James 
Brehemg, England: Caspar Camm, Switzerland.; Henry Eichgara, Germany; 
John Miller, b'rance; Caspar A'oeka, Germany. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 467 

1868 — Frederick Schroder, Germany; Ignatz Borchard, Germany; 
Henry Winker, Germany; Christopher Horstnian, Germany, Christian H. 
Winker, Jr., Germany; Christian H. Winker, Sr., Germany; Christian 
Horstnian. Germany; WiUiam Temaat, Prussia; Deidrick Hudler, Ger- 
many; George Schever, Germany; WilHam Buch, Prussia; G. Plenry Pott- 
niann, Ciermany; Nicholas Burgurgh, Germany; Henry Brinkmann, Ger- 
many; Henry L. Wynkes, Prussia; John W'ack, Germany; Solomon Ganz, 
Sachsen Weimar; Wendelin Fox, Germany; Henry Shaffer, Germany; 
John Laubanthal, Prussia; Barney Heidemann, Prussia; Henry Shrader, 
Germany ; Hugh Waters, Ireland ; William Rowman, England ; Raymond 
Loarkim, German}-; George Weber, Bavaria; Michael Hannon, Ireland; John 
Hannon, Ireland; Henr\- Macke, German)-; Louis Zoller, Bavaria; John Goed- 
ing, Prussia; Bernard Blenker, Prussia; Luke Moore, Ireland; William Brone, 
Hanover; August Buddemier, Prussia; Chris Mier, Hanover; Charles H. Mil- 
ler, Prussia; Frederick Brenner, Prussia; Frederick Miene, Prussia; Christ 
Chrisler. 

1869 — Michael Zeigler, Germany. 

1870 — Michael Hyland, England; Frederick Shrader. Prussia; Henry 
Heier, Prussia ; George Loslein, Bavaria ; Thomas Adams, England ; George 
Corscadden, Ireland; Henry Stretmier, Germany; George Acheson, Ireland; 
Barney Hoeing, Prussia; William h\ Deisher, Germany; Martin Madden, Ire- 
land ; Bernard Talkenberg, Germany ; Martin Monkendorf , Germany ; Andrew 
Little, England; Louis Schmitt, Bavaria; William Dews, England; Remick 
Wanner, Germany; John Schild. Switzerland; Herman Freising, Hanover; 
Henry Hight, England; Joseph Hollander, Bavaria; Peter Fonseth, Holland. 

1871 — Casper Schnieder,, Germany; Thomas Brannon, Ireland; Bar- 
ney Fritz, Germany ; John G. Theurer, Germany. 

1872 — Henry Schmidt. Germany; Frederick Bauer, Germany; Freder- 
ick Hoffman, Germany ; Daniel Davarn, Ireland ; Philip Borck, Germany ; 
Henry Schrieber, Germany ; Barney Tonyes, Germany ; I^Iichael Connally, 
Ireland ; John Metz, Germany ; Joseph Launderville, England ; Edward Ryan, 
Ireland; John Emmert, Germany; Adam Hartiges. Germany; Jiihn Math- 
ews, Austria; Huber Martin, Austria; Theodorel Frazer, England; Isidor 
Hock, Germany; Anton Ransch, Germany; Oswald, Switzerland; Joseph 
Stier, Germany; John Schroth, Germany; Frank H. Mayer, Germany; John 
F. Waldhans, Germany ; Thomas Smith, England ; William Rinking, Ger- 
many : Nicholas Schroth, Bavaria ; Diedrick Rilmeyer, German}- ; August 
Want, Germany; Frank IT. Holtmeyer, Hanover; Joseph Bouchard, France; 
John Klutz, Germany; Adam Erhart, Germany; Thomas Finn, England; 
William Ensemeier, Germanv; Leoa loly, France; William Brunkhorsh, 



468 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Germany ; Charles I\Ieyer, ( lermaii y ; Joseph Edelstein, Russia ; Charles 
\'o]tz, Germany. 

1874 — James Davis, Ireland: Anton Minster, Germany; William G. 
Gommett, Germany ; William Huddler. I'russia : Louis Hammer, Germany ; 
riiillip Kanarr. (icrinany; John Riley, Ireland: John Evans, Germany: John 
Smith, Sweden : Edward Stolle. Germany ; Frank Sieves, Germany : George 
Stahl, Bavaria ; Charles Grumbelbeck, Germany : L. Joseph Trilling, Prussia : 
^lichael Greibhuhl, France. 

1875 — George \\'endt, Prussia: William II. Wegener, (iermanv. 

1876— Christian G. Alaisch, Germany; Ilenry Scherschligh, Prussia; 
George Bessler, Prussia; Tony Halter, France; Frank Wack, Germany; 
Benjamin Faust, Germany ; George Savaller, Canada ; Edward Roach, Ire- 
land; Rudolph Keller, Germany; Edwin Hillier, England; Sichmund 
Wachtel, Germany; Joseph Hegermann, Germany; John Coney, France; Abton 
Pfeifer, Germany; Peter Haunsz, Germany; Charles Kanarr. Germany; 
\'alentine Goskie, Prussia; Frederick Rentzelmann, Germany; Frank H. 
Meyer, PYance ; JMartin Date, Germany ; I-\'rdinand Pulking. German\- ; 
Edward Phillips, England; William A. Garrett, England; John Hornung, 
Germany; Alichael Clements, Germany; Alfred Maynard, England; Henry 
Fernading, Germany ; Jacob Clementz, France ; Harman Thieman. Ger- 
man)- ; Laurence Hook, German)-; Henry Esan-ian, Prussia. 

1878 — Jone E. Jones, b'.ngland; John Myers. Germany; Reinhold 
Moehleissen, W'urttemberg; James Farrell, England; John Woods, Eng- 
land; Alexander Xeal, Wurttemberg; Joseph Esebett, France; Parks Tem- 
pest, Englantl ; James Fenn. Ireland: (."hristian Thrin. Germany; Henrv 
Link, Germany. 

1880 — Patrick Kearns, Ireland; August Fincmann, Germany; John ]. 
Fauth, German)-; Joseph Bachebele, Germany; John \^^ Kemper. Germany; 
William Kuhn. Germany; John Thomas Hock, Germ;uiy ; Clement F. 
DeCroes, France: Henry M. N'ahlenkamp. (iermany; George Reisenweber. 
Germany; William Haase, Germany; Henry Haase, Germany; Ferdinand 
Kock, Germany. 

1882 — Henry Niemann, Germany; Barney Moormami, Germany; 
Henry Moormann, Germany; Barney Kremer. Germany; (ieorge ]\Iiller. 
Germany: Thomas ^^'oods. Ireland; Signond Harsany. Hungary; Falinten 
Gutting, Germany; John Pohhnan, Holland; John B. Blankmann, Germany; 
\'alentine Bork, Germany; (ieorge Newberry, England: Joseph \\'uger- 
pfenig, Germany. 

1884 — Gottlieb Holzwarth, Germany: Henr\- \\'eis, Germany; Joseph 
Parker, England; ]\Iartin Kelly, England; Jacob Knarr, Germany; Charles 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 469 

Boahnka, Germany; I'atrick Griffin, England; Jolin \V. Melloh, Germany; 
Bvordem lische, Germany ; W'ilhelm Bachmann, Germany ; Henry Dreves, 
Germany ; John Woods, luigland ; Henry Ortman, Germany ; August 
Wucherpfennig, Germany; Rudolph Keller, Germany; Bernard Busche, 
Germany; Frederick O. Mobius, Germany; Frederick Pfeifer, Germany; 
Alfred Fggers. Germany; Christian Link, Germany. 

1886 — John N. Stier, Germany; Michael Darmedy, Ireland; Herman 
Westerfield, Germany; \Villiam W'esterfeld, Germany; Nicholass Hennen- 
fent, -Germany ; Jacob M. F. Henrichs, Germany; Frank H. Vollmer, Ger- 
many; Clamor Seil^ert, Germany; Henry Seibert, Germany; Joseph Herel, 
Germany ; John Zollner, Germany ; Henry Kriger, Germany. 

1888 — John Henry Picker, Germany; Joseph Litman, Germany; Henry 
Thielking, Germany; John Thompson, Scotland; John Ferlan, Germany; 
John Bessler, Germany; Henry Vogel, Germany; Henry W. Cosfoid, Eng- 
land; Louis Holler, Germany; Adam Knerr, Germany. 

1889 — Albert Wucherpfebbig, Germany; Henry P. Welker, Germany. 

1890 — William H. Barthel, Sweden; Christopher Miller, Germany;, 
Henry Rabjahns Lune; luigland; John Sicmer, Germany; John M. Krone., 
Germany. 

1 89 1 — Fred \Veyt, Germany; Barney Hoeing. Prussia. ' 

i8q3 — Andrew Miller, Germany: Joseph Schnoitgoke, Germany; Jacob 
Leyenson, Russia; John Byer, Prussia; Joseph Byer, Prussia; Gustavo Wull- 
schleger, Switzerland ; Philip Thompson, England ; Joseph Moorman, Ger- 
many; John G. Mayor, Germany; John Adams, Germany; Carl Parsch, 
Germany. 

1894 — Nicholas Rosenstengel, Germany; Joseph Lammardauk, Ger- 
many; William G. Haddade, Syria, Asia; Frank Plover. Germany; Jacob 
Bender, Germany ; .-\ugust Price, Germany ; John Geisel, Switzerland ; Clem 
Austing, Germany; Fred .\usting, Germany; John C. Stier, Germany; Mike 
Miser, Russia. 

1896 — Lauvit H. Schelva, Norway; John Schneider, German\- ; Louis 
Levenstein, Russian Poland ; John Gettelenger, Germany. 

1898 — John Kuert, Switzerland; Christian Weimes, Germany- ; .\lbert 
Keen, Germany. 

1900 — James Donohue, Ireland. 

1901 — Frederick Ehrhard, Germany. 

1907 — Sam Levenstein, Russia. 

1909 — Jacob Telles, Austria. 

191 o — Henry Nieman, German3^ 

191 2 — Johan W. Hilland, Sweden. 



CHAPTER XX. 

EARLY ELECTIONS IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

There is no more interesting field to the historian than that of poHtics 
and in no field is it so difficult to arrive at definite conclusions. It is natural 
that newspapers should set forth the virtues of the political party which 
they support and at the same time try to discount any possible merits which 
opposition parties might have. In the early history of our country this fea- 
ture was more pronounced than it is today, although there are still partisan 
papers which would ha\e their readers believe that their particular party 
had a monopoly on all the political wisdom of the country. In the days of 
Jackson, in the thirties and forties, party spirit ran high, and opposition 
papers vied with each other in vitriolic remarks. To the Jackson followers, 
John Ouincy Adams was the acme of aristocracy, the arch enemy of democ- 
racy and a man who hated the common herd. On the other hand, the fol- 
lowers of Adams pictured the old warrior as a Mephistopheles, a demon 
with a fire-brand in each hand and a man who would plunge his country 
into anarchy. Even gentle and unassuming as William Henry Harrison 
was, the Democratic papers made him out as a disciple of the Evil One, a 
man who made a diet of whiskey alone and a weakling who had neither 
brains nor courage. Such, in general, was the condition of politics up to 1840. 

STATE POLITICS (1816-24). 

The first vote for President in Indiana was taken in 1824. In 1816 
and 1820 the Presidential electors had been chosen by the state Legislature. 
There were no clearly defined parties in the state during the eight years 
preceding 1824. All were followers of Jefferson and called themselves 
Republicans. However, no boss ever controlled a state more perfectly than 
did Governor Jennings the young state of Indiana. He lived at Jefl:'erson- 
ville, where he could take advantage of the anti-slavery sentiment and the 
desire of the people to move the capital to the center of 'the state. William 
Hendricks, of Madison, and Senator James Noble, of Brookville, were the 
other members of this earlv triumvirate. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 47X 

It was against these conditions the people of the state rose in rebelHon 
under Jackson — an attempt by the common people to take a hand in the 
government. The leaders tried to liead off the uprising, but were unsuc- 
cessful. Clay had a strong following in all parts of the state. It was 
thought the people could agree on him. Admirers of Clay got together and 
put an electoral ticket in the field. 

In the meantime the reputation of Jackson was rapidly spreading. His 
services in the Revolution, in the Creek War and at New Orleans helped, 
but his chief claim to popular support was the fact that he was not a politi- 
cian. "He knows nothing of politics," was the argument of his friends. 

Straw votes were taken at the county musters. At Richmond such a 
vote showed ii6 for Adams, T)7 for Jackson and 8 for Clay. One at Spen- 
cer, Owen county, gave Jackson 57; Clay, 42, and Adams, 9. One at Law- 
renceburg gave Jackson 305, Clay. 90, and Adams. 70. One at Indianapo- 
lis gave Clay 158, Adams 2, and Jackson 2. In Washington county a straw 
vote gave Jackson 88 out of a total of 132. 

Rursuant to call, the state convention of Jackson men met in the court 
house at Salem, September 18. 1824. Eighteen delegates, representing thir- 
teen counties, were present. Each delegate was required to present his 
properly signed credentials before being admitted. Samuel Milroy, of Wash- 
ington county, was made chairman. Jacob Call, of \''incennes, was made 
secretary. David Robb. Samuel Milroy, Elias McNamee, Jonathan McCartv 
and John Carr were placed on the electoral ticket. 

The platform was unique. It was, first of all, a eulogv of Jackson. He 
was heralded as the second Washington. Just as George Washington had 
shown himself a trusty statesman, so would General Jackson prove to be. 
Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon had tyrannized over a corrupt people. Jack- 
son came to rescue the people from corruption. The present officers, it was 
pointed out, were engaged primarily in petty thieving, and no less a master 
than Old Hickor}^ would be necessary to drive the monev changers from 
the temple. 

It would be interesting to know how the campaign was carried on, Init 
the records fail us. Jackson carried twenty-four counties and received 7.343 
votes in the state. Clay carried twenty-six counties, with 5,315 votes. Adams 
carried two counties, with 3,093 votes. In general. Clay was supported by 
the politicians, .\dams by the settlers from the East and Jackson by those 
from the South. 



472 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

Care has been taken to examine the early election returns in Decatur 
county, and below follow some interesting facts and figures: 

The following was the \'ote cast at the first election ever held for Presi- 
dential electors in Indiana, Xovember 6, 1824. There was no contest in 
1820, when James Monroe was re-elected, hence no election. There could 
not have been an election in Decatur county anyway, because the county was 
not organized until 1822. 

Decatur county entereil the political arena l)y casting a preference for 
Henry Clay. There were only 144 \(_)tes cast in the county, as follows: 

Clay Jackson Adams 

Washington 41 52 11 

Fugit 24 3 6 

Sand Creek 700 

Total yi 55 17 

Plurality for Clay, 17. 

It will be observed that if the Adams men had xoted with the Jackson 
men, it would have lieen a tie. .Vdams township, which contained about the 
same number of voters as Fugit, was not counted by the returning board on 
the ground that the returns had not been properly made. The election com- 
missioners were Samuel Bryan, Andrew McCoy and Martin Adkins. The 
record was made to Henry H. Talbott, county clerk. \\\\n made out the report, 
which was duly signed by the three gentlemen named above. There is no list 
of the names of voters, which would be of interest had they lieen preserved. 

At this election, and also in 1828, Indiana was entitled to only five elec- 
tors. In 1832 the number was increased to nine, and Indiana began to cut 
quite a figure in national elections. 

THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1828. 

During the four years between 1824 and 1828 the \-oting population of 
Decatur count}' increased from 144 to 638, or more than fourfold. General 
Jackson was again a candidate, and. although he carried the state b)' 22,237 
votes against 17,625 for .\dams, he did not carr}- Decatur county, although 
he did run a pretty good "hickory." 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 473 

The vote was as follows : 

Adams Jackson 

Washington 259 211 

Fugit 28 44 

Adams 28 33 

Clay 23 4 

Total 346 292 

Adams's majority, 54. 

Sand Creek township failed to record her vote, although she cast seven 
votes in 1824. The election commissioners were Ben Jones, Griffey Griffiths, 
Isaiah Kimble and William Hopkins. 

THE FIRST COUNTY ELECTION IN 1823. 

The first county election in Decatur count}- was held on Alonda}-, August 
4, 1823. to elect a state senator for eight counties, Marion, Madison, Hamilton, 
Johnson, Henry, Rush, Shelby and Decatur; a member of the House for four 
counties, Henry, Rush, Shelby and Decatur ; a county commissioner, and to 
decide whether a convention should be held. 

For senator, John Brison led with 163 votes; James Gregory, 76; S. G. 
■Mitchell, 21 ; scattering, 7. 

For representative, William Hendricks, 126; John Hopkins, 82; Griggs, 
24, Glass, 10. 

The vote for commissioner was as follows: 

Washington Fugit Adams 

William Parks 125 13 i 

William Henderson 6 61 40 

James Long 14 i 2 

Total 145 75 43 

For convention, 43. 
Against convention, 208. 

Parks had Ijeen ajjpointed one of the first three by Governor Jennings. 
The other two members were Seth Lowe and William Harbard. 

There were then only three townships. Washington township was in the 
center and ran from east to west, the entire breadth of the county, embracing 
what is now Marion, Sand Creek, Jackson, Clay, Washington and Salt Creek 



474 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

townships. Fugit had its present limits and the eastern half of Clinton town- 
ship. Adams embraced its present territory and the western half of Clinton 
township. It is interesting to note how sparsely settled the county must have 
been at that time. Washington township cast only 104 votes in 1824. Prob- 
ably half of these voters lived outside of the then struggling little village of 
Greensljurg, which could not possibl}- have had a population of over 300 souls, 
and was (mi!\- two and a half years old. 

FIRST TOWNSHIP ELECTIONS. 

The first election of any kind held in the count)- was the townshii) election 
hekl on June i. 1822, to elect justices of the peace. Two justices were elected 
in Washington and one in each of the other townships. In Washington the 
election was held at the home of Thomas Hendricks, with Richard Hall as 
inspector; in Fugit at the home of Thomas Throp, with Isaac Darnell as 
inspector; in Adams at the home of Edward Tanner, with Paul Brown as 
inspector. \Villiam Miller and William O. Ross were appointed constables for 
Washington; Henry Hobbs for Fugit, and Solomon Robinson and Daniel 
Howard for Adams, by the county commissioners. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1 832. 

In 1824 Henry Clay received "ji votes in the county, Andrew Jackson 
55, and J. O. Adams 17. In 1828 J. Q. Adams received 346 and Jackson 
292. It will be observed that the pioneer fathers and grandfathers of 
Decatur county showed a decided preference for Henry Clay and the ^^'hig 
party. The voting pujjulation was increasing rapidl} . In 1832 the \'Ote 
was as follows : 

Clay Jackson 

Washington 429 276 

Fugit 40 16 

Clinton 19 9 

Adams 22 34 

Clay __■ 20 41 

Sand Creek 9 29 

Total 539 405 

Clay's majority, 134. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 475 

Marion township was organized, but did not vote for some reason. The 
vote in the state was: Clay. 15.472; Jackson, 31,552. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1836. 

It was not until 1836 that all the townships lined up and voted for Presi- 
dent. The result was as follows : 

Harrison \^an Buren 

Washington . 590 274 

Fugit 98 54 

Clinton 24 19 

Adams 97 34 

Clay : 67 75 

Jackson 20 7 

Sand Creek 31 35 

Marion 8 i 

Salt Creek 15 n 

Total 950 513 

Harrison's majority, 437. 

Harrison carried the state with 41,281 votes to 32,480 cast for Van 
Buren, but the latter was elected. 

In 1840 the total vote again got a big boost, and the Whig majoritv con- 
tinued to increase. Clay and Jackson townships were the only ones that 
went Democratic. The result was as follows : 

Harrison A'an Buren 

Washington 729 331 

Fugit 100 43 

Clinton y^i 4^ 

Adams 117 66 

Clay 61 94 

Jackson 24 31 

Sand Creek 96 96 

Marion 52 21 

Salt Creek 46 35 

Total 1.298 759 

Harrison's majority, 539. 



4/6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Harrison again carried ihe state with 65.362 votes to 51,695 cast for \'an 
Bnreu. The vote in Sand Creek townsliip at this election was a tie — 96 to 96. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1 844. 

Clay Polk 

Washington 615 380 

Fugit 132 87 

Clinton 54 16 

Adams 128 107 

Clay 87 157 

Jackson 39 74 

Sand Creek 109 171 

Marion 62 62 

Salt Creek 49 37 



Total 1.275 1.091 

Clay's majorit}'. 184. 

DECATUR COUNTY ELECTION IN CI\'IL WAR. 

Party spirit ran high during the Ci\il War and personal encounters on 
election day were of very frequent occurrence. On October 14, 1863, an 
election was held f(.ir state and county cifficials, and. although the state went 
Democratic, Decatur returned a majority for the Union ticket. The vote 
in the county was as follows : 

Union Democratic [Majority 

Secretary of state 1.834 1.674 159 

Congress 1.856 1.673 ^73 

Representative 1.827 1.685 142 

Sheriff 1.840 1.672 168 

Treasurer 1.848 1.664 184 

Commissioner first district 1,827 1.666 161 

Commissioner second district 1,827 1,662 165 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 477 

The vote by townships for secretary of state was as follows: 

Union Democratic 

Washington 609 259 

Fugit 220 132 

Clinton 79 54 

Adams ^ 206 196 

Clay 196 226 

Jackson 130 217 

Sand Creek 11 1^ 228 

Marion 12^ 245 

Salt Creek 154 ng 

Total 1,834 1,675 

Union majority, 159. 

CONGRESSIONAL VOTE. 

Colonel Ga\in, for Congress, carried this county by 173 and Ohio by 7. 
The other counties went for Holman, who was re-elected by 2,934. Even 
Rush county ga\-e Holman 208 majority. The state went Democratic bv 
9,591. The Democrats elected seven members of Congress, while the Union 
party got four, Julian, Dumont, Orth and Colfax. The Democrats had 
Law, Cravens, Harrington, Holman, Voorhees. Edgerton and McDowell. 

COUNTY OFFICIALS. 

D. R. VanBuskirk, for representatix'c, defeated Captain Bemusdaffer 
by 142; Philip Mowrer defeated W. H. Carroll by 168; James Morgan, 
for treasurer, defeated William A. Manlove by 184; Abel Withrow, for 
coroner, defeated J. M. Watson by 171; Morgan James and Wren Gray- 
son were elected commissioners by 161 and 165, respectively. 

The result of the electi(jn in Decatur county was very gratifying to 
the Union party. Over a thousand men were absent in the army at this 
time. Practically all of them would have supported the Union ticket if 
thev had been at home. 



4/8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1860. 

The election of i860 was one of the most bitterly contested in the whole 
history of Decatur county, coming as it did on the eve of the Civil War. 
As will be seen from the accompanying table, Lincoln carried all but three 
townships, while the Republican majority over the Douglas Democrats was 
482. Breckenridge received only 93 votes in the whole county, and Bell, 
the candidate of the Constitutional-Union party, received only 20 votes. The 
vote by townships for Lincoln and Douglas was as follows : 

Lincoln. Douglas. 

Washington township 605 254 

Fugit township 280 120 

Clinton township 82 62 

Adams township 227 186 

Clay township 213 261 

Jackson township 161 201 

Sandcreek township 144 180 

Marion township 151 215 

Saltcreek township 165 127 

Totals 2,028 1.546 



CHAPTER XXI. 



LITERARY GLIMPSES. 



It may be a surprise to many to know that Decatur county has produced 
se\eral people who have courted the muses, but when a request for original 
verse for a chapter in this volume was made, a hearty response came 
from all parts of the county. While it is not possible to reproduce all that 
has been submitted, yet sufficient is given in succeeding pages to convince 
the most skeptical that the county has some who can at least "lisp in num- 
bers." It may be true that some of the lisping is not up to the Shakespearean 
standard, but there is satisfaction in knowing that many people in the county 
have made an effort to emulate the immortal Bard of Avon. The author 
does not presume to say that all of the verse submitted has real poetic merit; 
it is given for what it is worth, without any comment, and the reader may 
])e the judge of its value. 

The late Will Cumback is one of the prominent writers the county has 
had, and some of his verses have the true poetic gift. As an orator and 
statesman, he is better known to those familiar with Indiana's famous men 
than as a poet. But though the number of poems which he wrote was not 
large, they were all of a character which made them a factor for happiness 
with all who read them. Mr. Cumback was born in Franklin county, Indiana, 
March 24, 1829. Being reared on the farm, his early educational advan- 
tages were limited. Studying law and beginning its practice, he soon 
attained considerable reputation as a public speaker. When liarely twenty- 
five he was elected to Congress. Following that he was presidential elector, 
paymaster of the army, state senator, lieutenant-governor and collector of 
internal revenues. During all the time that he was serving in public office 
he wrote many articles for newspapers and spent much time lecturing. 

Perhaps his best poem is "Memory's Banquet." In part, it is as follows: 

I am banqueting tonight — 

Not with wassai! and with wine, 
Not with eating and with drinking. 

At a bacchanalian shrine; 
For in my lonely chamber 

Where the shadows and the light 
Are quaintly crossed and checkered, 

There I'm banqueting tonight. 



480 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

In tlie hush and in the stillness 

Of the quiet midnight hour, 
I said to memory, "Bring me 

The best you have in store ;" 
And the feast was spread before me. 

And the present took her flight, 
While the past and I made merry 

With our banqueting tonight. 

And the comfort and the kindness 

That loving hearts have given, 
Making life to me the prelude 

Of the higher joys of heaven; 
Sat at the board and cheered me, 

Making life a great delight. 
As I drank the cup of memory 

In my banqueting tonight. 



A SABBATH DAY. 

By Will Cumback. 

Like a mother's kiss to the weary child. 

Like the calm sea waves, raging and wild; 

Like rest, sweet rest, to tired feet; 

Like joy's sweet dream while sorrows sleep; 

Like dew upon the drooping flower; 

Like hope in a despairing hour; 

Like joyful news from those we love; 

Like benedictions from above, 

Comes the Sabbath morn to me. 

Smiley Fowlt-r, wlio i.s now on the editorial staff of the Grccnshurg 
Nezcs, has written many poems, stories and feature articles for papers, 
which ha\e been co])ied in newspapers throughout the country. He collabo- 
rated with George Gary Eggleston in the latter s no\'el, "Jack Shelby," the 
scene of the story being parth' laid in Decatur county. He has published 
serially a newspaper "Literati of Indiana," in which he reviewed the work 
of some twenty authors of the state. He now has in preparation a \olume 
entitled "The Quality of Recent American Verse," taking up the period 
between the death of \Miitman and W'hittier and the present time. He in- 
tends to publish a small collection of his verse within the next few months. 
Two of his most striking poems are given. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 48 1 



THE SYLVAN FANE. 

We walk again beside the sylvan streams, 
And seek anew the love-god's rustic fane 

We built him in the fleeting May-time dreams — 
Beyond the pale of glory and of pain. 

I come from far across the world, from land 
Of eternal snows and plains of hellish heat; 

And you from scenes I do not understand — 
Of gild and ease, half bitter and half sweet. 

Oh, I am weary with the march of men 

Upon the great white road. My feet are sore, 

And long to walk in shaded lines again. 
Where I may dream of failure nevermore. 

My ears are filled with woful monodies 
Of alien muses. Threnodies have drowned 

The joyous primal anthem, such as rise 
To dying ears in only less than sound. 

My love, your face is pale ! How sweet to rest 
Your eyes on these old stable things ! 

Forgetting evermore the ancient jest 
Of tinselled crowns and pomp and puppet kings! 

Now once again the leaden mistS uplift. 
Revealing hills where reinless fancies rove; 

And o'er the boundary of Time we drift. 
Together to the lyric realm of Love. 



A SON OF ADAM. 

If I would know myself, it is 

Of ancient Clio I must seek; 
Then let me rest not till I reach 

Her clouded shrine and bid her speak. 

A son of Adam, I should lose 
My perfect Eden. I shall wrest 

From him the secret of myself — 
With Eve to aid me in my quest. 

I feel somewhat of Plato now 
Within my strange, unconquered soul, 

Still groping toward the light that gleams 
Beyond the portal of my goal. 



<3i) 



482 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

I am Thomas, who would not believe 

Until he touched Him with his hand. 
I am rash, avenging .\bsalom ; 

And faint-heart spy to th' promised land. 

Delilah yet can bind my arms, 

And win my secret with her smile. 
Yea, even Rome would I forget 

To please the sorceress of the Nile. 

One of the most prolific versifiers of the county was the late Elmer E. 
Aleredith. Born at .Sardinia, December 21, 1864, he graduated at DePauw 
University in 1887, became a lawyer at Muncie, Indiana, but was soon com- 
pelled to forsake his profession and go to Colorado in search of health. 
He married Carrie Wynn in 1894, but lived only three years afterward, 
dying at his father's home in Sardinia. He was a young man of much 
promise and had alread}' made a name for himself in his chosen profession. 
He wrote a large number of dialect poems for newspapers, and showed a 
genuine poetic gift. He was a member of the Western Association of 
Writers. Two of his poems are given. 

CIDER MAKIN' time. 

The dear old cider makin' time is a comin' round agin, 
An' I feel so awful tickled that it seems almost a sin; 
Fer onct I heard the preacher say, with face twelve inches long, 
"When little chaps get tickled they's surely sumthin' wrong;" 
But I can't help bein' happy, when I see the orchard trees 
Jist a breakin' down with apples, an' I hear the hummin' bees 
Gittin' just so drunk on cider, that they gether everywhere. 
That they stagger in their flyin' an' wobble through the air. 
No matter what the preacher says, it surely is a crime 
Fer boys to not be tickled in the cider makin' time. 

Oil, it's fun to get up airly on the cider makin' day! 

The air's so stimulatin' it drives the blues away, 

An' makes a feller go about a singin' everywhere 

With heart so light an' happy that he doesn't think o' care. 

It's fun to bring the apples, them big" red Northern Spies, 

That make such jolly dumplin's an' big fat juicy pies, 

An' the russets an' the pippins, some sweet an' others sour — 

Oh, I love to set an' smell 'em an' taste 'em by the hour. 

Then the grindin' of the apples is a mighty pleasant sound. 

When some other feller's muscles makes the heavy wheel go round. 

An' the drippin' an' the pourin' of the cider in the tub. 

When they put the pressure on it, is a purty rub-a-dub. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 483 

At last we git the barrel full an' then we have to stop 
And turn it on its bosom with the bunghole on the top. 
Then comes the sweetest pleasure that mortal ever saw, 
Of suckin' hallelujah through the bunghole with a straw. 
I know you'll all forgive me for borin' you with rhyme, 
Fer I feel so awful jolly in the cider makin' time. 



DEACON JONES S MELON PATCH. 

In the sultry days uv August 

When the corn begins ter shoot, 
An' the thrashin' injine's whistle 

Everywhar begins ter toot, 
An' the great big yaller apples 

In the orchard smell so sweet, 
Then I love to sit a-thinkin' 
■ In the great old rustic seat, 
While I rest frum diggin' taters — 

Fer the sun is bilin' hot 
An' my shirt is all a-drippin'; 

Not a single little spot 
But is wringin' wet an' steamin' — 
Thar I set an' fall ter dreamin' 

An' my heart swells up with joy. 
At the 'membrence of mischief 

W'en I wus a boy. 

Thar I love ter set a musin' 

An' a thinkin' uv the past. 
While the mem'ries come a oozin' 

Through my noodle quick an' fast, 
Then a gentle, sweet sensation 
Seems ter run through all creation; 
An' a pleasant kind uv feelin' 
Over all my senses stealin'. 
Calls up pictures uv my childhood 

By the little laughin' stream. 
That meandered through the wildwood 

Like the shadder uv a dream. 

Down thar in the strip of bottom, 

Runnin' up an' down the crick. 
Deacon had 'is patch uv melons. 

An' they growed so tarnel thick 
That we couldn't walk among 'em 

Without trampin' on the vines, 
An' we boys could hardly find a place 

Ter hide away the rines. 
No, nothin', sir, could hold a match 
Ter Deacon Jones's melon patch. 



484 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Many things I now remember 

That I loved when but a boy; 
An' I call 'em up before me 

With a sweet and touchin' joy. 
Oh, I loved the dear old orchard 

An' I liked the medder, too, 
An' the pond down in the pastur 

^^'har the worter lilies grew; 
But all these things were not a match 
Fer Deacon Jones's melon patch! 

The Deacon wus a stingy cuss. 
Always gittin' up a fuss, 
Prosecutin' an' a suin' 

Fer trespassin' an' fer theft. 
An' a threatnin' uv the ruin 

That he'd scatter right an' left; 
An' sometimes he kep' 'is promise 

When he caught us boys by chance 
Stealin' through his bottom ground. 
Then he made a smackin' sound 

With 'is cane upon our pants. 
Though all things else I may forgit 
One mem'ry sure will linger yit 
An' kinder make me scringe an' twitch 
An' make my trousers smart and itch; 
Though all things else may pass away 
I'll feel until my dyin' day 
The lickens that I uster catch 
In Deacon Jones's melon patch ! 

Now when I think uv them dear joys, 

I almost b'lieve I'm with the boys 

A goin' on another lark 

An' stealin' melons in the dark; 

But no, now sence I come ter think — 

The idee ftlmost makes me shrink — 

Them days wus long, long years ago, 

My har is turnin' like the snow. 

The boys with whom I uster play 

Have long sence died an' passed away. 

An' my time, too, is comin' soon, 

I know my life is past the noon. 

But when my soul shall fly away 

Fer glory on my dyin' day, 

I'll jist look down and try ter catch 

A glimpse of Jones's melon patch. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 485 

A number of poems have been submitted, but no data of the authors 
being obtained the poems are given witliout any personal mention of the 
composer. 

A RETROSPECT. 
By Henry C. Hodges. 

When life' bright, pleasant vestibule, 
With flowers and morning sunshine decked, 

Is seen through corridors of years 
Its beauty grows by retrospect. 

Our school days thus will e'er appear; 

Outlined within the past they shine, 
The fairest, sweetest picture there. 

Its radiant glow, a light divine. 



TAKE HEED. 
By WUliam T. Zetterberg-. 

There's one thing in the United States 
That's an evil from start to finish. 

It ought to be against men's taste 
To allow that thing to replenish. 

Of course there will be some men kick; 

Not because they are in the right, 
But because they are on the trick 

Of selling votes just for the mite. 

This, you know, is a very great sin. 
But there is one greater than it. 

Which causes a great many to go in 
Where they can't never o'ercomc it. 

The drinking of whisky is this. 
That makes so many homes go bad; 

That's the reason the money is amiss 
For food and things that should be had. 

Show me the man that drinks liquor 
Every time he can get the stuff. 

I will show you where he is lacker 
In carrying on his big bluff. 

Is he any better socially 

While his mind is all out of whack? 
Is he making a standard, really, 

In which other people ought to track? 



486 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Say. drinker, would you just like to see 
Your sister or dear old mother 

In a saloon drinking their tea 
And quarreling with one another? 

I say this for the habit drinker, 
He is not thought of the least in the world ■ 

By people who do not tinker, 
This, surely, you have all been told. 

Then is there some economy 

That tends to make the people spend 

The whole of their past week's money 
On that which life does not depend? 

Is it teaching the boy such habits 
That will make them good gentlemen? 

The kind the world should have in it, 
And be something like chosen men. 

Men, are you of the drinking kind. 
Who think such things should fill the air? 

Say, people, do you think you'll find 
Saloons and tigers Over There? 

The last of all I have to say 
Is just go to the polls and cry, 

"I'm all and all for the right way. 
So I will cast my vote for 'Dry.'" 



THE OLD HOMESTEAD. 
By W. M. Gard. 

Oft as I muse there comes to me 

Visions of that long ago, 
Across life's changing, shoreless sea 

Of the friends I used to know. 
Pure as the breath of flowers that bloom 

When the chill of winter is o'er; 
Sweet as fields of clover in June — 

All those tender memories are. 

But those memories never come 

So fresh and full as when the day 
Grows hazy, and the winter sun 

Pursues his solitary way 
Low down through the lone, southern sky- 

O'er fields that are buried in snow — 
And the glad holidays are nigh, 

And the world with love is all aglow! 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 487 

Once more I see the rocks and hills, 

The dear Old Homestead and farm; 
The dark woodland and the rills 

And shocks of the gathered corn. 
I hear the pheasant's drumming call 

And the "whirr" of the startled quail; 
There's the old elm tree and the waterfall, 

And the spring never known to fail! 

But those I loved are there no more; 

Strangers now dwell in their place; 
I sigh for the happy days of yore 

And one glimpse of a vanished face! 
For the simple faith of childhood dear 

In that quaint, old Santa Claus, 
With his tiny sleigh, and blithe reindeer 

Loaded down with gaudy toys ! 

For other hearts the bells shall ring. 

For them the violets bloom; 
And they shall hail the lovely spring, 

The azure skies of June; 
But there shall come to me no more 

Those happy days gone by. 
Till I shall reach that other shore — 

My "Homestead" in the sky! 

The following little piece of humorous verse was published in the 
Indianapolis Sentinel during the Spanish-American War, and the names 
of local persons (as history recalls) were analogous to those prominent in the 
newspaper dispatches at the time. j\Ir. Stewart was at that time a reporter 
■on a Greensburg paper. For a number of years he has been the Washing- 
ton correspondent for Eastern papers, occupying a high position. 

DENNIS. 

By OrviUe H. Stewart. 

(To Master Dennis Donald Webb, son of Merritt Webb, of Adams, Indiana.) 

His father called him Dennis; 

His mother called him Don; 
But never could the same name 

His parents agree upon. 

When into a boy he grew 

And he went to school, then 
Half the scholars called him Don 

And the others called him Den. 



488 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

So it was Den and Don, 
Whether at ball or tennis ; 

But since Merritt whipped the Dons 
His name now is Dennis. 



THE GRAPEVINE SWING. 

By W. A. Kirkpatrick. 

In the silent night, when the witches steal 

Through my drowsy brain and break the seal 

Of doors long closed on forgotten things, 

'Tis my youthful days the dream fay brings. 

And the memory most dear to me 

Is a grapevine swing in an elm tree. 

Where, perched in the vine, by my sweetheart's side, 

We would sit and swing until the old cat died. 

O Father Time, you travel too fast for me; 

Take me back to my boyhood days so free; 

Hang up your scythe, forget you're off the track. 

Turn your hour-glass on the other end and let the sand run back, 

For I want to close my eyes and see 

That grapevine swing in the elm tree. 

On summer nights, when the wind sang low. 

And the air was flooded with the moon's pale glow; 

When the bullfrog bugled his mellow bass 

From the reeds that grew in the old mill race, 

Where the limpid water, like a silver sea, 

Reflected the shadow of the vine and tree — 

Then I forgot the world held anything 

But my sweetheart's form in the grapevine swing. 

GOOD BYE, OLD HOME, GOOD BYE. 

By W. A. Kirkpatrick. 

Have you forgotten, dear, the time 'most fifty years ago, 
When to this house we came to stay. I loved you then, you know. 
And all the years that we have lived beneath its sheltering eaves 
Have been filled up with blessings that no pain or sorrow leaves. 
But now the home is sold and we, although our hearts are sore, 
Will never have the right again to enter that old door; 
We'll have to bid farewell to all that every night and day 
A paradise has been to us. but as we go we'll say^ 

Good bye, old home, good bye, how hard it is to leave. 

The joys and bliss you gave to us, may others now receive. 

No matter where our feet may stray, or where our heads may lie. 

You'll always be for us a shrine, 

Good bye, old home, good bye. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 48^ 

How well do I remember, dear, the place you used to sit, 
When in the evening work was done, and you would sew or knit, 

'Twas in the chimney corner there, beside the mantel tree 
That held the clock which told the time so long for you and me. 
But that old clock will never tell for us the passing- hours. 
And your old chair went with it when they sold this home of ours. 
There's nothing left to keep us here, so we will go away. 
And as we leave this sacred spot, we'll bow our heads and say — 

When you first came to this old home your cheeks were like the rose, 
Yours eyes were like the violet t'nat in the valley grows. 
Your face is old and wrinkled now, but looks as young to me, 
Try as I may, your girlish form is all that I can see; 
You're worn out with the cares of life, your hair is thin and gray. 
But love for me looks from your eyes as on our wedding day. 
If I could bear for you the pain that lines your tear-wet cheek, 
I'd gladly give my life for you. and say in accents meek — ■ 

The flowers in the garden, dear, will miss your tender care, 

The birds will hunt in vain for crumbs you always scattered there. 

And out beneath the maple tree upon the little mound. 

Some other hand will plant, perhaps, a rose when spring comes 'round. 

So put your hand upon my. arm, don't cry, dear heart, don't cry, 

There must be somewhere in this world a place for you and I, 

Where we can rest our weary feet, the short time we've to stay, 

But if we never find that spot our hearts will always say — 

THE OLD BL.\CK SHAWL. 
By Mrs. Delia White Jlarkland. 

'Tis not a handsome thing to see, 

'Tis spoiled, old and brown, 
Though it was black as night could be 

When first it came from town. 
'T^vi'as large and ample in its folds; 

We bought it in the fall. 
But then it had not grown to be 
The old black shawl. 

In rain or shine, through heat or cold. 

In clear or cloudy weather. 
We've worn it individually 

And worn it all together. 
For twenty years 'twas one of us. 

And served us one and all. 
Oh, we'll ever have a reverence for 
The old black shawl. 

In winter time when sleighing's good, 

We've wrapped in furs and cloak. 
With robe, and rug, and woolen scarf. 

Until it seemed we'd choke. 



490 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

We hear a voice behind us, 
'Tis mother's in the hali : 
"I think, my dear, you'd better take 
The old black shawl." 

And in the summer, if perchance 

A cloud was in the sky. 
Or summer breezes blowing 

In the wheat or in the rye; 
If one of us were starting out 

We're sure to hear the call, 
"For fear it rains, you'd better take 
The old black shawl." 

When we picnicked on the grass, 

'Twas formed into a seat 
Or a pillow for the head. 

Or a carpet for the feet. 
Where'er we went, whate'er we did, 

I think that one and all 
Felt we were not equipped without 
The old black shawl. 

If one of us lie down to rest 
Or fell asleep while nursing, 

'Twas over us spread by some kind hand 
Without our thought or choosing. 

When mother's sight was nearly gone. 
And o'er fell the pall, 

To shield from light those eyes, we brought 
The old black shawl. 

And when her sight restored again, 
How thankfully, how tender 

We placed it round her feeble form, 
Naught could excel its splendor. 

And later on, when boys and girls 
Were grown and married all, 

Then grandpa put the babies on 
The old black shawl. 

And when to boys and girls they'd grown, 
'Twas formed into a saddle 
V- * For Dobbin's back, and to the barn 

They rode on it a-straddle. 
For tent, for playhouse, or for show. 

For masquerade or ball, 
Methinks no usefulness escapes 
The old black shawl. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

But now we sadly lay it by, 
Touch it with reverent fingers. 

For added to these memories 
Is one that with us lingers. 

Of saddest hours, of darkest days. 
And the Death Angel's call, 

Since mother's gone we've laid away 
The old black shawl. 



THE OLD WATER MILE. 

By Mrs. Delia White Markland. 

In fancy I view it — the old water mill 
That stood tall and grand, at the foot of the hill. 
The glad happy song of the soft rippling stream. 
Like a lullaby, comes to me now in my dream; 
The old mill dam, glistening bright in the sun 
That scattered its gems on the waves as they run. 

The big water wheel that we wondering saw. 

With its splatter, and rush, as we viewed it with awe; 

The kindly old miller with dust covered o'er, 

Whose jolly voice came to us through the roar. 

And rattle and clatter of belt, wheel and stone, 

When we played on the mill, in the days that are gone. 

Up the long stairs was the railroad. 
That carried the grain from the wagon's load. 
At the old mill door, on the horse's back. 
The freckled faced boy, with corn in a sack. 
That was shelled by hand the night before, 
By the dear home folks on the kitchen floor. 

He bashfully stands and waits around, 

Or plays in the stream till his grist is ground. 

And the corn we parched on the office stove, 

We'll never forget where e'er we rove. 

Our laughter all through the mill was heard, 

As the sweet brown corn we stirred and stirred. 

Then we hunted for pennies the miller so sly 
Had dropped jus.t to see the glad light in our eye 
As onward we scampered, still searching for more, 
And wondering how ever they got on the floor 
Then we waded knee deep in the old tail race, 
Or fished with long poles, and tan on our face. 



491 



492 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

As we breathlessly watched for a "nibble" and took 

With screams of delight a fish from our hook. 

Then the old spring house, and peppermint fine. 

Where we made long curls of the first dandelion. 

There the birds sang all day, and the soft summer breeze 

Seemed laughing with us, 'neath the wide-spreading trees. 

But gone with the past, as new scenes come in view, 
Is the water mill, and joys that we knew, 
With the dear ones that loved us, and lived with us then 
Who will walk this world with us, ah ! never again, 
But the sweetest memories of life linger still 
Around happy days in the old water mill. 



THE TREE. ON THE TOWER. 

By Lida JI. Cobb. 

Beautiful tree upon the tower, 

Though your lot be cast on high. 
Where the town clock tells the hour 
And storms sweep from the sky. 

To thee we lift our wondering eyes 

And beholding, proudly say 
Thou art one of nature's wonders 

Within thine own unique sway. 

None know how thy roots are nurtured, 
All are guessing and some do say 

Thou art a fake, but every one 

Admires thee when they pass this way. 

There is much inquiry about thee 
From all sections of the earth. 

But no one can ever conceive 

From whence came thy lofty birth. 

You are surely enthroned in grandeur. 
As your branches wave on high. 

But we know you are only transient 
And must some day droop and die. 

With the leaves of the wild wood 

Your bright garment, too, must fade 
And come fluttering down to earth 
To mingle in death's silent shade. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 493 

Yet, with pride, we now behold thee 

And friends and strangers, if they will, 
May come and view our lone tree 

Towering on and upward still. 

When, like all earth, you have perished. 

Leaving naught but your good name, 
Still in history you'll be known 

As the Greensburg tree of fame. 

Some extracts of Lewis A. Harding, the editor of this volume, have 
been incktded at the request of the pubHshers and his many personal 
friends in the county. They are taken from his volume, "The Call of 
the Hour," and printed with the permission of the Sunflower Publishing 
Company, Wichita, Kansas. • 

THE GREAT FOUNDATION. 

Written on the Burning- of a Tabernacle. 

Hark ! 

The alarm ! 

It is fire ! 

Fire! Fire! Fire! 

Look! 

People run ! 

Hear the bells ! v 

Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire! 

Oh! 

See the smoke ! 

Can it be ! But alas ! 

The Tabernacle! — The Tabernacle is on fire! 

Ah ! then men hurry quickly to and fro, 

And desperate firemen dash in maddened iiight 
And pallid faces like the sullen snow. 

In terror gaze on that unwonted sight; 
While every heart is strained with fear, for soon 

Those clouds of black, then whitening smoke, sliall doom 
It all to direful flames and ashy ruin! 

Behold, on yesterday what splendid pile. 

When sunrise lit. the windows of its dome 
With all the fresh, fine beams of morning; while 

At evening, all the twilight of the gloam 
Seemed caught and held up there in those rich panes 

To linger as the shadows mounted higher, 
And then in silence when the westland wanes. 

At last to mount toward heaven from the spire ! 



494 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

But now, behold, what awful pity! Ah — 

Tliose sacred windows and the splendid wall, 
Tliat lofty arch and all the fine eclat. 

Are scorching with the smoky heat; and all 
That splendid dome, with heaven-pointing spire. 

Is wrapt in smoke; and falling windows fly 
To pieces; while above, red tongues of fire 

Leap wildly upward toward the darkened sky! 

The scene is awful now ! Those sheets of flame 
Envelope roof and dome and spire, while clouds 
Of smoke ascend. — Oh, what could drown or tame 

Those deadly flames that rage beneath the shrouds 
Of bursting smoke! Behold! that splendid tower. 
Like some great martyr's sacred head, is bent 
Amid the withering flames ; and all the power 

Of that strong crest, now lost in dire destruction! 

A few hours do their work. And after all 

That fearful spectacle of fire and smoke, 
The only grandeur is the blackened wall; 

The faithful clock has stopped upon the stroke 
Of time for service. All the power and worth 

Of art seem but an ashy heap ere long- 
But planted deeply in the solid earth 

The great foundation still stands firm and strong. 

O faithful man, renew that house of light 

Whose walls are built upon the solid rock; 
Uprear its columns to their ancient height; 

Secure its altar from the tempest's shock; 
Its beams and rafters anchor sure and strong, 

Restore its grandeur to the olden state. 
And let the cadence of its sacred song 

Ascend high up to heaven's holy gate! 

Methinks I see that temple all renewed. 

And throngs have entered through the open door, 
And all its sacred windows seem imbued 

With holy light, that brightens more and more ! 
And then I see a wanderer come apart, 

And leave the world with all its gloom and night. 
Some holy book against his faithful heart. 

His face turned upward toward the higher Light! 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ' 495, 

A child's soliloquy. 

I wonder who it is that knows just who or where old Santa is; and after Christ- 
mas where he goes with those reindeer of his. If I could see an Esquimau who lives 
up North where it is cold, I surely think that he would know, for Santa lives up 
there I'm told. 

He doesn't make a bit of stir, but always comes when I'm in bed; my mamma 
says he's dressed in fur, and papa says his nose is red. I thought 1 heard him at 
our door, or coming down our kitchen flue; and mamma saw him at the store, — I 
wonder who he is, don't you? If I'd sit up I might find out, but papa talks so much 
of him, and mamma's seen him too, no doubt, and so I think I'll just ask them. 

But all of the efforts of Decatur count}^ writers have not been directed 
toward poetic composition. Some have turned to prose and their product 
has attained more than a local circulation. One of the most notable prose 
works produced in the county is a volume on "The Reproach of Capital 
Punishment," by Hamilton Mercer, the editor of the Greenshurg Democrat. 
This was issued first in 19 14 and received very favorable comment from 
newspapers and magazines generally. This volume is a very effective weapon 
against all the arguments advanced in favor of capital punishment. Mr. 
Mercer has made a careful study of his subject, and his wide e.xperience as an 
editor has enabled him to see the subject from every side. 

Mr. Mercer begins his book by the discussion of the subject of vested 
authority, and from the very first sentence to the close he shows that he is 
a logician. He maintains that "governments derive their just powers from- 
the consent of the governed, and proceeds to show that if magistrates put 
men to death they are doing no better than an individual who murders." 
This is true because the power of the magistrates comes from the individual. 
In this first chapter Mr. Mercer shows his familiarity with Blackstone and 
other authorities in jurisprudence. 

In the discussion of "Moses and the Death Penalty," the author shows 
his splendid knowledge of the Bible. He proves that that law reriuiring 
death penalty originated when the recognized rule was "blood for blood." 
But if this be now carried out, "man is nearly two thousand years behind 
his Creator, who permitted the last blood offering to his name to be sacri- 
ficed on Calvary." If we hold the old Jewish law concerning the death 
penalty for murder, then we must hold it for the other crimes that were 
punishable by death under the law of Moses. 

Mr. Mercer shows very clearly that capital punishment is administered 
not for the reform of the criminal, or would-be criminals, but out of the 



496 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

spirit of vengeance. This, of course, is contrary to the teachings of the 
Scripture which gives the requiring of vengeance to the Lord. 

This volume is concluded by some vital statistics showing that capital 
punishment does not reduce crime. 

Other writers of prose include \\"ill Cumback, Lewis A. Harding, 
Smiley Fowler, Orville Thomson and the various newspaper men of the 
county, all of whom have written some excellent articles on a wide variety 
of subjects. The Standard in 1910 had a resume of interesting historical 
facts gleaned from the early files of that paper. The A''czvs has a special 
correspondent, Noah Rogers, who has written many local historical articles 
for his paper. The Democrat and Review have also had special historical 
articles from time to time. Lewis A. Harding has issued one volume, "The 
Call of the Hour," which has elicited much favorable comment. The volume 
contains a variety of prose and poetry and shows the author in his best mood. 
Favorable reviews have been made of this work by such critics as the Indian- 
apolis News, the Kansas City Gazette Globe, the Pittsburg Gazette, the Cincin- 
nati Enquirer, the Topcka Daily Capital, the Boston Globe, Portland Orc- 
gonian, etc. Another work of 'Siv. Harding's is entitled "The Preliminary 
Diplomacy of the Spanish-American War," with an introduction by Dr. Amos 
S. Heiskey, instructor in political science and international law in Indiana 
University. In 191 5 was published Mr. Harding's "A Few Spoken 
Words," with an introduction by Prof. John M. Clapp, head of the department 
of English of Lake Forest College. H6 has written many articles for news- 
papers and magazines. The late Orville Thomson published a history of the 
Seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, setting up the type and doing his 
own press work. This is remarkable in view of the fact that he was more than 
eighty years of age at the time. Smiley Fowler is a versatile writer, turning 
his hand with equal facility to either prose or poetry. Some of his short 
articles have been widely copied in the newspapers of the country. The 
addresses and lectures of the late Will Cumback have been gathered in a 
volume and have found a place in many of the best libraries of the nation. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DECATUR COUNTY INDUSTRIES, PAST AND PRESENT. 

During pioneer days in the IMiddle West, when transportation facili- 
ties were Hmited and communities were more dependent upon their own 
resources, industrial enterprises of a county often outnumbered those of 
the present, since steam and electricity have been harnessed to bring in 
commodities from every quarter of the globe. Small mills and shops sprung 
up apace. There was grain to be ground, saddles and harness to be made, 
cloth to be manufactured and brick to be burned. Civilization had sup- 
planted the Indian, and the never-ceasing wheels of industry had received 
their impetus. 

In 1823 John House built the first saw-mill and water grist-mill just 
back of where South Park cemetery is located. House, besides operating 
these mills, earned a little extra money by gunsmithing and blacksmithing. 
His son, Isaac, operated the mill for about twenty-five years. The miller 
in this case took one-eighth of the grain for grinding it. This mill ground 
mostly corn, but some wheat was raised by the early settlers and taken 
there to be made into flour. 

William Ross built the first horse grist-mill in the same year, one-half 
mile north of McCoy's. In 1832 Elijah Mitchell built the first oil-mill. It 
was located one mile west of Greensburg. The following year he built the 
first steam saw- and grist-mill, on the lot just east of the Garland mills. 

The first water-power saw-mill was started by John Forsythe, two 
miles east of Greensburg, in 1824. Another industry in the same neighbor- 
hood was that operated by John Layton, who made fla.x brakes, plow woods, 
ox yokes and other articles. Layton also made rope and twine from the 
fiber of a variety of nettles which was very common at that time. 

The first water-mill in Sand Creek township was owned by Elijah 
Davis and the first horse-mill, by William Robbins. Robbins built one of 
the first water-mills located in Slabtown, si.x miles east of Greensburg. This 
mill, which is called Layton's mill, is still running, but steam is now used 
to operate it. 
(32) 



498 ■ DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Ill 1836 or 1837 Edward Warthin introduced the first steam engine in 
Clay township. It was used to run a mill on Clifty creek, below Milford, 
and is supposed to have been the first steam-mill with a bolting apparatus 
in the county. However, the first millers of the township were the Critzers, 
who owned several mills on Clifty creek, one of which is still in use a few 
miles south of Milford. One of their later competitors was William W. 
Burton, who operated a horse-mill in the same neighborhood. 

The first mill in Marion township was owned by a man named Brush 
and was located on Sand creek. William Evans owned the first horse-mill 
in Jackson township. The first grist-mill in Clinton township was built by 
John and William Hamilton, two brothers, who had emigrated from Vir- 
ginia in 1822. This mill was placed on Clifty creek. All traces of it dis- 
appeared years ago. 

Some time later, William Buchanan built a corn cracker for Thomas 
Lanham, which stood on the south fork of Clifty creek. About the same 
time, the first saw-mill in the neighborhood was built by a man named Doug- 
lass, who was later killed in its machinery. 

At an early day, the Hamilton brothers changed one of their grist- 
mills into a bark-mill and used in to pulverize slippery elm, dogwood and 
sassafras bark for shipment to Eastern markets. One of the first grist-mills, 
carding machines and distilleries, combined, in Fugit township was oper- 
ated by William Henderson, who lived near what is now Springhill. Another 
mill was operated near Kingston by a man named Smith. 

The first tanyard in Fugit township was built by Lewis Lacker on the 
farm now owned by Everett Hamilton. In 1841 H. C. Cowles, of Mil- 
ford, was manufacturing fanning mills for cleaning wheat, rye and oats. 
These fans were capable of clearing three or four hundred bushels of grain 
in a day. 

Anthony Degant purchased the tanyard owned by Benjamin ]\Iartin, 
two miles from Millhousen, near the Ripley county line, in 1847. ^^ ^^^ 
learned the trade in Germany and operated the establishment on a toll 
basis, taking a certain per cent of hides tanned for his pay. 

Blacksmiths, in the early days, manufactured all plows and other farm 
implements used. The smiths made plows during the winter, when business 
was not very brisk, and sold them in the spring when farming activities 
started. There were two shops in Greensburg which were well known about 
the county. One was owned by Squires & Johnson and the other by John 
Roszell. 

One of the very early industries of Greensburg was a hat factory^ 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 499 

which was located on East Washington street. This estabhshment was 
doing business as far back as 1825. In addition, there were, of course, the 
usual number of shoemakers, chairmakers and other workers in wood. 

A man from Cincinnati started an oil-mill, for the extraction of oil 
from flax seed, in 1840. Just a year or two later a Scotchman named Craig 
began the manufacture of coverlids on the site of the First Methodist 
church. James Connor started a wagon and buggy shop in 1850 on West 
Main street and managed it very successfully for a number of years. Seven 
years later a chair factory was located on the west side of the public square. 
Ezra Conner, in i860, began the manufacture of wagons of excellent design 
which had a wide demand. He sold them for one hundred and twenty-five 
dollars each. They were, of course, hand-made throughout. 

EARLY WOOLEN MILLS. 

Decatur county pioneers were very industrious people. While the men 
were clearing the forest and planting the crops, their wives and daughters 
found plenty to do in spinning, carding, fulling, dyeing and weaving the 
wool from the flock of sheep which each householder possessed. These 
processes were the only means by which the early settlers could obtain 
cloth, unless they had money with which to purchase it from some trader. 
After a time, small shops were set up and people pursued this sort of work 
as a trade, and gradually home spinning was abandoned. 

For a number of years, these industries flourished, and then larger 
establishments drove the smaller concerns out of existence. So completely 
has the industry been wiped out, that it is now a rare thing to see a carding 
machine or even a spinning wheel in Decatur county. 

John Thompson had a mill for carding wool one-half mile northwest 
of Greensburg, in 1844. Others who operated woolen mills at Greensburg 
were Peyton H. Barkley and John T. Hamilton. Hamilton had a shop 
where he carded wool, flax, linen and linsey. He also has a saddlery and 
harness shop. 

In 1844 Michael Gilman started a shop for carding, fulling and dyeing 
on the mouth of Mill creek, near St. Omer. He had two sets of carding 
machines and the other necessary equipment. His terms were plain wool, 
five cents a pound and mixed wool, seven and one-half cents a pound. He 
took wheat and other farm products in payment. 

Among the older woolen mills, was one at St. Paul, which was oper- 
ated by John D. Paul in connection with his saw-mill. The mill was pur- 



500 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

chased, upon Paul's death in 1867, by Erastus Flo3'd, who had been in part- 
nership with him for a number of years. They were also jointly interested 
in a flour-mill at that place. 

Their woolen mill was equipped to handle the finest Merino and Sax- 
ony wool. They kept in stock a large amount of satinetts, blankets, cassi- 
meres, full cloths, jeans and yarns to be exchanged for wool. They charged 
three dollars and a half a pair for making blankets, sixty cents a yard for 
cloth and thirty-five cents a yard for white flannel. The mill burned in 1877. 

In 1845 William Shaner and Samuel Snyder rented the machinery 
owned by Michael Oilman, and commenced the manufacture of guaranteed 
products. They stood responsible for all cloth they made, providing the 
wool they received was first class. They had fixed cash prices, or, in case 
the customer desired, took one-seventh of the wool in exchange for their 
preparation of the remainder. 

The silk industr}' was once started in Decatur county, but never resulted 
in anything permanent. In 1842 W. B. Cobb cultivated four thousand 
mulberry trees for sale, to be used in cultivation of silk. He sold them at 
twenty dollars a thousand, which made them good investments for shade 
purposes, if nothing else. 

Millhousen also boasted of a woolen mill, which was destroyed by 
fire on May 30, 1874. This mill had been very active in its output, but com- 
petition had begun to tell on its business and, although the loss at that time 
was estimated at twenty thousand dollars, this was only about one-third 
of its actual cost. 

In 1852 Gageby and Siling ventured on the experiment of making 
furniture by machinery propelled by steam. This was the first real manu- 
facturing venture with modern-day equipment in Greensburg. In five years 
this enterprise had increased and was employing fifteen men, with an annual 
output of twenty thousand dollars. One of their orders at that time was 
for the fixtures in the Shelby county court house. Their building was a 
five-story structure and fifty by seventy-five feet. It was operated until the 
latter part of the eighties, when it was destroyed by fire and never replaced. 

In perusing the files of the Standard for 1874, it is found that the 
main industries which are listed and commented on in that paper are the 
marble works of J. «& J. Pool and the carriage works of Hazelrigg, Pool 
& Company. The history of these two manufactories are written up in full, 
but whether these were all that Greensburg boasted of at this time or whether 
these were the only ones which made it worth the editor's while to visit and 
comment on, is not for us to say. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 5OI 

GREELEY LIMESTONE COMPANY, AT ST. PAUL. 

Limestone quarries of the Greeley Stone Company at St. Paul are the 
most extensive in the county that are operated by local capital. Operations 
of the plant cover a space of si.xteen acres, three and one-half of which have 
already been excavated to a depth of thirty feet. It is planned to carry the 
work to a point fourteen feet lower before the end of the year. 

The company owns a modern plant, built in 1908. It was a powerful 
crusher, the largest known, capable of handling seven and one-half tons of 
fifteen-inch stone at a time. The mill will produce fifteen carloads of 
crushed stone a day. 

Power is supplied by a one hundred and fifty-horse-power engine, driven 
by steam from a two hundred and fifty-horse-power boiler. Drills are steam 
driven and the engine pulls cars from the quarry, by means of an endless 
chain, to the crusher. 

A valuable by-product of the plant is pulverized limestone, which makes 
a valuable fertilizer and is readily sold to farmers wishing to correct the 
acidity of their soil. About a carload of this limestone dust is produced each 
day the plant is operated. Chemical analysis shows that this dust is ninety- 
four per cent, calcium carbide and magnesium. 

Twenty-five men are regularly employed at the plant, which is situated 
in a picturesque location upon the banks of Flat Rock. Cincinnati and a 
number of Indiana cities are regular customers of the company, taking about 
one thousand two hundred carloads of crushed stone a year for street con- 
struction and repair. 

The company is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars. Its oflficers are 
R. E. Greeley, president and general manager ; Albert Greeley, vice-president, 
and Clarence Greeley, secretary and treasurer, .\lbert Greeley is the father of 
the other two members of the company and is a prominent lumber man of 
Muncie, Indiana. 

CONTRACTORS. 

The most extensive constructive business in the county is that of the 
firm of Pulse & Porter, Greensburg, general contractors. In December, 
1887, Alex Porter and Will Pulse formed a partnership and bought the plan- 
ing-mill and lumber yard on West ?\Iain street that had been operated by 
Edward and Charles A. Porter. At the same time they started in the gen- 
eral contracting business. Their first ventures were successful and they 
enlarged their field of operations. Since the firm was organized it has had 



502 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

a hand in the construction of some of the largest and best known institutions 
and plants in the state of Indiana. 

Two of the first contracts taken by this firm were for the construction of 
Science hall and the Hendricks library at Hanover College. The next was 
Science hall, at Indiana University, a one-hundred-thousand-dollar contract. 
This firm later secured the contract and erected the buildings for the South- 
eastern Hospital at Madison, a contract amounting to more than a million 
and a half of dollars. 

Other well-known buildings which have been built by Pulse & Porter 
are the Gentry hotel, Bloomington, $35,000; the Union Traction Company's 
powder house at Anderson, $200,000 ; the Maxwell-Briscoe plant. New Castle, 
$225,000; Odd Fellows Home, Greensburg, $100,000, and the factory of the 
Bromwell Brush and Wire Company, Greensburg, $30,000. 

The sanitary sewer system of Greensburg was laid by this firm. It is 
nineteen miles in length and cost the city thirty thousand dollars. Since 
completing this contract it has built power hovises at Winona and New Castle, 
erected the Odd Fellows' hall at Greensburg and the Greensburg and Osgood 
school buildings, both of which are considered models of their kind. At 
various times the firm has given employment to more than five hundred men. 

All kinds of mill work is done at the planing-mill in West Main street. 
Wood is sawed out for interior finishing, sash and doors and every con- 
ceivable purpose. The first contract ever taken by this firm was the erection 
of the Greensburg Baptist church in 1888. The building is still used as a 
church. 

MEEK ICE COMPANY. 

The first artificial ice plant in Greensburg was established by John E, 
Robbins, on West Railroad street. He conducted the plant for several yearsj 
and then disposed of it to the Meek Ice Company in 1912. The plant has a 
daily capacity of forty tons and employs twelve men in the factory and orii 
the delivery wagons. They not only supply the city of Greensburg, but have; 
built up a large trade with the smaller towns of the county as well. The 
delivery outside of the city is done with an automobile truck. 

BROMWELL BRUSH AND WIRE WORKS. 

The Bromwell Brush and Wire Works of Greensburg was established 
in 1903 as a branch of the Cincinnati firm of the same name. The company 
is incorporated under the laws of Ohio. In the branch at Greensburg only 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 5O3 

wire cloth for window screens is manufactured. During the year 1914 six- 
teen miUion square feet of screening was made in the local factory. The 
seventy employees of the plant are paid a total of three thousand dollars a 
month. The local manager is E. M. Beck. 

THE GARLAND MILLING COMPANY. 

Foreign as well as domestic demand is supplied by the Garland Milling 
Company, whose flour-mill ranks eighth in capacity among Indiana mills. 
This company sells all over the Southeast and through the New England 
states and has a growing market in the British isles, Norway and Holland. 

The company was organized and incorporated in 1898 by R. P. Moore, 
of Princeton, Indiana. Its original capital stock was thirty thousand dollars. 
An old mill built by John Emmert in 1869 was purchased and business was 
started on a modest scale. Since then the plant has been greatly enlarged. 
It now has an elevator, with a capacity of one hundred thousand bushels, a 
cooper shop, which turns out thirty thousand barrels a year, and a flour-mill 
with a daily capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels. 

Twenty-five men are employed in the mill and five in the cooper shop. 
The mill is equipped with the best of modern machinery and its product has 
found favor wherever it has come into use. In 1909, in order to care for 
increased business, the company was reorganized and the capital stock 
increased to fifty thousand dollars. The present officers of the company 
are: John F. Russell, president; G. D. Ayres, vice-president, and George P. 
Shoemaker, secretary-treasurer. 

Wheat is purchased in the open market and is brought to Greensburg 
from all parts of the county. On account of the excellent shipping facilities, 
distribution is readily secured, and the flour can be shipped to the eastern 
seaboard by three dift'erent routes. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



SIDELIGHTS ON DECATUR COUNTY HISTORY. 



DECATUR COUNTY THE SCENE OF THE HOOSIER SCHOOLMASTER. 

There have been several stories and novels written whose scenes are 
laid in Indiana, but it is safe to say that no one novel of Indiana life has 
created such a universal interest as "The Hoosier Schoolmaster," published 
by Edward Eggleston in 1871. There has been much controversy as to 
where the scene of the novel was laid, and every county in Indiana through 
which flows a cliffy creek has persisted in claiming to be the scene of the 
novel. Before his death in 1902, Mr. Eggleston was questioned concerning 
the location of the plot and he replied without hesitation that Decatur 
county furnished the background and that the territory immediately sur- 
rounding Clifty in Clay township was the one and only place where the 
scene could have been laid. Moreover, several characters in the novel were 
taken from well-known people who lived in or near Clifty. 

It should be mentioned that Eggleston came with his widowed mother 
to live in Clifty, Decatur county, when he was nine years old. Born at 
Vevay, Indiana, December 10, 1839, he had lived there until his father's 
death and had then gone with his mother to Decatur county, where she had 
several relatives, among them tiie Lowrey, Craig and Welsh families. Two 
years later (1850) Mrs. Eggleston became the wife of Rev. Williamson 
Terrell, a noted Methodist minister of southern Indiana. In this commun- 
ity in Clay township, Decatur county, young Eggleston grew to manhood, 
and in the same township lie taught his first term of school. The location 
of this school house is still pointed out to tourists who make annual pil- 
grimages to this county to> visit the scene of the "Hoosier Schoolmaster." 
Eggleston learned to intimately know the people whom he later incorporated 
in his novel and there can be no question of the identity of many of his 
characters with persons who actually lived in Clay township in the middle 
of the last century. This section was then populated with an uncouth, un- 
cultured and, in many cases, a lawless band of people. Bands of robbers 
and highwaymen were known to exist in this part of the county and it is 




EDWAKD EGGLESTON HOME AT MILFORD. 




I'ASCIIAL T. LAMr.EKT CAISIX. lU'ILT IX 1S02. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 50^ 

an actual rubbery, noted in the records of Decatur county, which furnished 
Eggleston with the background of his story. 

The framework of the "Hoosier Schoohnaster" was taken from a 
rubbery committed on Caleb Stark, who figures in the novel as "Jack Means," 
and on anuther man, a German, who in real life was John Dronberger. In 
the novel the Dutchman appears as "Schroeder." However, in order to 
bring both robberies into the novel in the form of one, the author combined 
the incidents of both robberies into a robbery committed on the Dutchman, 
Schroeder. The brains of the trio of robliers was Dr. Henry B. Smalley,. 
a physician, who appears in the novel as Doctor Small. His compatriots in 
crime were \\'alter Johnson, a student in his ofiice, who is the "Greenwood 
Harrison" of the novel, and David Ricketts, the "Pete Jones" of the 
story. Doctor Smalley li\-ed aljout two miles S(.)Uth of Adams on Caleb' 
Stark's farm in a house which stood near the present residence of 01i\'er 
Deem, while Caleb Stark lived opposite him across the road. 

Stark, "Jack Means," who appears so prominently in the story, was 
no less prominent in the early history of Decatur county, as a successful 
farmer, than as a strong supporter uf schools. He was one of the three men 
who supervised the erection of the present court house and to this day may be 
seen the name "Caleb Stark" carved on a stone slab above the west entrance 
of the court house. He owned a large farm on which he had several tenants. 
His wife, .-Vnna Boone, was a cousin of the faifxjus old frontiersman, Daniel 
Boone. One of his sons, Willet Stark, later flattered himself that he was 
"Bud Means," but Eggleston wrote at one time that Bud Means never existed 
in any one person, but that his traits were taken from several of the young 
men whom he knew around Cliffy. 

The actual incidents of the real robbery in Clay township were as fol- 
low : Doctor Smalley in some way had learned that Stark had a large 
sum of money concealed in his house. Accordingly he laid plans whereby 
he hoped to rob the honest old farmer of some of his hard-earned posses- 
sions. With this idea in view, the crafty doctor went to Stark to borrow a 
bunch of keys, one of which, so he told Stark, would open his (Smalley's) 
trunk, the key to which he pretended he had lost. Up to this time Smalley 
had borne an unblemished reputation and there was no one who thought 
he had any connection with the band of robbers who had been operating 
in the vicinity. Smalley secured the keys from Stark without any diffi- 
culty, returned them in a short time, but while he had them in his possession 
he took an impression of one which unlocked a certain door of Stark's 
house. With a key made from this impression, Smalley was now able to 



506 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

gain entrance to Stark's house and at once planned to execute the roljbery. 
He and his two partners in crime, Harrison ("Johnson") and Ricketts 
("Pete Jones" ) decided upon the night when the robbery should take place. 
On the appointed night Harrison held the horses a short distance from the 
house and Smalley remained in the yard, while Ricketts went into the house 
and got the money without disturljing anyone in the family. Once on the 
outside the men had no difficulty in getting away and at once left the com- 
munity. The robbery was discovered the next day and Col. Merritt C. 
Welsh, the constable and the keeper of a store in Cliffy, was sent in search 
of the robbers. By shrewd detective work he tracked the robbers over sev- 
eral states and, after about three months, he captured them. However, in 
his search for evidence against the men, Colonel Welsh broke into a trunk 
belonging to Smalley and Harrison without the proper warrant. Smalley 
immediately filed suit against him in the Bartholomew circuit court and the 
Colonel was fined one cent, while the costs were thrown on the plaintiff. 
The doctor and Ricketts were let out on bail until the trial could be held 
before a justice of the peace in Milford. 

Before the case came to trial, however, Harrison confessed and turned 
state's evidence against his 'fellow conspirators. Harrison was kept under 
guard at Stark's house pending the trial and during this time was allowed 
to go around the farm under guard. He slept in a room in an upper story 
and it seems that this part of the house was the only part that had an upper 
story. The rest of the house, one story high, consisted of two wings ex- 
tending out on either side from this central portion, which stood like a 
turret above the rest of the building. A day or two before the trial Harri- 
son jumped out one night and made his way along the roof to the edge of 
the building and thus escaped. He left the county that night and no one 
in the county has ever heard of him since that night. 

The case came to trial at Milford on the appointed day, but there was 
not sufficient evidence given to convict the robbers, and the case was dis- 
missed. Smalley then filed suit against Stark for false imprisonment, but 
nothing could Ije proved, so the case was dropped. 

Apropos of this case, the following document, taken from the Decatur 
county records, is very interesting: 

"In vacation : State of Indiana, 
"Decatur County. 
"We, Henry Smalley, Reuben R. Cobb, James Morgan, Payton H. 
Barclav and Robert Smith, owe the state of Indiana two thousand dollars 



DECATUR COUNTYj INDIANA. 507 

to be levied on our propert)-. The condition of the above bond is that the 
said Henry B. Smalley shall personally be before the Decatur circuit court 
on the first day of next term, there to answer to a charge of receiving and 
concealing stolen property, and abide the order of the court, and not to 
depart thence without leave. Then this recognizance to be void; else to 
remain in full force. 

"Henry B. Smalley. 

"Reuben R. Cobb. 

"James Morgan. 

"Peyton H. Barclay. 

"Robert Smith. 
"Taken and approved before me this 29th day of August, 1853. 

"John Imlay, Sherifif." 

In the records of the circuit court at Greensburg is found a similar 
bond for Greenwood Harrison, filed August 30, 1853, signed by Greenwood 
Harrison, M. C. Welsh, William Armington, Willet H. Stark, Elijah Mark- 
land, John Dronberger, J. O. A. Garrison, Thomas Harwood, James Cory 
and Robert Smith. 

Enough has been said to settle forever the question as to the location 
of the scene of the "Hoosier Schoolmaster." Many places in the story can 
be found from the descriptions given by the author and old residents of the 
little village of Cliffy (Milford) point out with pardonable pride where 
Eggleston lived in the town. The novel created a distinct impression when 
it came out in the fall of 1871 and to this da)' it finds a ready sale among 
the reading public. It has been translated into French, German and Danish 
and received with popular favor in all those countries. Cliffy enjoys the 
unique distinction of being the only village of Indiana whose beauties and 
early incidents may be read in four languages. Eggleston has immortalized 
a period in Indiana life and given it such a flavor that the lives of the people 
of that period, their manners and customs, will be preserved for all genera- 
tions to come. 

DECATUR COUNTY TAX P.^YERS IN 1 862. 

It will be interesting to the people of Decatur county in 1915 to note 
the list of ta.xpayers of 1862, who paid more than one hundred dollars in 
taxes. The complete list follows : 

Greensburg — David Lovett, $356.36; Judge Davidson, $305.00; 
Greensburg Bank, $268.52; J. S. Scobey, $232.39; D. and J. Stewart, 



5o8 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



$189.05: Ezra Lathrop, $185.43; A. R. Forsythe. $178.70; J. P. Hittle, 
$157.85; G. Woodfill, $155.81; E. and L. P. Lathrop, $132.50; H. H. Tal- 
bott, $150.79; Smith & AIcDougle, $146.40; W. S. Woodfill, $127.49. 

Washington Township — George W. Sidener, $286.72; R. M. Hamilton, 
$264.87; J. E. Hamilton, $238.15; Xath Patton. $220.84; J- B. Foley, 
$209.45; J. E. Robbins, $209.31; T. AI. White, $205.91; .\dam R. INleek, 
$191.26; T. M. Hamilton, $177.64; M. D. Ross, $170.92: R. A. Hamilton, 
$170.16. 

Fugit Township — Luther A. Donnell, $205.50; Samuel A. Donnell, 
$176.40; John Kincaid, $142.81; John C. Donnell, $131.39; Thomas ]\Ieek, 
$124.95; John Carroll, $124.50. 

Clinton Township — William Sefton, $292.68; George McLaughlin, 
$239.85; Warder Hamilton, $216.75; Jacob Sandusky, $191.48; T. G. 
Hamilton, $156.16; John Meek, $143.25; Nathan Swails, $135.54. 

Adams Township — Manly Kimble, $183.26; Joseph D. Pleak, $166.84; 
\\'. J. Robinson, $131.92; Charles Miller, $131.82; Hiram Jewett, $128.52; 
David Jewett, $126.78. 

Clay Township — Richard Williams, $182.31; J. J. Pavey, $172.90; 
Walter Braden, $154.99; Caleb Stark, $123.95; Thomas C. Miers, $123.23; 
S. M. Edward, $122.76. 

Jackson Township — R. and D. Gibson, $117.10. 

Sand Creek Township — Robert Armstrong, $130.33. 

Marion Township — Charles Hazelrigg, $151.61; B. Hardebeck, 
$100.20. 

POPULATION STATISTICS OF DECATUR COUNTY. 



I9IO 

Adams township 1.851 

Clay township, including Milford town 1.508 

Milford town 169 

Clinton township 641 

Fugit township 1.328 

Jackson township, including Forest Hill town_ 1,369 

Forest Hill town iii 

Marion township, including Millhousen town 1,670 

Millhousen town 211 

Salt Creek township, including Newpoint town 1,228 

Newpoint town 341 



1900 


1890 


1.867 


1,942 


1.503 


1,681 


211 


231 


641 


699 


1.538 


1.605 


1.477 


1,562 


152 


124 


.794 


2,030 


265 


224 


1.532 


1.733 


451 





DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 5O9 

Sand Creek township, including Westi>ort town 2,370 2,562 2,499 

Westport town 675 614 452 

•Washington township, inchiding Greensburg 

city 6,828 6,604 5.518 

Greensbnrg city 5420 5.034 3.596 



Total 18,793 19,518 19,277 

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

A perusal of newspaper and contemporary documents discloses the fact 
that the temperance question has l)een before the county from almost the date 
of its organization. It is to be remembered that our American pioneers 
counted whiskey as ®ne of the necessities of life and such orders here given 
from the commissioners' records were of daily occurrence and caused no 
comment: "May term, 1823. Ordered by the iDoard that the count}^ agent 
give Thomas Hendricks a credit for the sum of two dollars being a part of 
an order made him for thirty dollars, forty and a fourth cents for his services 
in surveying the town of Greensburgh and for Whiskey furnished the Agent 
on the day of the sale of lots. * * * Received of Samuel Huston, Agent 
for the county of Decatur, ninety-three and three-fourths cents for one gallon 
and a half of whiskey got for the use of said county, August 14, 1823. Sam 
T. Cross * * * Silas Stewart, Agent Decatur county, Cr. : To amount 
paid for crying ofi the carpenter work of the court house, 35 cents ; for 
whiskey 37J/2 cents." 

Probably the first of the temperance advocates of the county was Levi 
Wooden, who, according to well-authenticated traditions, was the first in 
Clay township, and perhaps the Cdunt}'. to refuse to ser\'e whiskey at a log 
rolling. 

The early nation-wide temperance agitation, known as the Washing- 
tonian movement, hit Decatur county in 1840 and, from the point of \iew of 
numliers, was undoubtedly the strongest of the early temperance societies. 
More than two hundred men joined this society and took the jilcdge of total 
abstinence, but, five years later, less than half a dozen had held fast to the 
oath and the organization died in Greensbnrg. The \\^ashingtonians had 
organizations in other parts of the county also and the society at St. Omer 
continued for many years. This society held a large rally in 1845, ^t which 
Joseph Robinson, Thomas Hendricks, I. T. Gibson, the Re\-. J. Presley, ^V. 
F. Ferguson and j. Cable, made stirring addresses on the evils of strong 



5IO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

drink. The climax of the Washingtonian agitation was reached when the 
county board of commissioners, on December 4, 1843, as a result of tli/e 
numerous petitions, refused to grant any liquor licenses for a period of five 
years. 

Decatur county first voted on the liquor question in 1847. At that time 
the license fee was one hundred dollars and was known as a grocery license 
fee. The "wets" won in six townships, Washington and Fugit townships 
voting dry. The vote was as follows : 

Wet. Dry. 

Washington township 154 304 

Fugit township 72 153 

Clinton township 71 36 

Adams township 175 59 

Clay township 140 94 

Jackson township 35 16 

Sandcreek township loi 33 

Marion township , ^^7 ^;^ 

Total 835 868 

About this same time the township in which Columbus, Indiana, is 
located voted "wet" by a majority of twenty-six, while the majority at Brook- 
ville, Indiana, was thirty-six. The relative standing of the "wets" and 
"drys" did not change at Greensburg during the next sixty years. 

In 1858, Carrie D. Filkins, a well-known temperance lecturer of the 
day. spoke in Greensburg on" the evils of the liquor traffic. She advocated, 
among other things, that the sale of intoxicants be placed exclusively in the 
hands of women and that a law be passed making it illegal to sell alcoholic 
liquors for beverage purposes. As a result of her visit, the Ark of Safety 
was organized. The Greensburg Standard of the following week comment- 
ing upon the situation says, "There are at the present time no less than ten 
whiskey shops in the moral, as some folks term it, town of Greensburg. 
In the southern part of town, known as Ireland, we are told that almost 
every house has within its walls a barrel of whiskey. What is our beautiful 
village coming to?" 

The temperance wave again struck Greensljurg in June, 1877, when a 
number of meetings were held in Alumni hall. The Red Ribbon Club was 
organized and gave a social in the city hall. On June 15, several inveterate 
drinkers signed the pledge and organized a "Dare-to-do-Right" club. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 5 II 

FIRST LOCAL OPTION ELECTION IN DECATLTR COUNTY. 

The first local option election in Decatur county was held on January 
26, 1909, and resulted in a "dry" majority of 1,679. ^'^s will be seen from 
the appended table, eight of the nine townships voted to abolish the saloon, 
Marion township alone returning a "wet" majority of 63. There is no way 
to tell exactly how the city of Greensburg voted, as its vote was included in 
Washington township, but it was estimated at the time that there were four 
hundred votes outside the city. It is fair to presume that the country vote 
was not materially different from the city vote and on this basis the city vote 
was 1,035 foi" ^^'^^ "drys'' and 513 for the "wets." The entire county, except 
a small strip in the southeastern part, voted by more than two to one to- 
eliminate the saloon. The vote by townships was as follows : 

Dry. Wet. Maj. 

Washington ^y~37 611 626 

Fugit 239 105 134 

Clinton 106 33 yT, 

Adams 339 150 189 

Clay 274 103 171 

Jackson 259 88 171 

Sand Creek 480 115 365 

Salt Creek 160 148 13 

Marion 178 241 

Totals 3,273 1,594 1,741 

The city of Greensburg voted "wet" by 137 majority in 191 1 and three 
years later voted "dry" by a majority of 80. Millhousen and Newpoint are 
the only towns in the county now (1915) having saloons. There are two 
saloons in St. Paul on the Shelby county side of the town. 

THE woman's CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION. 

The Greensburg Woman's Christian Temperance Union was organized 
on December 9, 1883, by Mrs. M. L. Wells, of Greencastle, who was at that 
time president of the state organization. Mrs. Dr. Johnson was chosen presi- 
dent of the local group, with Mrs. L. S. Meal as- corresponding secretary, Mrs. 
Anna Thomson as recording secretary and Mrs. Charles Kemble as treasurer. 
Mrs. Thomson resigned as recording secretary and Mrs. Larrie Lathrop was- 



512 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

elected. Vice-presidents were appointed from the following churches : ]\Irs. 
Louise M. Thomson, from the Presbyterian : Mrs. Johnston, from the Baptist ; 
Miss Spreaker. from the Centenary ^^lethodist Episcopal ; Mrs. Birdsell, from 
the Christian : Mrs. Dr. Bracken, from the First Methodist Episcopal, and 
Mrs. Thurman, from the African Methodist Episcopal. 

The first meeting was held in the First Methodist church on December 
12, 1883. with twelve members present. At this time all the meetings were 
held in the various churches. At this first meeting, following devotional exer- 
cises — which, as always afterward, came first on the program — it was proposed 
to take up some of the different departments of work and, later, superintend- 
ents were appointed. Airs. Charles Kemble and IMrs. Ben Swem were 
appointed superintendents of jail and prison work and Mrs. Louise j\L Thom- 
son was made evangelistic and gospel superintendent. Other departments 
were added at various intervals. 

During the first year, meetings were held weekly. During this year a 
reading room was opened, a mission school started, under the super\-ision of 
Mesdames Bonner and St3'ers, a dining hall managed and public lectures and 
sermons arranged for. For the latter, the opera house was secured. At the 
meeting of December 26, 1883, in the Presbyterian church, in Greensburg, 
the devotional exercises were a period of spiritual interest and profit to all. 

In November, 1885, after two prosperous years, the list of members 
included the following: Mesdames Johnston, Kemble, Wheatley, Thomson, 
Copper, Flittle, Styers, Doctor Johnson, Colonel Scobey, Collet, Drake, 
Wooden, Pool, B. D. Swem, Gavin, S. A. Bonner, Laura M. Thomson, L. S. 
Meal and the Misses Isabella Hamilton, Stalla Hamilton. Smiley, Davidson, 
Falconljury and Henika. 

The fourth district convention met at the First Methodist Episcopal 
church, Alarch 27 and 28, 1884, with the state secretary presiding in the 
absence of the state president. Mrs. Louise M. Thomson was chosen district 
president, with Mrs. Chester Hamilton as secretary and Miss Lizzie Lathrop 
as treasurer. .\ short time afterward the old district organization was dropped 
and each county was organized. The present county officers are : Mary Gray, 
of Greensburg, president ; Mrs. Emma D. Shaffer, of Westport, secretary, and 
Mrs. Eva Stephenson, of Greensburg, treasurer. 

At the present time the roll contains the names of one hundred and eight 
of the most prominent women of Greensliurg. and the names of fourteen men 
who are honorary members. There are now twehe departments, each with 
its superintendent. Regular meetings are held on the second and fourth 
Tuesdays of each month, with special meetings occasionally. For the year 




IIOX. Wll.I, (T.MIIAI K. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 513 

1915 an excellent program was prepared containing the declaration of prin- 
ciples, list of members and the program of each meeting. 

The officers and superintendents of departments for the present year 
(191 5) are: President, Versie B. Owens; vice-president, Ella Adams; 
recording secretary, Rosalie Kercheval; corresponding secretary, Josephine 
Moody ; treasurer, Nannie Gray. Superintendents of departments : Flower 
mission, Etta Woods, Lessie Gray ; mothers' meetings, Josephine Moody, Arlie 
Gray; scientific temperance, Laura M. Thomson, Carrie Clark; medical tem- 
perance, Minerva Galbraith; Sunday school work, Emily Brown; press, Ella 
Adams; temperance literature, Julia Montgomery; Sabbath observance, Sarah 
Hunter; franchise, Ella F. Smith, Ella McKay; medal contest, Louisa Cory, 
Anna Kennedy ; evangelistic and visiting committee, Mary Gray, Mary Eward, 
Elizabeth Bennett ; music, Hattie Morrison, Ethel Watson, Esther Wood. 

DECATUR COUNTY PEOPLE WHO HAVE RISEN TO DISTINCTION. 

Every count}' in the state of Indiana has produced a few people who have 
gained reputations for themselves which have extended beyond the limits of 
their own county, and Decatur county is no exception. In this brief sum- 
mary of notable persons from this county, only those are given who are not 
mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The county is'proud to honor such men 
as Congressmen Cumback and Foley, men who have probably carried the name 
and fame of Decatur county farther than any other man. As an orator, as 
a scholar, as a lyceum lecturer, as a statesman and as a public-spirited man 
of affairs, it is not too much to say that Will Cumback was the county's most 
distinguished citizen. Foley's claim to inclusion among the leaders in his 
county lies in his service to the state while a member of Congress, and his 
subsequent career as a successful lawyer. 

Two men from the county have been in the consular service of the 
United States, Richard H. Belt and John Goodnow. Belt was born in Balti- 
more and was a merchant at \Vestport when he was appointed consul by 
President Tyler in 1843. He was stationed at Matamoras, Mexico, but died 
there a year later of the yellow fever. He came to Decatur county from his 
native city in company with his brother, Thomas. There are no descendants 
of the family now living in the coimty. John Goodnow was born in Greens- 
burg in 1856, the same year his father moved here from Vernon, Indiana, to 
open a flour-mill. He was appointed consul to Shanghai, China, by President 
McKinley in 1897. 
(33) 



514 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Hon. Robert W. Miers was born in Clay township in 1845, graduated 
from Indiana University, was prosecntor and circuit judge at Blooming- 
ton and was elected to Congress on the Democratic ticket three times. He 
is now judge of the Monroe-Owen circuit court. 

B. F. Clayton, born in Adams township about 1840, moved to Iowa 
forty years ago after having served as county commissioner here. He was 
elected to the Iowa Legislature and was later president of the National 
Farmers' Congress. He is now a prominent banker at Indianola, Iowa. 

Lycurgus McCoy, born near Greensburg in 1835, mo\-ed to Iowa in 
1855. He was a captain in the Thirty-third Iowa Regiment in the Civil 
War. Later he was elected county treasurer at Sigourney, Iowa. He 
became a Seventh-Day Adventist minister and moved to Battle Creek, Mich- 
igan, thirty years ago to become secretary of the sanitarium there. He is 
now chaplain of that institution. 

Alvin I. Hobbs, born in Greensburg in 1835, became a minister in the 
Christian church, filling prominent pastorates in Cincinnati, Louisville and 
Indianapolis. He was president of Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa, 
in the seventies. He held a public debate with a Universalist preacher at 
Des Moines and the same was later published in book form. 

John A. Donnell, born near Kingston in 1838, located in Iowa in 1855 
and twenty years later went to Los Angeles, California, where he was 
elected prosecutor and became a prominent attorney for many years prior 
to his death in 191 3. 

Edmon Hez Swem, born in Greensburg in 1858, was educatetl at 
DePauw University and became a Presbyterian minister in 1882. In 1886 
he changed his affiliation to the Baptist church. He was pastor of the Ninth 
Street Baptist church in Washington, D. C, for twenty-five years, and is 
still preaching in that city. 

Elias R. Monfort, son of Rev. J. G. Monfort, was born in Greensburg 
in 1840. He served in an Ohio regiment in the Civil War with the rank of 
captain. He was department commander of the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic; was prosecuting attorney here in 1871 to 1873, and ser\-ed as postmaster at 
Cincinnati, from 1899 to 191 5. 

William H. Carroll, born in Greensburg in 1842, served in Wilder's 
battery. He was a candidate for sheriff on the Democratic ticket in 1866. 
He moved to ^Marion in 1870, served as circuit judge there, and is still 
practicing law at that place. 

Dr. Lora M. Henry, born near Springhill in 1856, graduated from 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



515 



Monmouth United Presbyterian College, studied medicine and became a 
medical missionary at Assiut, Egypt, where he has been for fifteen years. 

Piatt Wicks, born in Greensburg about 1837, served as prosecutor just 
before the Civil War and was a prominent attorney during the sixties. He 
later moved to Harlan, Iowa, where he was elected to the Legislature. Still 
later he moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he was a prominent barrister 
up to the time of his death, about ten years ago. 

Jacob G. Collicott, bom in Salt Creek township in 1874, graduated 
from the State University in 1896. He was principal of the high school at 
Elwood and Evansville and city superintendent at Tacoma, Washington, 
before becoming superintendent of the city schools of Indianapolis three 
years ago. 

Floy Gilmore was born in Greensburg in 1877 and graduated from the 
local high school in 1895. She graduated from the University of Michigan 
in 1899 with the degree of Bachelor of Law. She was assistant attorney- 
general of the Philippines, 1901-03; later she took a post-graduate course 
at Columbia University and was appointed professor of economics at Welles- 
ley College in 19 13. 

Wilbur W. Woodford, artist, died at Lawrenceburg, March 19, 1882. 
He was born at St. Omer, January 8, 1851, and followed his father, Capt. 
Charles Woodward, as fifer in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty- 
third Indiana Regiment, when a lad of twelve years. His father was elected 
sheriff in 1866, and the family moved here from St. Paul. Wilbur showed 
marked art talent while in our city schools, and in 1870 began a study of 
art in the School of Design in Cincinnati. When he died he was a profes- 
sor in that school. He spent two years in Paris and won many honors 
there. He was buried at Spring Grove cemetery, in Cincinnati, a proces- 
sion of students escorting his body to the tomb, where ex-Governor Noyes, 
former minister to France, spoke feelingly of his acquaintance and friend- 
ship for his deceased friend. 

THE ODD fellows' HOME. 

Greensburg is justly proud of the beautiful state Odd Fellows' Home 
which adjoins the city on the east. The cardinal principles of Odd Fellow- 
ship are friendship, love and truth, and it is due to the practical working 
of these three virtues that the Odd Fellows of Indiana erected this beautiful 
home fifteen years ago. It was the generous impulses of this great frater- 
nity in Indiana which made possible a home which seeks to provide the 



5l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

proper care for all its unfortunate members. Here may be found a com- 
fortable home for the brothers and sisters on whom time has laid heavy 
hands and to whom good fortune has passed by on the other side. Here 
prattling childhood, robbed of kindly home and parents, finds its nearest 
substitute. 

The first building was dedicated on May i6, 1900, and a second build- 
ing on May 17, 1905. These two buildings have a total capacity of two 
hundred and fifty, while the hospital will accommodate twenty-eight more. 
The grounds comprise one hundred and thirty-five acres of beautiful roll- 
ing ground. This land was the gift of Decatur Lodge No. 103 and the citi- 
zens of Greensburg and vicinity. At the time the grand lodge was looking 
for a location for the home, many cities in the state offered sites, but the 
present location has shown the wisdom of the final choice. The farm and 
buildings are now valued at three hundred thousand dollars. 

The institution, which is incorporated as the Odd Fellows' Home Asso- 
ciation of Indiana, is maintained by a direct per capita tax of thirty-two 
cents on each subordinate, fifteen cents on each Rebekah and ten cents on 
each encampment membership, respectively. The total receipts in 1914 
were about thirty-eight thousand dollars from these sources. The operating 
expenses of the institutipn, including administration and maintenance, were 
twenty-nine thousand one hundred and forty-one dollars and forty-two cents, 
an average per capita cost per meal of eighteen cents. 

Since the home was opened in 1900, five hundred and eighty-nine 
guests have been cared for. In June, 191 5, there were one hundred and 
fifty in the home, as follows: Men, sixty-nine; women, forty; boys, thirty- 
two; girls, nine. The ages of the guests range from two to ninety-two 
years. Since the home was opened in 1900 two hundred and fifty-four 
children have been received and one hundred and ten of this number have 
later been returned to their parents. Ninety-three children have been 
placed in good homes in various parts of the state. A striking evidence 
of the care of these children is shown by the fact that not a single child 
has ever died in the home. During the past year ten adults died, four 
children have been placed in homes and nine other children returned to their 
parents. 

The home is managed by a board of three directors — one selected by 
the grand lodge, one by the grand encampment and one by the Rebekah 
assembly. This board serves for a term of three years. The vice-presi- 
dent of the assembly is ex-officio president of the board of directors. The 
present directors are as follows: Florence McGregor, president ex-officio; 




TlIK (II. II SF.MINAKV. ( ; UKIvXSI'.rKC. 




RAILROAD YAUDS. GKEENSBlTltG. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 517 

W. H. Bradshaw, vice-president; Mrs. Kate E. Barnett, secretary; VV. E. 
Longley, treasurer. The present superintendent of the Home is Charles E. 
Lockhart and his wife serves as his assistant. 

As the result of agitation which had its inception in an address before 
the Rebekah assemljly by Charles E. Lockhart, superintendent of the home, 
soon after he assumed charge, the graves of twenty Odd Fellows in South 
Park cemetery are now honored by a massive handsome monument. This 
monument is a gift to the home from the lodges of the state, which contrib- 
uted fifteen hundred dollars for its erection. The monument is seven feet 
four inches by four feet six inches at the base and stands six feet and two 
inches in height. It is of Barre granite, hammer finished and has the gen- 
eral style of a sarcophagus. The monument was dedicated on May 19, 
1915. On that day fourteen hundred and thirteen members of the grand 
lodge and Rebekah assembly went by two special trains from Indianapolis, 
where they were in session, to participate in the dedicatory services and 
attend the unveiling of the monument. Addresses were made by \V. H. 
Leedy, Charles Warren Fairbanks, Ella M. Clark and Mary A. Poths. 

THE OLD SEMINARY. 

During the seventies and eighties James G. May wrote a series of 
articles for the local papers on the old seminary, an institution of which 
he was the head for several years. He speaks of whipping six boys on 
October 26, 1836, and three of them were sons of preachers. The boys 
were from twelve to fourteen years of age and had been guilty of defacing 
some of the outbuildings of the seminary at night. The old professor 
says his pupils did good work for him "in spite of these little diversions." 
In August, 1836, fourteen of his pupils signed a challenge which read: 
"We challenge at the close of the session the most rigid examination in all 
our studies," and laid it on his desk. It was signed by Cynthia Ann Free- 
man, Margaret Jane Bryan, Eliza Jane Ewing, George G. M. Craig, Saph- 
ronia Hazelrigg, Magdalene Uttinger, Camilla A. Thomson, Eliza A. Han- 
way, Orville L. Thomson, Tabitha O'N. Craig, Tamson Church, Mary E. 
Reilley, Mary Kendall, John H. Sanders. 

When the last day came the school trustees and parents were present. 
A lawyer and a minister proceeded to examine the class and found them 
equal to their profession. When it came to examining them on six books 
of Caesar the lawyer explained that he was "kind o' rusty" on the classics, 
and told them to examine themselves. One of the class took charge and, 



5l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of course, was easy on the others. During the 1836 term there were one 
hundred and thirty- four pupils enrolled. 

A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL. 

Probably the greatest religious revival ever held in Greensburg and 
throughout the county occurred during the winter of 1869-70. The Stand- 
ard, in its issue of March 10, 1870, says: "The spirit of revival continues 
in the churches throughout the county up to this date. More than one thou- 
sand have come to Christ and united with some division of our Lord's army. 
In this city the number added to the churches, as far as we have ascertained, 
is as follows: First Methodist, R. M. Barnes, pastor, 137; Centenary Meth- 
odist, G. L. Curtis, pastor, 82; Third Methodist, J. Tarkington, pastor, 6; 
Presbyterian, J. C. Irwin, pastor, 90; Christian, D. R. Van Buskirk, pastor, 
70; Baptist, J. Green, pastor, 8; total, 393." 

A BAND TOURNAMENT. 

A band tournament was held in Greensburg, November i, 1882, when 
a crowd, estimated at from ten to twelve thousand, was present. Eight 
bands competed for prizes : Jonesboro, Seymour, Lawrenceburg, Franklin, 
Rushville, Thorntown, Milton and Aurora. The judges were Roll Adams, 
of Greensburg; James A. Nunn, of New Castle, and F. N. Myers, of Indi- 
anapolis. The first prize of one hundred and twenty-five dollars went to 
Franklin; the second, seventy-five dollars, to Thorntown, the third, fifty 
dollars, to Milton; the fourth, twenty-five dollars, to Lawrenceburg. It 
seems, from the account in a local paper of that week, that various kinds 
of running races were held on this day. John B. Kuhns, of Irvington, won 
a ten-dollar prize in a running race and Fred Boyle won five dollars as second. 
In a walking match for men over seventy, Joseph Patterson, of Waynesburg, 
won first and six dollars, and John S. Campbell, of Greensburg, took second 
and received four dollars for his efforts. 

SARTOR RESARTUS. 

The lost-and-found column in the early Greenslnirg papers was fully 
as interesting as any other part of the sheet. The editors had a keen sense 
of humor and sometimes used language which would hardly be thought in 
good taste at the present time. The loss of a part of some woman's rai- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 5I9 

ment gave the editor of the Greenshnrg Standard (June 25, 1842) a chance 
to get off the following witticism: "Found on the streets of Greensburg, 
a live, full grown, sawdust, bran, straw or rag bustle. Owner can obtain 
same by applying at this office." 

A VERSATILE PREACHER. 

Versatility was one of the marked characteristics of the old pioneer 
preachers, and it is probable that no early preacher in the county could turn 
his hand to more things than Rev. David Douglas. He was born in Mont- 
gomery county, Ky., in 1781, was married there in 1801, and came to tnis 
county in 1825. His father was killed in 1805 by the Indians in the battle 
at Stroud's station. I\lr. Douglas settled in Clay township about five miles 
west of this city, on land now owned by Nelson Mowrey. He was known 
as "Davy" Douglas, and for nearly forty years his voice was heard as a 
plain, simple, earnest preacher of the Gospel, in the woods, in the cabins, in 
the school houses and occasionally in the churches. He could make a plow, 
shoe a horse, do any kind of farm work, and he did it. He was called to 
settle disputes, estates, etc., and was everywhere respected as an honest, 
God-fearing man. He was what was called a "New Light," believed in 
Christian union without any frills, insisted on Bible names and the throw- 
ing aside of all human-made creeds. He went to his reward at Milroy in 
January, 1861, just as the mutterings of the approaching Civil War were 
being heard. 

A RECORD-BREAKING PIONEER. 

It is probable that Decatur county had in the person of Henry H. Tal- 
bott not only a man who held office for a longer period than any other man 
in the county, but in the state as well. He was born in Lincoln county, 
Kentucky, in March, 1800. He had become a resident of Greensburg in 
1821. When the county was organized in April, 1822, he was elected county 
clerk and recorder, a position he held continuously until 1841. During this 
time he was also county auditor, a period of twenty years. For thirteen 
years following 1841 he was auditor and recorder and for four years there- 
after he was clerk, making thirty-seven years clerk, thirty-three years recorder 
and twenty years auditor. He would have served longer, but a new law 
made him ineligible. Practically all of the early public records were writ- 
ten by this man in his well-known clear, legible handwriting. He married 
Eliza Hendricks, December 20, 1824; she died in i860. The following 



1 



520 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tribute is paid him: "In all his business transactions he was scrupulously- 
honest, and he leaves a history for honesty unparalleled in the history of the 
county." He died at Indianapolis, Juty 21, 1872, where he had gone to 
take treatment. 

A WILD-PIGEON ECLIPSE OF THE SUN. 

Wild pigeons which, years ago, went the way of the great auk and 
other now extinct forms of animal life, were at one time very common in 
Decatur county, and many of the older residents can remember when they 
flew so thick and close together as to obscure the sun. The largest flock 
of wild pigeons recorded to have passed over Decatur county migrated in 
i860. The immense flock of pigeons, which extended in all directions as 
far as the eye could reach, passed over Greensburg, February i, i860. It 
is said that the sun was completely shut out and the city in darkness for 
more than an hour. 

A STORY FOR MEN ONLY. 

There have been all kinds of clubs in Greensburg, but the Bachelor's 
Club, which flourished more than thirty-odd years ago, was probably the 
most unique club the city has ever had. Many of the members of this club 
are still living and, as far as the historian has found out, not one of them 
has lived up to the principles which he took an oath to observe. One of the 
local papers, in its issue of September i, 1882, says, "they met at 'Jim Polk' 
Ewing's office, just across from Fromer's, and marched through the alley 
to Ross Look's depot dining room, where they sat down to a sumptuous 
feast. The affair was in honor of Warren Wilson, who was just depart- 
ing for Chicago." The following worthies are reported as being present: 
W. H. Goddard, J. K. and George Ewing, J. S. Throp, Grover Stevens, 
George Holby, John Jarrard, J. C. McQuiston, P. A. Doyle, Joe Witten- 
berg, Joe Davidson, M. D. Tackett, J. E. Mendenhall, Robert Hazelrigg, 
Cash Lowe, Todd Wright, Dick Warthin, John Batterton, Professor Rim- 
yon, Frank Bennett, Ed Kessing, Lou Samuels and Dola Cunningham. 
How long this club lasted or just why it was finally relegated to oblivion 
the historian leaves to the reader, but it is fair to presume that there are 
many women in Greensburg who could explain its disappearance. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ^21 

A STORY CONCERNING GREENSBURG's FIRST LAWYER. 

The Cincinnati Enquirer several years ago told a story on James T. 
Brown, the first lawyer of Greensburg, who came here in the year 1822 and 
remained until 1838. Brown was a bachelor and a humorist of the first 
water. The story relates that when he was about to die at Lawrenceburg 
a preacher was called, and knelt in prayer by his bedside. The prayer had 
not proceeded far until Brown reached for his trousers and got a ten-dollar 
bill and shook it close to the parson's ear. The minister stopped, looked up 
and remarked that he did no*: make any charge for his services. "Don't 

you?" gasped Brown. "Well, I'll be d d if I'd make such a plea as 

you've made for less than ten dollars.'' 

DODDRIDGE ALLEY, AN ECCENTRIC PIONEER. 

Concerning Doddridge Alley, who represented the county in the Legis- 
lature in 1826 and again in 1831, a large number of good stories are still told. 
Alley was a chronic office-holder, was very illiterate and stuttered. Some of 
the stories preserved are true, and some are not, but all are worth relating. 

Alley introduced a bill gi\'ing sheriffs authority to perform marriage 
ceremonies, giving as his reason that "ministers were scarce in some localities, 
but that sheriffs were found everywhere." The bill was actually passed, but 
was never given a place in the statutes. 

He came in for a considerable amount of ridicule later, upon introduction 
of one of his bills, providing for annexation of eighteen sections of Shelby 
county to Decatur county, for the reason that "Shelby county was unhealthy 
and some of its people wanted out of it." In regard to this bill, his fellow 
legislators, who made him the butt of their rough humor, were rather unfair. 
Ten citizens of Shelby county had asked for the introduction of this bill. 
They were only eight miles distant from Greensburg, while, in order to attend 
muster, they were compelled to travel eighteen miles to Shelbyville, through a 
wet and unhealthy country. The measure never reached a vote. 

Alley once expostulated with his son-in-law because the latter had pur- 
chased a pistol. "Well, a man is apt to need a gun, sometimes," said the 

young man in defense of his act. "Yes, and a man is apt to be a d d fool 

sometimes," retorted his father-in-law. 

Once, when a candidate for some ofifice. Alley gave an immense barbecue, 
which was attended by several hundred voters. The cooks neglected their 
work and the meat was served half raw. To this culinary mishap. Alley 



522 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

afterwards attributed his unexpected and o\-er\vhelming defeat. Alley was 
an old-fashioned, stump-speaking, bushwhacking campaigner, and in one elec- 
tion polled every \'ote in Clay township. 

BOUND BOYS. 

In the early history of the county the law provided for the "binding out" 
of chiklren who were thrown upon the count}- for support. The children were 
let out to the highest bidder, the one getting them agreeing to furnish them 
with food, clothing and shelter and give them such educational advantages 
as the schools of the neighborhood provided. 

The following communication to H. H. Talbott. first county clerk, is 
preserved in the public library at Greensburg: 

"Sir: I want you to draw a piece of writing, certifying that Stephen 
has served his time with me and is now a free man, and put the county seal 
thereon in order that he may not be interrupted in another state. 

"October 14. 1824. Joseph Henderson." 

It is ditficult to judge whether Stephen was a slave or had merely been 
"bound out." For the reason that he is designated merely by his first name, 
as was customary with slaves, and since his master feared that he might be 
stopped when he left home, it is possible that he might have been a negro 
slave. But so far as positive information is concerned no slaves were ever 
held in Decatur county. 

The first recorded instance of a boy being "bound out" or apprenticed 
until he attained his majority is that of Warren Jackson. It is contained 
in the following court record : 

"Return of William Ross and John Gageby, overseers of the poor for 
Washington township, 1825. Bound to John Springer, Warren Jackson, aged 
five in July, 1825, to learn the art and mystery of a house joiner." 

It seems that not all boys were satisfied w'ith the treatment they received 
at the hands of their masters and the incident below related is probably only 
one of many similar cases. This advertisement appeared in a Greensburg 
paper in 1 846 : 

"Fii^TY Cents Reward. — Run away from the subscriber, living in 
Greensburg, Decatur county, Indiana, Silas F. White, an indented apprentice 
to the tanning and currying business. Said apprentice is seventeen }-ears old, 
in February last, and was bnund to me until he reached the age of twenty 
years. All persons are forewarned from harboring or trusting him, as I will 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 523 

pay no debts of his contracting: all persons are forewarned from employing 
him or paying him wages, as I am entitled to his services, and I shall look 
to them for pay for his services. The above reward and no charges will be 
paid to any person returning him to me. 
"May 27, 1846. Chatfield Howell.''' 

The guardians of apprenticed boys had to enter into a written agreement 
to do certain things, as is shown by the following agreement, taken from the 
court records of Decatur county : 

"Greensburg, Indiana. 

"This indenture, made the second day of August, 1830. W'itnesseth that 
Merit Duncan, aged eleven years, eleven months and twenty-four days has by 
and with the consent of James Floyd, guardian of the said Merit Duncan, and 
of his own free will hath placed and bound himself apprentice to Samuel 
Hood, wheelwright, of the county of Decatur and the state of Indana, which 
trade the said Samuel Hood now useth, and with him as an apprentice to 
dwell, continue and serve from the day of the date hereof until the full end 
and term of nine years at which time the said Merit Duncan will be twenty- 
one years of age, fully to be completely ended during which time the said 
apprentice his said master well and faithfully shall serve, his secrets keep, 
his lawful commands gladly do and obey ; hurt to his master he shall not do nor 
willingly suffer it to be done by others, but of the same to the utmost of his 
powers shall forthwith give notice to his said master ; the goods of his said 
master he shall not embezzle or waste, nor lend them without his consent to 
any; at cards, dice or other unlawful games he shall not play; taverns or 
tippling shops he shall not frequent, fornication he shall not commit, matri- 
mony he shall not contract ; from the service of his said master he shall not at 
any time depart or absent himself without his master's leave but in all things 
as a good and faithful apprentice shall and will demean himself and behave 
toward his master during said term. 

"And the said Samuel Hood in the art trade or mystery of a wheelwright, 
which he now useth with all things thereunto belonging, shall and will teach 
and instruct or cause to be well and sufficiently taught and instructed after the 
best way and manner that he can ; and shall and will find and allow unto bis 
said apprentice meat, drink, washing and lodging and apparel, both linen and 
woolen and all other necessaries fit and convenient for said apprentice during 
the term aforesaid, and shall also cause the said apprentice within such term 
to be instructed to read and write and cypher as far as the single rule of three 
-direct inclusive, and at the end of said term to give to said apprentice a good 
suit of Holy day clothes of broadcloth, a good hat, shoes, etc. 






524 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

"In witness whereof the said parties have Iiereiinto set their hands and 

seals on the day and year above written. 

"James Loyd His 

"Merit Duncan— X 
"Samuel Hood (mark)." 

"Attest : H. H. Talbott. 

THE ESTR.\Y POUND. 

In the early days, before there were newspapers, in which advertisements 
could be run, to locate lost stock, the estray pound, or "stray pen," as our 
fathers called it, was used for the purpose of impounding all stock found run- 
ning at large. Then when the owner missed his property, all he had to do 
was to look for it in the pound, pay the proper charge and take the animal or 
animals home. 

Provision for such an institution was first made by the Decatur county 
board of commissioners in 1823. In this year the board ordered the county 
agent to let the construction of a pound, forty-four feet square, of oak posts 
and rails, sufficiently strong to retain any animal that might be placed therein. 
The contractor was to receive half his pay when his work was completed and 
the other half in eight months. The pound was to be erected on the public 
square in Greensburg. The pound was maintained on the square until 1826, 
when the court ordered it moved to the school lot and its size somewhat 
reduced. The contract for this removal was given to Isaac Plough, who 
received three dollars eighty-seven and one-half cents for his labor. It was 
maintained on this lot, Michigan avenue and Railroad street, until 1842, when 
it was again placed on the puljlic square. Incensed citizens, who objected to 
having the pen on the public square, tore it down twice within a week, and 
the institution passed into history. 

POLITICS IN 1842. 

In the county election of 1842 party lines were drawn only in the light 
for representative. David Montague was the \\'hig candidate and many 
voters propounded the following list of questions to him: (i) Are you an 
infidel in religious matters? (2) Are you an abolitionist? (3) Are you in 
favor of taxing distilleries so as to break them down? (4) Are you in favor 
of the present property law? (5) Are you in favor of a "stop law"? if so, 
how long? (6) Are you a member of any temperance or Washingtonian: 
Society ? 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 525 

"Uncle Davy" came through with replies immediately. He answered 
the first three questions in the negative, the next two in the affirmative, and 
ignored the last one. He received one thousand and sixty-eight votes to eight 
hundred and thirty for his opponent, Harvey Dunlavey. Evidently his stand 
on these questions met a\ ith the approval of the voters. 

THE WHIG BARBECUE OF 1 844. 

On October 4, 1844, a Whig barbecue for the third congressional district 
was held in Greensburg. It was, beyond doubt, the biggest political gathering 
ever held in this region up to that time. There was bunting, flags and other 
decorations galore and ten thousand people are reported to have been present. 
Hon. James M. Cravens, the Whig congressman from this district, presided 
and P. A. Hackelman, of Rush county, C. F. Clarkson, of Franklin county, 
and D. C. Rich, of Jennings county, were secretaries. 

The principal speaker was the Hon. Caleb Smith, of Connersville, who 
was then considered the most eloquent speaker in the state. The meeting wasi 
held in the Hendricks grove, a half mile northwest of the court house, in the 
locality of the old orphans' home. The task of feeding the multitude was 
successfully accomplished. 

After dinner, Hon. Oliver H. Smith delivered a memorable campaign 
speech. At night the meeting was continued in the Presbyterian church, 
where Hackelman, Rich, Cravens and ]\lilton Gregg, of Dearborn countv, 
were the orators. On October 24, another monster rally was held at Rushville 
and many Decatur county Whigs attended. Clarksburg was represented in 
the parade at Rushville, with a huge canoe cut from a large sycamore log, 
•drawn by twenty white horses and filled with twenty fair maidens to represent 
the number of states then comprising the Union. 

ONE HUNDRED STRONG AND FOUR THOUSAND MILES TO GO. 

Many of the early citizens will recall hearing of the overland trip of the 
Decatur-Rush county colony of 1852. On March 8, 1852, this colony of one 
hundred bra\-e souls started from the Spring Hill and Richland communities 
on an overland journey by ox teams to far-away Oregon. They went from 
Madison to St. Joseph, Missouri, by boat and the remaining distance was 
traversed overland. After six months of privations and dangers, they landed 
in the Willamette valley. September 13, 1852, where they remained six years, 
when they moved to near The Dalles. 



526 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

AN OLD-TIME DEBATING SOCIETY. 

During the Civil War a well organized debating society, composed of 
fifteen young men of Greensburg, flourished in that city. The society met 
every Friday evening in the office of the sheriff and discussed matters of 
public interest. After several lengthy arguments, the society decided that 
abolition of slavery would be necessary to stop the war and that the removal 
of General McClellan was justifiable. 

One of the most famous debates conducted by the society was at the 
court house when the justitialiility of Napoleon's banishment was discussed, 
J- D. Spillman and W. A. Moore taking the affirmative and R. C. Talbott 
and Captain Irvin, the negative. The record does not say who won. 

A GLIMPSE OF THE ANTI-MASONIC MOVEMENT. 

Some of the able debaters of the early days, according to recorded 
evidence, must have been Joseph Hopkins, Andrew Robison, Thomas and 
Cyrus Hamilton of the Kingston neighborhood. The story is told that 
back some time in the late twenties two youthful students at Hanover came 
to Kingston and issued a challenge to the whole wide world for a discussion 
of jMasonry. 

Andrew Robison and Cyrus Hamilton, although neither knew a thing 
about JMasonry, agreed to meet them, and, according to one who was pres- 
ent at the discussion, "when it was over, there was only a grease spot on 
the floor where the students had stood." 

Twenty years later, at the same place, there was held a very celebrated 
discussion of the subject, "Is a United States bank constitutional, accord- 
ing to the constitution?" The judges were Alexander and John Porter 
and a man named Travis. All were property owners and had been selected 
because every one had implicit confidence in their fairness. 

Disputants were John B. Trimble and James B. Yearns for the affirma- 
tive and William L. Douglas and Thomas Jones for the negative. Soon 
after the judges had retired to consider the points adduced, one of them 
reappeared and asked, "On which side of this (piestionis James Yearns?" 
He was supplied with the needed information and the judges at once filed 
back with a decision favoring Yearns' side. 

The announcement came as a surprise, the question being a partisan 
one and two of the judges being of the anti-bank party, which made it the 



DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. 



527 



more difficult to understand. Yearns, however, was a son-in-law of one of 
the Porters, which, it was later decided, was the senegambian in the wood 
pile. 

A CIVIL WAR DEBATE. 

In September, 1862, occurred a bitter joint debate between Colonel 
BemusdatYer and the Reverend \'an Buskirk at Milford. They were candi- 
dates for the Legislature on the Democratic and Republican tickets, respec- 
tively. \'an Buskirk took for his text the words of Stephen A. Douglas, 
and stuck to his text all the way through. These words were as follow : 

"How are we to overcome partisian antipathies in the minds of men of 
all parties so as to present a united front in the support of our country? 
Whoever is not prepared to sacrifice party organizations and platforms on 
the altar of his country is not worthy of the support and countenance of 
honest people. We must cease discussing party issues, make no allusions to 
old party tests, have no criminations and recriminations, indulge in no taunts 
one against the other as to who has been the cause of these troubles. When 
we shall have rescued the country and government from its perils and seen 
its flag floating in triumph over every inch of American soil, it will then be 
time enough to incjuire as to who and what has brought about these troubles 
upon us. Then it will Ije time enough for each of us to return to our party 
banners." 

\'an Buskirk argued that the Republican ])arty, whose candidate he was, 
was true to this conception, that the Republican party had eschewed its name 
and had nominated a state ticket, with three Republicans and three Demo- 
crats upon it. He also pointed out that Colonel Gavin, a Democrat, had been 
named for Congress. 

EARLY GREENSBURG LIBRARIES. 

A fugitive notice in a local newspaper in 1857 says that there were two 
public libraries then open in Greensburg every Tuesday and Friday after- 
noons. The McClure library was free to members of the Workingmen's 
Institute, others paying twenty-five cents per quarter for library privileges. 
The other library belonged to the township and had been established by 
Professor Larrabee in 1855. The records showed that in nine months five 
hundred and seventy-six books were taken from the JNIcClure library and 
four hundred and twenty-nine from the township library. No other account 
has been found of either librarv. 



528 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ORTHOGRAPHIC CONTESTS. 

Public spelling matches became very popular in the seventies and all 
over the country matches were held in school houses, opera houses and other 
places. A town in Ohio in 1875 claimed the honor of being the first to con- 
duct a pul:)lic spelling match and the editor of a Greensburg newspaper comes 
back in this wise : 

"The question of where the spelling mania originated is being discussed, 
and Ohio, with her usual brazenness, is claiming the honor. We want to 
say that the first public spelling match in the country took place in Greens- 
burg in 1874. The papers of the state made considerable fun over it at the 
time, and said that we were without other forms of amusement. Now they 
want to claim the honor of being first." 

One of the most famous spelling matches of forty years ago was held 
in the county court house on March 18, 1875, when Susie F. Wise, New 
Pennington, won first prize over lawyers, doctors, teachers and others. This 
prize was one hundred and si.xty acres of western land owned by James 
Hart. 

A second spelling match was held at the court house on March 25, of 
the same year, with Judge W. A. Moore and G. H. Dunn as captains. W. A. 
Powner was umpire and Doctor Wright pronouncer. Dunn had first choice 
and took F. E. Gavin. Moore took N. S. Cooper. Miss Wise, who had won 
the week before, went down and' out on "hostage." The last four standing 
were Moore, Cooper, E. T. Jordan and J. K. Ewing. In the end Cooper won. 

LINCOLN IN GREENSBURG. 

A fact not generally known is that .Vbraham Lincoln once observed a 
birthday in Greensburg. It was February 12, 1861, his fifty-second birth- 
day, and he was on his way to Washington to be sworn in as President of 
the United States. According to his itinerary, he was to go from Indian- 
apolis direct to Cincinnati, but Will Cumback prevailed upon those in 
charge to hold the train at Greensburg for a short time in order that Decatur 
county people might pay their respects to the President-elect. A meeting of 
prominent citizens had been held the week before to perfect arrangements. 

When the train stopped at the station, Mr. Lincoln appeared at the rear 
platform and was introduced by Will Cumback, who was one of the 
committee of escort. A crowd estimated at two thousand had gathered. 
Lincoln, after explaining that he had no time, on account of the limitations 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 529 

of his schedule, to make an extended speech, thanked his auditors for their 
courtesy, and then, noticing that there was a band present, called for some 
music, adding that of course the sentiment of it would no doubt favor the 
Union. The crowd sang "The Flag of Our Union," the band played "Hail, 
Columbia" and then the train pulled out. While Lincoln was listening to 
the music, he was presented with a large red apple by John Dokes, a well- 
known character. 

Commenting upon the President-elect, the Grccnsburg Standard said in 
its next issue: "Almost everybody who saw President Lincoln as he passed 
through this place on last Tuesday seemed to be surprised to find him so 
good looking a man as he is. From what they had heard and from the pic- 
tures they had seen, they of course expected to see an altogether different 
looking man. He is not a beauty, but then he is about as good looking as 
Presidents generally are." 

THE FIRST SUNDAY SCHOOL IN DECATUR COUNTY. 

The first Sunday school in Decatur county was held in the fall of 1827 
near the present Mt. Cannel church, two miles south of Clarksburg. There 
was no church building there at that time, but a log school house on Andra 
McCoy's farm, in which the Presbyterians, Methodists, United Brethren and 
New Lights had occasional services. Here was organized the first Sunday 
school. The officers of this first Sunday school were as follows: John 
Hopkins, superintendent; Zenas Darnell, assistant superintendent; Dr. Jesse 
M. Gillespie, secretary. The teachers were Miss Andra McCoy, Jane Don- 
nell (Mrs. Luther A. Donnell), Jane Throp, Elizabeth Bell and John Bell. 
Dr. Nathaniel Lewis was appointed to raise money to buy a library for the 
school, and when the books came some of the members did not like some 
of them and withdrew from the school, because of the fictitious character 
of some of the books. This school was continued until about 1830, when 
it was disbanded, and the Methodists, who then had a church society there, 
organized another Sunday school. 

THE ONLY LYNCHING IN DEC.VTUR COUNTY. 

Just once in the history of the county has mob law overruled the courts 
and claimed its victim. In the summer of 1879 Oscar M. Garrett, an Adams 
countv farmer, was arrested, charged with the murder of John Walton, a 

' (34) 



530 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

neighbor. Walton had a young wife in whom Garrett, aUhough a married 
man, took an undue interest. The crime was at once laid at his door and the 
widow was also arrested, charged with complicity in the deed. So strong 
was public sentiment against him, that Garrett took a change of venue to 
Bartholomew county. Mrs. Walton was tried in the local court and sen- 
tenced to the penitentiary for life. In the trial at Columbus the state en- 
deavored to show that Garrett had hired a colored man to perform the act. 

Garrett was acquitted and returned to Decatur county, where he was 
at once arrested upon another charge. Sentiment ran high, and a few nights 
later twenty men burst the jail door and laid hands upon their victim. He 
fought like a tiger, with all the madness of despair. Shrieking and bleeding, 
he was borne toward the door and out into the yard. All the time he furi- 
ously fought his assailants. When the mob at last overpowered him and 
strung him to a tree in the jail yard, life was almost extinct. 

John Stout was county sheriff at this time. He did his best to protect 
his prisoner, but the mob overpowered him. Under the state law at that 
time, Walton's widow secured a third of his estate. 

THE AGAPHONE. 

In 18^8 Israel D. Jewett, of St. Omer, invented an instrument to which 
he gave the name "agaphone." The county papers of that year refer to it 
in glowing terms and prophecy that it will supplant the telephone in a short 
time. The Greensbnrg Standard says that "A reporter of the Ciucinnati 
Gazette, who has twice visited St. Omer to inspect this invention, reports it 
a perfect triumph over the Edison instrument." For some reason the won- 
derful invention failed to materialize and nothing more is heard of it after that 
year. Whether it was ever used as a means of conmnmication, has not 
been discovered, but it seems certain that it was never manufactured for com- 
mercial purposes. It was in reality nothing but a telephone. 

PIONEER COLD STORAGE. 

It is claimed that Rev. Benjamin M. Nyce, of Decatur county, Indiana, 
was the first man to apply refrigeration to the storage of fruit. One capital- 
ist offered him one hundred thousand dollars for the patent rights for the 
city of New York, and two hundred and fifty thousand dollars was reported 
to have been offered him for the Louisiana concessions. He firmly declined 
all such oft'ers, but failed in business at last. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 53 1 

A GUNPOWDER PLOT. 

Emulating Guy Fawkes, three young men, in a spirit of play, on the 
evening of February i8, 1876, placed a beer keg containing gunpowder 
against the south side of the court house and touched it off. All the windows 
on that side of the building were shattered and bits of the keg were blown 
across the square, breaking a number of windows in business places. John 
Moody, Hick James and a Gageby boy were arrested, but were later released. 

TO BUSS OR NOT TO BUSS. 

In the summer of 1912 there was organized at St. Paul one of the most 
unique clubs which has ever arisen in the county, or in the state or nation. 
The cause leading up to its organization is shrouded in more or less mystery, 
the charter members refusing to divulge the reasons which lead to its forma- 
tion, although there are those who have offered a veiy satisfactory explana- 
tion. The Indianapolis News, in the fore part of August, had a long article 
on this club in which its aims were set forth in detail. This club bore the 
culinary-osculatory title of the "St. Paul Anti-Spooning Club" and was 
limited to twenty members, divided equally between the two sexes. Whether 
the fair maidens of St. Paul originated the club or whether it was the young 
men, has not been ascertained ; neither has it been possible to find out 
the nature of the initiatory services. The supposition is that the neophytes 
were initiated in pairs and forced to abjure all those practices common to 
amorously-stricken couples. In the constitution, which was the last thing 
every member was allowed to kiss, the initiate was sworn to forego all "flirt- 
ing, fussing, spooning, kissing, holding of hands, or any demonstrations of 
an amorous nature." (See Greensbiirg News, August 9, 1912.) For the 
first violation of any one of these rules the offender was compelled either to 
hold the hands of the town clock or salute the mouth of Flatrock. The 
second violation was met with instant expulsion from the club and perpetual 
ostracism from all good society in the town. This club, so organized and 
with such excellent eugenic and sanitary provisions for its members, opened 
its first meeting with the full membership present. After the regular busi- 
ness of the club was concluded, on this opening night, a social hour was 
indulged in for the general welfare of the members. At the next weekly 
meeting the club unanimously voted to disband, the fair damsel moving its 
dissolution saying that she voiced the sentiments of her nine sisters when she 
said that such an oroanization was detrimental to the advancement of home 



532 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

life in i^articular and civilization in general. Thus died one of the most 
unique organizations which the mind of man ever conceived, and peace and 
contentment once more reigned supreme in St. Paul. 

"aunt jane" warriner and her well. 

The location of the new Y. M. C. A. building on the lot where "Aunt 
Jane" Warriner lived for so many years has recalled to many of the older 
residents of Greensburg that old pioneer lady and her famous well. This 
lot was sold at the first public sale of lots on the first Monday in Septeml^er, 
1822, to Ella Warriner (a man) for the sum of ten dollars. The directors 
of the Young Men's Christian Association paid seven thousand five hundred 
dollars for this same lot in 191 4. 

"Aunt Jane" Warriner was born at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1800 
and was married to Edmund Heuston in 1819. In the winter of 1820-21 
her husband came to Decatur county with Col. Thomas Hendricks and helped 
to survey the county in the spring and summer of 1821. During the follow- 
ing winter "Aunt Jane" came down the Ohio river in a barge as far as 
Cincinnati. From there she walked to Greensburg, alone through the for- 
ests, carrying her babe at her breast. 

Her husband died a few years later and, on May 26, 183 1, she married 
Franklin Warriner, a brother of Ella. It was soon thereafter that they 
located on the present Y. M. C. A. lot in a rude log cabin. They dug a well 
in front of the house, which, from about 1835 to 1875, a period of forty 
years, was a social center for the whole town.. People came for squares 
around to get water from this well, school children flocked to it on their way 
to and from school, and all were welcomed by "Aunt Jane." About 1875 
the well was filled up and the once famous gathering place is now only a 
pleasant memory. 

a two-dollar prayer. 

The Bible says the laborer is worthy of his hire and George W. dem- 
ons, a prominent member of the Baptist church, of Greensburg, is a firm 
believer in the tnith of this statement. In the spring of 1915 Mr. demons 
happened to attend services at the First Methodist church and Reverend 
Dodridge, knowing that he often offered public prayer in his own church, 
called upon Mr. demons to pray upon this particular occasion. Mr. demons 
gave a very effective prayer and during the following week sent a bill to 
Reverend Dodridge for two dollars for his services. Whether the preacher was 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ' 533 

expected to reimburse Mr. demons for his services when he called upon him 
is unknown, but he felt that Mr. demons by right owed him ten dollars for 
his semion at the time in question. Accordingly, Reverend Dodridge made 
out a statement for ten dollars for services rendered, and this he took in 
person to Mr. demons and presented it to him with the request that he (Mr. 
demons) still owed hinr eight dollars. Mr. demons still owes the preacher 
eight dollars. 

CENTER OF POPULATION. 

According to the United States census of 1890, the center of population 
for continental United States was in Decatur county, about ten miles south 
of Greensburg and a mile and a lialf northeast of Westport. When the 
exact spot was located, in the spring of 1891, the Cliicago Herald asked and 
obtained permission from the owner of the farm, A. M. Armstrong, on 
which it was located, to put up an appropriate monument. On Sunday, May 
10, 1 89 1, the monument was dedicated with appropriate ceremonies. Ad- 
dresses were made by Will Cumback, Frank E. Gavin and H. C. Miller, 
and A. M. Willoughby read a historical sketch suitable to the occasion. 
Music was furnished by the Greensburg band and the Mapleton glee club. 

DRIPPING SPRINGS GARDEN. 

It is not generally known that an industrj' has been started in Decatur 
county which promises to become one of the largest of its kind in the United 
States. In the spring of 19 15 Mrs. Frances F. Ballard and Mrs. Nellie F. 
Muehler started a flower farm a half mile northeast of St. Paul and before 
the middle of the summer of the same year had twenty acres in flowers. 
They intend to enlarge their acreage as fast as they find a market for their 
product and hope to have one of the largest flower farms in the country 
within a few years. They have a farm of one hundred and seventy acres, 
with sixty-five acres under cultivation, and it is their intention to place all 
of the cultivated land in flowers. Strange to say, they do not intend to make 
their money from the sale of flowers, but from the bulbs of the flowers. At 
the present time (June, 1915) they have eighteen acres devoted to four 
flowers, namely, peonies, asters, gladiolas and dahlias. The other two acres 
in flowers are planted in Shasta daisies, delphinium, rudbekias, and miscel- 
laneous flowers. The farm is well supplied with springs which run the year 
around and this feature gives the farm its name, "Dripping Springs Garden." 



BIOGRAPHICAL 



JOHN E. ROBBINS. 

Old Decatur has given to the United States many citizens of wide prom- 
inence in various lines of human endeavor, many men of state prominence 
and a few men who have attained even national distinction. As a farmer, 
stockman and business man, Decatur county has produced perhaps no more 
widely-known man than John E. Robbins, who has won pre-eminence in 
many phases of human endeavor. In the first place, he is the proprietor and 
general manager of the John E. Robbins Company, manufactures of 
"Saltone," a medicated salt, which has an enormous sale among stockmen 
throughout the entire country, an enterprise which has brought thousands 
of dollars to its owner and proprietor. In the second place, he is one of the 
most up-to-date and progressive farmers to be found in the Middle West, 
and a man who has succeeded in a large way, merely because he has applied 
to the farm the same principles which he might apply to the operation of a 
railroad, a factory or a large department store. As a breeder, however, it 
is possible that Mr. Robbins is most widely known. A man of wide vision, 
he recognized the larger opportunities and, in 1896, while at Jersey Island, 
purchased ten head of Jersey cows, which were considered by experienced 
breeders on the Island to be the best that could be procured there. As a 
breeder of Hampshire hogs, he is equally well known and has accom- 
plished equally remarkable feats. No attempt to explain his large success 
would be complete, unless one were able to met and know the man himself. It 
is significant, however, that he is descended from the best stock that Decatur 
county has ever produced. His father, his grandfather and his remote ances- 
tors were men of large vision and great accomplishments, and it is true, no 
doubt, that John E. Robbins has inherited from these worthy progenitors 
many of his most sterling traits of character and much of his capacity for 
large business enterprise. 

John E. Robbins was born March 29, 1864, on the old Robbins home- 



536 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

stead, three-quarters of a mile south of Greensburg. Here, in a beautiful 
countr}' home, surrounded with all of the opportunities which the father of 
wonderful ability could give to his son, he grew to manhood. The house 
in which he was born and in which he lived during the early years of his 
life, was supplanted by a magnificent brick house, erected by the father in 
1868. Since he was twenty years old, he has been well-known in this state 
as a breeder. His business, of this character, has grown from year to year 
until, in 19 14, he raised five hundred head of Hampshire hogs, and it was 
only in 191 1 that he began breeding Hampshires. He sells fancy sows and 
boars all over the country and has exhibited his choice animals at state 
fair in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, W^isconsin and Iowa and the international 
live stock -expositions. He has carried away a majority of the prizes and 
ribbons at each exhibit. A list of prizes he has won on his most famous 
animals would far exceed the available limits of this biographical review. 
Nevertheless, at his auction sale held on January 8, 1914, the "Saltone Stock 
Farm" established a new record. Sixty-nine Hampshire hogs sold for eight 
thousand seven hundred dollars, a previously unheard-of average price of 
one hundred and twenty-six dollars a head. "Lady Over" brought five hun- 
dred and twenty-five dollars; "Saltone II.," five hundred and ten dollars; 
"Vesta," four hundred and fifteen dollars, and "Bessie Burk," four hundred 
and five dollars. Ten hogs sold at an average of three hundred and thirty 
dollars, twenty hogs sold at an average of two hundred and forty-five dol- 
lars, and forty at an average of one hundred and seventy-one dollars. Mr. 
Robbins attributes a part of his success with Hampshire hogs to the liberal 
use of Saltone, a medicated salt, which he himself manufactures. At the 
international live stock exposition at Chicago in 191 3, his herd of Hampshire 
hogs won two grand championships, and three championships, the prizes 
including, however, not only the prizes won at international live stock exposi- 
tion, but also at the Iowa, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois state fairs of the 
same year. In 191 5 he sold one hog for one thousand and twenty-five dol- 
lars. Formerly a noted importer of Jersey cattle, Mr. Robbins made many 
trips to Jersey Isle, and, during his career, imported many thoroughbred 
Jersey cattle. Beginning in 1896, for fourteen years he bred and sold Jer- 
seys and was the only man in the United States who ever bred, raised and 
sold a Jersey bull which brought the enormous price of ten thousand dol- 
lars. This excellent animal, " Silverine Coomassie," was sold to Dr. C. E. 
Still in the spring of 1905. 

Of the Saltone enterprise, it may be said that it is manufactured by 
the John E. Robbins Company, which was organized on December i, 191 1. 



i 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 537- 

It is especially designed to destroy worms in live stock and to tone up 
animals physically. The formula was discovered in an enterprise launched 
by ;\Ir. Robbins under the trade-mark name, "Saltone." This enterprise has 
been very successful, and, in nonnal times, the company employs about forty 
people and the sales in 1914 amounted to more than eighty thousand dollars. 

With all of these enterprises to look after, it is not hard to conclude 
that John E. Robbins is a very busy man. He owns two hundred and 
seventy-five acres of land, and it is upon this farm, situated near Greens- 
burg, that his extensive business operations are carried on. Personally, he 
is an intelligent and progressive citizen and an independent thinker and voter, 
although nominally he is identified with the Republican party. Fraternally, 
he is a member of the Masonic lodge ; the Murat Temple ; nobles of the 
Alystic Shrine, of Indianapolis; the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 

Mr. Robbins has been twice married, the first time, December 24, 1884, 
to Lou Elder, the daughter of James Elder. She died on February 2, 1885, 
only a short time after their marriage. Mr. Robbins was married again, 
December 11, 1912, to Elizabeth C. Ehrhard, the daughter of Adam Ehr- 
hard, of Greensburg. To this second marriage has been born one son, 
John Everman, who was born February 4, 1915. 

John E. Robbins is a son of John E., Sr., and Nancy (Hunter) Rob- 
bins. The genealogy of the Robbins family l:)egins with Bethiah Vickery, 
who was born on December i, 1760, and who married William Robbins. To 
them were born three children : Albe, Charity and Benjamin. William Rob- 
bins was killed in the Revolutionary War, soon after enlisting, and his 
widow married a second William Robbins in Guilford county. North Caro- 
lina. To this couple were born nine children : Marmaduke and Jacob, born 
on May 15, 1783; Elizabeth, born on February 5, 178S; Polly, born on 
April 9, 1 791; Nathaniel, born on April 5, 1793: John, born on February 8, 
1795: William, born on August 6, 1797; Dosh^, born on May 20, 1804.. 
William Robbins, the second husband of Mrs. Robbins, was born on October 
21, 1 76 1, in Randolph county. North Carolina. In October, 1777, when six- 
teen years of age, he enlisted in the Revolutionary army, sei"ving until 1781 
under Capt. Joseph Clark and Colonel Dugan and Col. Anthony Sharp. He 
left Virginia for Henry county, Kentucky, and, in 182 1, came to Decatur 
county, settling nine and one-half miles south of Greensburg. Here he 
made a home among the timbered hills. Trees were cleared away and a new 
log house of one room was erected with a shed, in which was built a room 
for carpet weaving and many kinds of cloth. In September 11, 1834, Will- 



538 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

iam Robbins passed away and was buried at Alt. Pleasant cemetery. The third 
William Robbins, heretofore referred to in the children born to the second 
William Robbins and Bethiah Vivery, was born in the Blue Ridge Alountains 
of Virginia. He was taken by his parents to Henry county, Kentucky, and 
accompanied them to Indiana, when the family came in 1821. At this time 
he was twenty-four years of age. He selected the site for a home for him- 
self about one and one-half miles north of his father's home, but the next 
year returned to Kentucky and was married to Eleanor Anderson, of that 
state. 

Upon returning to his new home with his bride, and during the same 
year, three sisters and two brothers, John and Nathaniel, settled in the same 
vicinity. A short time later other relatives of the Robbins family came to 
the same township. The Robbins family became prominent both as to num- 
ber and influence in the early aft'airs of this section. Nathaniel Robbins was 
the first justice of the peace in Sand Creek township, ^^'illiam and Eleanor 
Robbins lived on the fami originally selected as their home, during the 
remainder of their lives. They had four children: Sarilda, born in October, 
1823, who married William Styers; John E., born on February 20, 1825, 
who married Nancy O. Hunter; James G., born on June 10, 1827, who mar- 
ried Elmira Stout, and Merrit H., born in 1829, who married Jeannette 
Gilchrist. William Robbins died on February 3, 1868, and his wife died 
four years later. 

John E. Robbins, Sr., was born on his father's farm near Greensburg, 
February 20, 1825, and was married on November 7, 1844. to Nancv Hunter, 
the daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hunter. After their marriage, the 
young couple went to housekeeping on a farm of forty acres given them by 
Mr. Robbins' father. After living on this farm until Februarv 15, 1848, 
they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land one mile south of 
Greensburg, where they made their home until their death. To this pur- 
chase, however, they added large tracts of land until they owned three 
thousand acres in Decatur county and twenty-four hundred acres in Bartholo- 
mew county, besides personal property of great value. 

In 1882, John E. Robbins helped to organize the Third National Bank 
of Greensburg, and became a director and its president, in which capacitv 
he served until his death. Under his direction and management, the Third 
National Bank grew to be one of the most substantial and successful insti- 
tutions in the country. Mr. Robbins passed away on July 22, 1896. His 
wife, wlio had shared all of his interests and labors, a most willing- and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 539 

•efficient helpmate, continued to li\-e on the farm until her long and useful 
life closed, May 2, 1905. John E. and Xancy Robbins had fourteen children, 
of whom the names of twelve are herewith given: Elizabeth Ellen, deceased; 
Charlotte Adeline, deceased ; Sarilda Ruth, who married H. F. Smiley ; 
Minerva Jane, who became the wife of Archie Gilchrist; Nancy Elmira, 
who married J. B. Kitchen : Sarah Jeanette, deceased ; William Hunter, 
who married Cora Sefton ; Clara Alinda, who is the wife of Frank B. 
Kitchin; Olive Ida, who married Robert McCoy; John Evemian, who mar- 
ried Louisa Elder; Frank Roscoe, who married Katie Sefton, and Eliza 
Angelina, who became the wife of Will Q. Elder. 

John Everman, given in the above list of children as having married 
Louisa Elder, is the John E. Robbins of this sketch. Mr. Robbins is at the 
present time at the very zenith of his usefulness, but it must not be assumed 
that he is at the zenith of his power and prosperity. As a matter of fact, he 
is hardly fifty-one years old today, and it is well known among men who have 
studied personal careers that great fortunes are generally acquired after the 
age of fifty. The people of Decatur county have every reason in the world 
to be proud of the career of John E. Robbins, and there is every reason to 
believe that they are proud of what he has accomplished ; proud of the fame 
and name he has given to this section; gratified that the exceptional oppor- 
tunities of w^hich he has taken advantage, lie here at their threshold. 



GEORGE S. LITTELL. 



When a neighbor, himself a successful business man, says of another, 
"He is the greatest worker I ever saw," it is safe to assume that the latter is 
a success financially, and a citizen looked up to as a leader, whether the 
locality in which he lives is a town or city. There is a sort of energy that is 
in\-incible, an ambition that knows no defeat, and when these characteristics, 
are combined with a genial nature, we usually find a man well known and 
well liked, a power among his fellow men and a citizen worthy of honor and 
esteem. When such a man comes of a line of ancestry living in the same 
neighborhood for many years, he has an added prestige, for he and his family 
become a vital part of the community whose well-being is a matter of their 
personal concern. Such has been the relationship of George S. Littell and 
liis ancestors to Decatur county, that its history could not be written without 
prominent mention of them. And today, Mr. Littell and his father in their 



540 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

beautiful home are important factors in the commercial and social life of 
their community. 

George S. Littell was born at Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, on June i, 1854. His, 
father, Benjamin Littell, who still lives with his son, George, is hale and 
hearty at ninety-five, and retains much of his former vigor and interest in 
life. His mother, who was before her marriage, Jane Van Sant, was the 
daughter of Reuben Yan Sant. former county treasurer of Hamilton county, 
Ohio. The grandfather of George Littell was also named Benjamin, who 
passed away during the cholera epidemic, leaving a widow and four children. 
Benjamin. Elizabeth, Sarah Ann and Clara. Of Benjamin, the father of 
Mr. Littell. we shall have more to say later on in the present article, for he. 
too, has an interesting life history. His wife, who was born in 1822, lived 
until 1907, and died at the age of seventy-eight. Their children were, Alan- 
son, a merchant of Greensburg; William T., a bricklayer and mason living 
in Indianapolis ; Frank, deceased ; Mrs. Adelia McCoy, a widow who is now 
caring for the home of our subject and his aged father; George S., in whom 
our present interest centers; Eliza, wife of Phil Weyniar, of Greensburg; 
Samuel V. and James S., merchants of the same city; Mrs. C. D. Tillson, 
also a resident of Greensburg, and Curtis R., who lives in Washington state. 
The husband of Mrs. McCoy, mentioned above, was city councilman eight 
years, and has one son, Frank, who is deputy postmaster of Greensburg. 

Benjamin Littell, the father of George, first came to Greensburg in 
1863 to manufacture brick for Augusta Lathrop, so it was on easy matter 
for the son not only to be interested in that line of work but to pick up a 
practical education in brickmaking. George was two years old when his 
father moved from Mt. Pleasant, Ohio, to Ripley county, Indiana, and eight 
years afterward they came to Greensburg. W'hen George began working 
in the lirick plant of his father, it was on the land which became the first fair- 
ground of the county as well as the location of the first gas well ever drilled 
in the county. Here father and son continued working together until 1882, 
when the latter went in business for himself, making and selling brick until 
1905. At that time his place of business was on East Xorth street. \\'hile 
located here, he made brick for the Union Traction station, the Big Four 
livery stable, the home of Robert Watson, the Worthan Block, the east half 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Home (first building), the resi- 
dence of Charles Zoller and .\rthur Hutchinson, the enginehouse and round- 
house and the De.Vrmimd hotel. For the construction of the latter building, 
he not only made and molded every brick, but also delivered them himself. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ^41 

It was at the time that he was engaged in this strenuous work that the 
remark was made by Mr. DeArmond that George was the greatest worker 
he ever saw. 

Besides being an expert in the manufacture of brick, Mr. Littell has 
been and is now a successful real estate dealer and live stock merchant. It 
has been said of him that "there is nothing in that line that he will not trade 
for." It seems that he is too ambitious to be contented with raising and 
selling live stock. He must own and place on the race-track famous horses, 
such, for instance, as "Exchange Boy," the renowned horse which he bred 
and raised. It is said of this wonderful creature that "considering the num- 
ber of races in which he started, he holds the best record of any horse in the 
world today." He started in seventy-two races, and was behind the money 
but six times, making a record of 2:17}:^ on a half-mile track. Mr. Littell 
was also the owner of "Bunyp," the horse with no Iiair, which was exhibited 
with great success in all the large cities in the country, and was considered the 
greatest freak horse in the world. 

Having an active temperament, there seems to be a strain of adventure 
in Mr. Littell which gives him many and various interests. For example, 
he at one time was owner and manager of a "carnival" which consisted of 
several amusement features, including a merry-go-round, a Ferris wheel, 
miniature railroads, etc. At the first street fair ever held in Greensburg, he 
won the first ribbon for saddle-horse and rider over the competition of the 
best riders of Kentucky. 

Mr. Littell is still engaged in the real estate business, and beside hand- 
ling property for others, has a great deal of his own to look after. He 
owns ninety acres on the outskirts of Greensburg, near his own magnificent 
residence, and valuable land on Main street, including the site and building 
of a three-story brick block. Moreover, he is the owner of fifty houses in 
Greensburg, some large, some small, and of four hundred and fifty acres 
of land in Decatur county, and eight hundred acres in Nebraska. 

Mr. Littell is a Republican, and was at one time chairman of the 
county central committee. His interest in politics has been genuine, and his 
influence among politicians is that of a leader. He is a member in good 
standing of the Odd Fellows lodge. 

Being a business associate of his fatlier, the lives of these two men 
have been very closely bound together, and it is almost impossible to write 
of one without frequent reference to the other. In all of the activities of 
the younger Littell, he has had the interest and co-operation of his father, 



542 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

who was an active business man for many years in Greensburg, and is now 
the oldest citizen of Decatur county. He was born on December 24, 1820, 
in Cincinnati, wliere he Hved until early manhood. The Littell home was on 
Fifth street. His father, a brickmaker, was a native of Vermont, so it 
seems that the brickmaking industry in this family extended through three 
generations. After moving to Alt. Pleasant, nine miles from Cincinnati, they 
made this home until 1856, when they again changed their place of abode, 
this time going to Ripley county, Indiana, where the elder Littell engaged in 
farming until 1863, and then returned to brickmaking, his first contract being 
to supply brick for the building at the southwest corner of pul)lic square, 
known as "crook's corner." He also manufactured the brick for the Moss 
House, now the DeArmond, and Annex hotel, of which Mr. Minear is the 
proprietor. Remaining in the brick business until 1890, he then retired, and 
has made his home with his son. He is now in his ninety-fifth year, but is 
physically sound and mentally alert although he has been totally blind for 
the past six years. 

Aluch of the success of this family has been due to the fact that they 
Avere hard-working and had good business ability. Benjamin Littell used 
to work early and late, and taught his children the \-alue of a good day's 
work. He has always been a genial, lovable man. and in spite of his strenu- 
ous life, has taken the time to be kind. It was said of him that he could do 
more work than two or three men, and had the happy faculty of being able 
to teach others how to work. As an employer, he was wise and kind, knew 
how to handle men, and while i)eaceable in his nature, when occasion 
demanded it, he could defend his rights with physical emphasis if necessary. 
Li other words, he was a fighter who never gave up when once he had been 
aroused. He may be regarded as a typical pioneer, for he came to Indiana 
in the state's infancy. 

.\ lasting testimony to the thoroughness and honesty with which the 
Littells did their work, is found in the fact that many of the handsome and 
substantial structures standing in Greensburg today are made of the material 
manufactured by them, the bricks made b}' them being molded by hand. 

Even at his advanced age, Mr. Littell retains much of his vigorous 
personality, and is a constant source of happiness to his son and daughter, 
who are tenderly caring for him during his declining years. During his 
many years of residence in this county, it is not surprising that he has made 
hosts of warm friends, having both the faculty of making new friends while 
retaining the old. While his educational advantages were not what they are 
today, he has a brilliant mind and a retentive memory. He is an interesting 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



543 



conversationalist, and is versatile both in mind and in achievement. As a 
business man, his remarkable memory was an important asset. The home of 
the Littells is one of the landmarks of Greensburg, for no expense has been 
spared to make it both comfortable and beautiful. 

With such an energetic father and grandfather, we do not wonder that 
the mental inheritance of George Littell has been along business lines as well 
as in matters of politics and social affiliations as exemplified in lodge and 
fraternal organizations. To say that such a career has been useful is not 
sufficient, for the history of counties and states are proof of the fact that 
their growth and settlement would have been retarded, if not absolutely 
impossible, but for the zeal, the perseverance and the energy of such men 
as we have here described. Their lives have gone into the making of 
Decatur county, and it may be said of the younger man. especially, that he 
knew how to take advantage of every opportunity, and to mold it into 
reality, thus not only to increase his own fortune, but that of the commun- 
ity as well. 



HARRY BOYD. 



Harry Boyd, secretary of the Union Trust Company, of Greensburg, 
Indiana, who has risen in life to his present position of prominence in the 
financial circles of Decatur county, was born on October i8, i8'6i, in Jen- 
nings county, Indiana, the son of William and Jane (Dickerson) Boyd, the 
former of whom was of Irish parentage, and who was born in Dearborn 
county, Indiana. His wife, a native of Jennings county, was of German 
descent. They settled in Jennings county, Indiana, after their marriage, 
and in 1865 Mrs. Boyd died. After her death, William Boyd was mar- 
ried, secondly, to Mary Marryman. By his first marriage, William Boyd 
had seven children, only one of whom, Harry, is now living. He was a 
Democrat in politics and for some time filled the office of assessor. 

Self-made and self-educated, Harry Boyd, the subject of this sketch, 
was finally able to prepare himself for the schoolroom and taught for four 
years, becoming finally the bookkeeper for Mr. Mitchell at Letts Corner. 
After holding this position for six months, he taught school at Letts Corner 
for a part of one term and then returned to Mr. Mitchell's employ. Subse- 
quently, he became a partner with W. T. and J. G. Adams, merchants at 
Letts Corner, and then, in partnership with Mr. Mitchell, opened the first 
hardware store at Letts. After a time, he traded his interest for a farm and 



544 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was engaged in farming for four years. Not finding the farm everything 
that he had hoped it to be, 2^Ir. Boyd and Mr. Adams purchased the Moore 
store and continued in partnership for some time, when Mr. Boyd came to 
Greensburg, as secretary of tiie Union Trust Company. 

In 1888 Harry Boyd was married to Carrie I. Mitchell, the daughter 
of 01i\er S. and Mary E. jMitchell, the former of whom, a farmer and 
merchant, \\'as a native of Decatur county. He died in 1897 and his wife 
<iied in 1S94. To Mr. and Mrs. Harry Boyd has been born one child, Jessie 
Gail, who was born on January 31, 1895. 

Fraternally, Mr. Boyd is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the 
Free and Accepted Masons. As secretary of the Union Trust Company, he 
has had a considerable part in the growth and prosperity during recent years 
of this institution. Mr. Boyd is popular with the officers and directors of 
the company and also with the patrons, the officers of which at the pr.esent 
time are : President, J. H. Christian ; vice-president, Lewis Zoller, and 
secretary and treasurer, Harry Boyd. 



JOHN LOCKE BRACKEN. 

In the golden sayings of Epictetus there is no nobler utterance than 
this: "What wouldst thou be found doing when overtaken by Death? If I 
might choose, I would be found doing some deed of true humanity, of wide 
import, beneficent and noble. But if I may not be found engaged in aught 
so lofty, let me hope at least for this — what none may hinder, what is surely 
in my power — that I may be found raising up in myself that which had 
fallen; learning to deal more wisely with the things of sense; working out 
my own tranquility, and thus rendering that which is due to every relation 
of life. ... 

"If Death surprise me thus employed, it is enough if I can stretch forth 
my hands to God and say, 'The faculties which I received at Thy hands for 
apprehending this Thine administration, I have not neglected. As far as in 
me lay, I have done Thee no dishonor. Behold how I have used the senses, 
the primary conceptions which Thou gavest me. Have I ever laid anything 
to Thy charge ? Have I ever murmured at aught that came to pass, or wished 
it otherwise? Have I in anything transgressed the relations of life? For 
that Thou didst beget me, I thank Thee for that Thou hast given: for the 
time during which I have used the things that were Thine, it suffices me. 







^*» t?Htiy /O %/J , 



y-~ ct.^_^r l^^_ 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 545 

Take them back and place them wherever Thou wilt. They were all Thine 
and Thou gavest them me.'- — If a man depart thus minded, is it not enough? 
What life is fairer or more noble, what end happier than his?" 

The above beautiful thought is suggested to the biographer by a review 
of the life of the late John Locke Bracken, noted attorney and one time 
leader of the bar of the Decatur Circuit Court, of Greensburg, Indiana. 
It is but fitting that in a work of this character, carrying a historical and 
biographical review of the times in this county, the following brief memorial 
should be preserved. 

John Locke Bracken was born at Milroy, Rush county, Indiana, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1849, the son of Dr. William and Patience (Bracken) Bracken. 
Dr. William Bracken was a well-known medical practitioner at Milroy, who 
moved to Greensburg in 1863, practising there for many years, during which 
time he became one of the most noted physicians in this part of the state, 
being held in the highest esteem throughout this whole region. He was 
spared to the community in which, for so many years, his skill was so 
beneficially exerted, until he had reached the great age of ninety-one 
years, having maintained his practice with full vigor of his superb powers 
unimpaired until he was eighty years of age, at which time he retired from 
the active practice of his profession, his influence in the community, there- 
after, being confined to the no less useful position of counsellor and friend, 
many still living in and about Greensburg having cause for grateful remem- 
brance that Doctor Bracken lived and labored hereabout. 

John L. Bracken received his elementary education in the Greensburg 
schools. After finishing the high-school course in the schools of his home 
town, he entered upon a supplementary course at DePauw University, Green- 
castle, Indiana, and was later graduated from Kenyon College. Thus 
ecjuipped he entered upon the practice of law at Greensburg, where from that 
time to the day of his death he occupied a most prominent and honored place 
in the affairs of the city and county. After practicing for a period of sixteen 
years, Mr. Bracken's health became impaired and he retired from practice 
for a time, removing to a farm of forty acres which he had bought, one and 
one-half miles northeast of Greensburg, on which he remained until his close 
communion with nature had restored him to his wonted vigor, after which he 
resumed his residence and practice in Greensburg, the rest of his life being 
spent there. As a practitioner at the bar of the Decatur Circuit Court, Mr. 
Bracken was successful beyond the most of his fellow attorneys, and for 
years was regarded as the leader of the bar in this countv. He had an 

(35) 



546 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

unusual grasp upon the intricacies of his exacting profession, and the \akie 
of his services as a counsellor in this community, never can be properly 
estimated. In the early period of his practice, he served as prosecuting 
attorney for Decatur county, his services to the public in that responsible 
capacity, receiving the recognition of all. During President Cleveland's 
administration, Mr. Bracken served as deputy revenue collector for tliis 
revenue district, under his brother William Holsworth Bracken, who was 
the district collector under that administration. 

Mr. Bracken long was recognized as one of the leaders in the Demo- 
cratic party in this section of Indiana, and his personal services ever were 
at the command of the managers of the party in the state. He had served his 
party as a delegate to state and national conventions and his sagacious coun- 
sels often proved of value in the deliberations of the party leaders. His 
death was, therefore, regarded as a distinct loss in political circles through- 
out the state, his absence creating a real vacancy in the councils of his party, 
while his engaging personality had so endeared him to all classes in this 
county, that his ])assing was regarded as a distinct loss to the entire com- 
munity. 

On December 18, 1877, John Locke Bracken was united in marriage 
to Maiy F. Christy, who was born at Greensl)urg, Indiana, December 10, 
1852, the daughter of William T. and Susan (Israel) Christy, natives, 
respectively, of Kentucky and Pennsylvania. 

William T. Christy was born on September 6, 1S29, and died on 
January 25, 1905. He came to this county from Kentucky as a young man 
and located at Greensburg, opening there a merchant-tailoring establishment, 
and for many years was recognized as one of the leading merchants in the 
city. For years he had practically all the trade of the growing city and 
became very successful in business. He was not only a man of fine business 
qualifications, but was a public-spirited citizen of the highest grade, his 
influence in the community ever lieing exerted for the best. His widow, 
who was born in Pennsylvania in 1834, of Dutch extraction, still is living, 
pleasantly and comfortably situated in the delightful home on West Wash- 
ington street, in the city of Greensburg, where she enjoys the most respect- 
ful regard of her large circle of friends. Mr. and Mrs. Christy were the 
parents of two children, daughters, Mary C, widow of Mr. Bracken, and 
Elizabeth Anna, who married the Rev. F. S. Tincher, a minister of the 
Methodist Episcopal church at Battle Creek, Michigan, to which union were 
born two children, Mary I. and Coyle C, the latter of whom lives in Minne- 
apolis, Minnesota. Mary I. Christy married Roscoe Martin, of Moores 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 547 

Hill, Indiana, a son of the Rev. Dr. John H. Martin, president emeritus of 
Aloores Hill College, and Josephine (Hansell) Martin, to which union there 
was born one child, a daughter, Dorothy Irene, on February ii, 1905. 

To John Locke and Mary C. (Christy) Bracken were born two children, 
William Christy, who died at the age of si.x years, and Locke, born on 
August 18, 1888, who married Clara McNaught and was manager of the 
Ward manufacturing establishment, at Decatur, Indiana, after which, in 
July, 191 5, he accepted a position as teller in the Greensburg National Bank. 
Mr. Bracken was an earnest member of the Methodist church, as is his 
widow, and was an active worker in the affairs of the congregation to which 
he was attached and the son was brought up in the same faith. 

Mrs. Bracken takes an active interest in the social and club life of 
Greensburg, and her activities therein have been largely influential for good. 
She holds membership in the leading musical and literary clubs of the city, 
and is a member of the influential Department Club. She is devoted to the 
memory of her late husband, and the whole community shares with her the 
sense of loss at his passing. Such lives as his enrich the world with their 
presence. Gracefully and graciously they mingle with their fellows, leaving 
examples well worthy of imitation by the generations following. The real 
life of John Locke Bracken abides with us as a perfume of undying 
fragrance. 



WILL J. CRISLER. 



Among the well-known citizens of a past generation of Decatur county. 
Indiana, ^^'ill J. Crisler, for many years a teacher in the schools of Decatur 
countv and later a stone dealer, occupied a pronn'nent niche in the educational 
and business life of this county. Air. Crisler belonged to a very old family 
in America and he was a man who worthily upheld the tradition of a noble 
family name. 

A veteran of the Civil War, the late Will J. Crisler was born on 
October 7, 1840, and died on January 22, 1905. He was the son of James 
S. and Alargaret (Arnold) Crisler, natives of Kentucky and early settlers 
in Shelby county, Indiana. James S. Crisler was born on February 18, 
1817, and died on January 12, 1900. His wife, who, before her marriage, 
was Margaret Arnold, was born on April 11, 1826, and died on February 
24, 1881. James S. Crisler was the son of Lewis, who was a son of Leonard, 
who was the son of Fawatt Crisler. The latter married Rosina Gaar, the 



548 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

daughter of Andreas Gaar, born in 1685. Andreas Gaar was the son of 
John Gaar, who was born m 1657, and who died in 1738. Andreas Gaar 
and his family of five, with three hundred others, came from Bavaria to 
America in 1732 in a saihng vessel. 

Reared in Shelby county, Indiana, and educated in the schools of St. 
Paul, Will J. Crisler began teaching after the close of the Civil War and, 
for twenty years, was a teacher in this section of the state. 

On October 20, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-seventh Regi- 
ment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out of service, October 
27, 1864, after serving in many battles and minor engagements. After the 
war, he taught school in Shelby and Decatur counties and in 1887 engaged 
in the stone business at Greensburg. He located in Greensburg in 1887. 
Later he operated a quarry at Westport, Indiana, and retired in 1898. 

On May 15, 1873, Will J. Crisler was married to Eliza J. Stagg, who 
was born on January 26, 1852, in Switzerland county, Indiana, and who 
is the daughter of Philip D. and Sarah A. (Anderson) Stagg, natives of 
Indiana, he of Ripley county and she of Switzerland county, both of whom 
came to Decatur county in 1859. After two years in Greensburg, they 
moved to a farm, and in 1906, leased the farm and spent the remainder of 
their lives in Mrs. Crisler's home. 

Philip Doddridge Stagg was one of eight children. His ancestors came 
to America during Queen Anne's reign, settling near Hackensack and Tren- 
ton, New Jersey. The name Stagg is of Norman-French origin and was 
originally spelled LeStagg. In the rolls of Parliament appear the names of 
John LeStagg and Dorthea LeStagg. It is derived from animal traits or 
characteristics, such as pride, swiftness, speed and shyness of the stag. The 
motto on the Stagg coat-of-arms is "En Dieu est ma fiance," "In God is my 
trust." The royal mantle of crimson velvet and the Crusader's cross between 
the stag's horns on the coat-of-arms plainly show the royal lineage. After 
settling in England, branches of the family went to Holland, from which 
place they came to America. Philip D. Stagg was an artist of rare 
genius and skill and many paintings testify his artistic ability. He was a 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Philip D. Stagg was the son of James Dunn Stagg, who 
was the son of Daniel Stagg, who was the son of Capt. James Stagg, who 
was the son of Cornelius, who was the son of John Stagg and the latter was 
a son of Thomas. The first mention of Thomas Stagg's name was in 1632, 
when he immigrated from England to Holland. He was one of the Dis- 
senters of those times and, after living in Holland for some time, came to 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 549 

America. Thirteen descendants of Thomas Stagg are shown to have fought 
in the Revokitionary War. James Dunn Stagg, the father of PhiHp D., 
was born on January 27, 1796. Capt. James Stagg, the father of Daniel 
and the grandfather of James Dunn, was born on September 18. 1737, and 
died on May 4, 1825. Major John Stagg, a cousin of Capt. James Stagg, 
was private secretary to General Washington at Valley Forge. Capt. James 
Stagg owned a large plantation in Mercer county, Kentucky. He com- 
manded a company in a New Jersey regiment during the Revolutionary 
War. Mrs. Crisler's father, Philip D. Stagg, who was born on September 
I, 18^7, died on December 15, 1908, and her mother, Sarah A. C Anderson) 
Stagg, was born on March 2, 1833, and died on December 6, 1913. She 
was the daughter of John G. and Matilda Berkeley (Adams) Anderson, 
the latter of whom was a lineal descendant of John Ouincy Adams, on her 
paternal side and of Lord Berkeley on her maternal side. 

Philip D. and Sarah A. Stagg had eight children, five of whom are 
living, James A., of Greensburg, married Mary A. Fisher on June 29, 1875; 
Harvey D., of Indianapolis, married Gertrude M. Greer on September 7, 
1905; Mrs. (Ida) J. N. Hodgin, of Richmond, Indiana: Mrs. Anna, wife 
of J. H. McGill, of Joplin, Missouri ; Mrs. Crisler : Edith, who died on Novem- 
ber 4, 1867, at the age of four; George, who died on March 24, 1904, and 
Albert, who died on November 12, 1905. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Will J. Crisler have been born two children, Winona 
and Walter W. Winona, born on February 27, 1874, married. June 11, 1902, 
George Deiwert, of Greensburg, who was born in Shelby county, Indiana, in 
1870, and has three children living, Philip Sehra, Eliza Adeline, Albert Emer- 
son, and one, William Walter, died at the age of two and one-half years, on 
September 30, 1905; Walter W., born on June 3, 1882, conducts a cigar store 
in Greensburg. He served four years in the United States nav^^ three years 
of which were s]ient in the Philippines, and, by special act of Congress, 
received an active-service medal. He married Minnie L. Crews, of North 
Carolina, on July 12. 1Q09. 

The late Will J. Crisler was a Republican and a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, as is also his widow. Fie was a member of Pap 
Thomas Post No. 5. Grand Army of the Republic, the Free and Accepted 
Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he served 
as noble grand. He was past commander of the local post of the Grand 
.A.rmy of the Republic and regimental secretary of the Union ^^eteran Legion. 
Mrs. Crisler is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star No. 147, and 
the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a prominent worker in 



550 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the \\'oman's Relief Corps and has held many offices in this organization, 
among which are junior vice-president, senior vice-president, president of the 
department of Indiana, department press correspondent for seven years and 
also department patriotic instructor for eight years and national patriotic 
instructor for two years, which is one of the most important offices in this 
organization. She is secretary and past matron of Lois Chapter No. 147, 
Order of the Eastern Star; treasurer and past president of Pap Thomas 
Woman's Relief Corps No. 1 13 ; secretary of the Thirty-seventh Indiana Regi- 
mental Association, and a member of the county board of charities and cor- 
rection. 



LEN J. EMMERT. 



Four miles southeast of Greensburg, Indiana, on the old state road, is 
the old Cobb farm, entered from the government by the grandfather of 
Jasper Cobb, one of the farms settled in Decatur county and one which 
remained in the Cobb family until 1906, when it passed into the hands of 
E. G. Schultz, of whom Len J. Emmert purchased it in March, 1913. In 
pioneer times, a mill, a tavern and a still house were operated on this farm 
and, because there was always plenty of water to be found on the farm, it 
was a camping place for the Indians. Its many springs furnished abundant 
water for the whole countryside. During the last two years, the old Cobb 
farm has been owned and operated by Len J. Emmert, one of the foremost 
farmers and stockmen of the county, an extensive breeder of Duroc- Jersey 
hogs, cattle, horses and calves. Its present owner, who has had a varied 
experience in business, since he engaged in farming, has applied the same 
business methods to the farm which he emjiloyed in the shop and the store. 

Len J. Emmert was born on May 11, 1871, in Greensburg, the son of 
native-born German parents, John B. and Catherine (Seitz) Emmert, the 
former of whom was born in Mannheim, Germany, and who came to 
America with nothing in his possession except good health, a strong heart 
and a willing hand. After coming to Greensburg. in 1866, John B. Emmert 
built and operated the Garland mills until his death. Previously he had 
lived in Lawrenceburg for thirteen years. Not only was he a successful 
business man, but he was an influential and prominent citizen, public spirited, 
progressive and industrious. Catherine Seitz was born in Alsace-Lorraine 
and came to America with her parents in 1838. After living for some time 
in Hamilton, Ohio, the family mo\-ed to Dearborn county and later he 
became a well-known farmer in this county. John B. Emmert died in 1882 
and his wife in 1909. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 55 1 

Educated in tiie public schools of Greensburg, in 1888, Len J. Emmert 
-went to Cincinnati, where he was employed for nine years in the home steam 
laundry. Upon returning home, he engaged in business for a short time 
in the employ of Minear & Company. For a short time, he was also engaged 
in the dry goods business at Anderson and for six years dealt in horses and 
stock. Eventually, he was able to buy his present farm, which is located 
on the old state road, four miles southeast of Decatur county's county seat. 
He has been very successful in raising hogs for the market and ordinarily 
has from twenty to twenty-five brood sows and from sixty to one hundred 
stockers and feeders. The okl Cobb farm is well adapted to the raising of 
hogs, because of the great quantity of flowing water. They are believed to 
be immune from cholera. In 1914 Mr. Emmert raised one hundred and 
thirty head of hogs. He generally fattens them until they weigh two hun- 
dred pounds and then sells them. Lately he has been keeping eighteen or 
twenty head of cattle, the same number of calves and from sixteen to twenty 
head of horses. I\Ir. Emmert is very fond of horses and has been able to 
make substantial profits buying and selling them. Today he is recognized 
as one of the most prosperous farmers of the county and one who, perhaps 
more than any other, has the operations of the farm reduced to a business 
basis. 

On February 6, 1897, Len J. Emmert was married to Lou Goddard, 
who was born on October 18, 1874, and who is the daughter of William and 
Mary (McKinney) Goddard, the former of whom was born in 1820 in 
Kentucky, was married to Mary McKinney on December 6, 1866, and died 
in 1897. l^Iary McKinney was born in 1832 in Washington county, the 
daughter of John and Margaret (Van Cleave) McKinney, natives of Ken- 
tucky and early settlers in Washington county. They moved, in 1837, to 
Decatur county from Washington county, settling in Washington town- 
ship. The late William Goddard was the son of Thomas Goddard, a native 
of Kentucky, whose parents came originally from Virginia. Mrs. Emmert 
is one of five children born to her parents, the others being Samuel, an 
auto salesman of Boston, Massachusetts ; William R., who lives on the home 
farm ; IMargaret, who is at home, and Bertha. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Len J. Emmert have been born three children, Louis, 
April 13, 1898, and is a student in the third year of the Greensburg high 
school; Mildred, December 26, 1901, and Mary Catherine, October 16, 1904. 

Li politics, Len J- Emmert is active and influential in the councils of the 
Democratic party. IMr. and Mrs. Emmert and family are members of the 
Presbyterian church of Greensburg and are regular attendants of the services. 



552 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

They are liberal contributors to the support of this church. Fraternally,, 
he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Greensburg. 
As a farmer and stockman, it is doubtful if Mr. Emmert has any 
superior in Decatur county. He is interested in worthy public movements, 
which has made him a valuable citizen in the community where he lives, 
while his genial and cordial relations with the public have made him decidedly 
popular. The Emmert family are popular socially in Greensburg and vicinity. 






DAVID M BLACKAMORE. 

No business is of more importance economically to the farmers of this 
country than the elevator and warehouse business, to which is sold the most 
important products of the farm, ^^'ithin recent years there has been a wide- 
spread agitation not only against the railroads which carry the farmers' 
grain to distant markets, but in many instances, against the local elevator. 
Criticism or censure has centered in two distinct allegations, first, that the 
farmers were not provided with sufficient facilities to market their grain, 
and second, that a combination existed among the elevator men to beat down 
prices and control the visible supply of the leading cereals which come from 
the farm. Perhaps some of the criticism has been justified, but one of the 
troubles of the grain business has been that the men engaged .in it were 
incapable of grasping the farmer's point of view, or of appreciating his 
demands for a free market. When David M. Blackamore purchased the 
McCoy elevator in 191 1, he brought to the business here in Greensburg the 
farmer's point of view, as well as an equal appreciation of the elevator 
operator's viewpoint. During the past five seasons the business of this 
elevator has grown enormously, and the increase is due, no doubt, to the 
fact that Mr. Blackamore pays for the farmers' product a price that is equal 
or greater than the price paid anywhere in Decatur county. Popular as he is 
with the patrons of his business, larger and larger increases may l)e expected 
in the future. 

David M. Blackamore, now a well-known business man of Greensburg, 
but formerly a farmer of the county, was born on August 30, 1874, one 
mile west of Green.sburg, the son of David F. and Lucetta (Sayler) Blacka- 
more, the former of whom was born on April 6, 1823, at Shelbyville, Ken- 
tucky, and who died on October 27, 1885, and the latter of whom was born 
on November 15, 1838. in Ripley county, Indiana. Mrs. Lucetta Blacka- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 553 

more is still living, and makes her home with her son, David M., the subject 
of this review. She is a daughter of Lewis Sayler, an early settler of 
Ripley county. David F. Blackamore was a son of John O. Blackamore, a 
pioneer of Decatur county, who settled here in 1838', one mile west of 
Greensburg, on the farm where David M. was born. He was a sturdy, 
vigorous man when in his prime, a man of great mental power, strong 
convictions and determined will. He was very successful as a pioneer farmer 
in this county, and at the time of his death was rated as being worth twenty 
thousand dollars, all of which he had personally hewed out of the wilder- 
ness. David F. Blackamore, his son, lived on the farm settled by the father 
until February, 1S75, when he removed to Clay township, and purchased a 
farm in that vicinity. This was known as the Joel Bennett farm, which he 
sold in the spring of 1880 to Ralph McGee. Subsequently, he purchased 
the Joseph Graham farm of two hundred and forty acres in Fugit township, 
and lived on this farm the remainder of his life. 

David F. and Lucetta (Sayler) Blackamore were the parents of five 
children, two of whom, Will, the eldest, and Eliza, the third in order of 
birth, are deceased. The latter died at the age of eight years. The living 
children are James F., John O. and David M. James F. lives southeast of 
Greensburg, on what is known as the White farm. John O. lives north of 
Kingston, on a farm. 

David ^[. Blackamore lived on the old home farm in Fugit township 
until the spring of 1900, having sold the farm in the fall of 1899, to H. 
Springmier. In the meantime he had become the owner of one hundred 
acres of the old farm. Later, in 1900, he purchased one hundred acres of 
land, one mile west and one mile south of the original farm, known as the 
old John L Throp farm. He improved this place and held it until 1910, 
when he sold out and removed to Greensburg, engaging in the grain busi- 
ness. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres, the old Grant farm, in 
Adams township, located three and one-half miles from the Greensburg 
court house, which farm he purchased in August, 1914. He is operating 
this farm from his home in Greensburg. 

On March 15, 191 1, Mr. Blackamore took over the elevator and grain 
business of R. A. McCoy. This plant has a capacity of twenty-five thousand 
bushels of wheat and six thousand bushels of corn, and its proprietor handles 
on an average thirty thousand bushels of wheat and tw-enty thousand bushels 
of corn annually. He also buys straw and hay, and has a wholesale and 
retail business in these commodities. He buys and sells farming seeds, oats, 
timothy, clover, alfalfa, corn and retails coal and feed. Four men are 



554 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

■employed at the mill. Feed is ground for local consumption, but Mr. Blacka- 
more is not able to grind enough for the local market, and purchases great 
cjuantities in other markets. He now has one of the best-ecjuipped plants in 
Decatur county. 

On June 17, 1896, David M. Blackamore was married to Harriet Eliza- 
.beth Butler, the daughter of John Butler, of Richland township. Rush county, 
Indiana. Of the five children born to this union, three, all of whom are 
sons, are still living, Merwin Adelbert, Loren Jewel and Delmar Butler, all 
of whom are students in the local schools. Two children died in infancy. 

For many years Mr. Blackamore has been prominent in Republican 
politics in Decatur county. In 1912 he was the Republican candidate for 
representatixe in the Indiana General Assembly, and was defeated by sixty- 
two votes, at a time when the defection caused by the Progressive party 
was a very severe handicap. He made a splendid race in the face of great 
odds, holding the normal Republican vote and receiving many Democratic 
TOtes. He cut down the Progressive vote by thirty-two and received three 
hundred and seventy-eight Democratic votes in the count}-, from five to 
fifteen votes in every precinct. 

Mr. Blackamore and family are earnest and faithful members of the 
Presbyterian church, of which they are regular attendants and to the sup- 
port of which they are libera! contributors. Fraternally, Mr. Blackamore is 
a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias. 



JOHN F. RUSSELL. 



One of the most thriving and extensive industries of Decatur county is 
the Garland Milling Company of Greensburg, of which John F. Russell, a 
prominent and influential citizen of the fourth congressional district, is presi- 
dent and general manager. His long connection with one of Greensburg's 
leading industries, his prominence in the official life of Greensburg and 
Decatur county, his long service as one of the leaders of the Democratic 
party in Greensburg and Decatur county, have combined to make him one of 
the best known men of this section of the state. Like so many of the pros- 
perous and successful business men of the present generation, he has been 
the architect of his own fortunes. It is no small step from a delivery wagon 
which he drove at the beginning of his career, to managerial position and the 
presidency of a large milling company, one which has a trade in all of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 55^ 

principal countries of the globe, yet these two positions describe the progress 
of John F. Russell during an active working period of about twenty-five 
years. 

Born on h\-bruary 14, 1870, at La\\Tenceburg, Dearborn county, Indiana, 
and the son of Richard C. and Catherine (McCullough) Russell, John F. 
Russell has enjoyed a phenomenal rise in life. His father, a native of 
Ireland, came to America when two years of age, in 1847, ^""^1 after locating 
in Cincinnati, was married, in 1869, and became superintendent of telegraph 
construction for the Big Four railway. Eventually, he moved to Greensburg 
in 1879, and had charge of the building of the Michigan division of the 
Big Four, and the time of his death was an official of this railroad. He 
was born in 1845, and died in 1894, the son of John F. Russell, Sr. Mrs. 
Catherine (McCullough) Russell is the daughter of John McCullough, a 
native of Scotland, who married Margaret King, and who, after their mar- 
riage, settled in Galveston, Texas, where the mother of John F. Russell 
was born. The McCullough family removed to Cincinnati in 1852, where 
Mrs. Russell's father engaged in business as a wholesale commission mer- 
chant. After the death of her husband, in 1894, she married the second 
time to Thomas Hartman, who is deceased, and she now resides in Greens- 
burg, Indiana. Of the eight children born to Richard C. and Catherine 
(McCullough) Russell, John F. was the eldest; Katie is deceased: Elsie is 
the wife of Dan S. Perry, the cashier of the Greensburg National Bank; 
Clara is deceased ; Richard E. is a clerk in the traffic department of the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad at Chicago ; Clem is employed by the 
American Express Company at Chicago; i\Iarie is the wife of Stanton 
Guthrie, an extensi\e news dealer, and Lillian lives at home. 

Educated in the public schools of Greensburg, Indiana, John F. Russell 
was graduated from the high school with the class of 1888, in the meantime, 
however, during 1886 and 1887, having worked on railroad construction, and 
during his vacations having learned the lineman's trade. During 1888 and 
1889 he was engaged in dri\-ing a delivery wagon for a grocery. Two years 
later he was taken into the business of Doles & Russell, a grocery firm of this 
city. During 1896 and 1898 Mr. Russell was engaged in publishing the 
A^ezv Era, of which he was the business manager. In 1898 he entered the 
employ of the Garland Milling Company, and became finally a stockholder, 
was elected secretarv and treasurer, then vice-president, and finally president 
of the company. 

The Garland Milling Company was organized in 1898, and makes a 
specialty of manufacturing wheat flour from soft winter wheat. Its best 



556 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

known brands are "Pinnacle," "Old Times" and "Defender." With an out- 
put of five hundred barrels a day. it exports its products to all the leading 
markets of the world, and especially the markets of Great Britain and 
Ireland, South America, the Scandinavian Peninsula, and France. Drawing 
its raw products from Franklin, Shelby and other counties within a radius 
of seventy-five miles, the company employs twenty-eight men, and is one of 
the most thriving industries of this city. The capital of the concern is fifty 
thousand dollars. The vice-president is George B. Ayers, and the secretary- 
treasurer is George P. Shoemaker. Mr. Russell's knowledge and his popu- 
larity among his fellows, are well attested by the fact that he served two 
terms as president of the Indiana ]\Iillers' Association, and is at present a 
directer of this organization. 

The prominence of John F. Russell as one of the leading Democrats of 
Decatur county is proved by his long-time connection with the Democratic 
organization, Mr. Russell having served as secretary for eight years and as 
treasurer for eight years of the Democratic cit}- and county committees. 
Altogether he has served in various capacities connected with these commit- 
tees for a period of twenty years, having been elected in 191 1 by the Greens- 
burg city council as a member of the board of education and re-elected in 
1914, and served until his appointment by Governor Ralston as a member of 
the board of trustees of the southeastern hospital for the insane, at Madison, 
a board of which he is now secretary. During his administration the new 
high school building at Greensburg, which cost one hundred thousand dollars, 
was erected. It is one of the very finest in the state of Indiana, and the 
people of Greensburg owe as much to Mr. Russell as to any other man, for 
the successful completion of this splendid building. During the Democratic 
state convention of 1914, Mr. Russell represented the fourth congressional 
district on the resolution committee. He also served two terms as a director 
and as president of the local associated charities, and was president of the 
commercial club for one term, an organization in which he is now a director. 
Mr. Russell is also a stockholder, vice-president and director of the Greens- 
burg JVcekly Democrat and Greensburg Evening Times. 

On November 22, 1891, John F. Russell was married to Ella E. Doles, 
daughter of Henry Doles, who, at the time of his death, in 1910, was the 
oldest native-born resident of Greensburg, having been born in 1822, and 
being at the time of his death eighty-eight years old. To Mr. and Airs. 
Russell have been born two children, John Francis, familiarly known as 
Frank. Jr., graduated from the Greensburg high school and has been a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 557 

Student at Indiana State and Purdue Universities; the other child, Clara 
Margaret, died in 19 lo. 

With his many duties, private and public, Mr. Russell is also devoted 
to the comfort and happiness of his home and to his wife and only son. The 
Russell family are favorites in Greensburg and Decatur county, and Mr. 
Russell, in his long career, has won a host of friends by his genial personal 
relations with the public and his cordial manner. In many respects he has 
displayed those sturdy traits of character common to the Scottish and Irish 
people, from whom he is sprung. His greatest asset in this community, 
however, is not so much the business he has conducted with such conspicuous 
success, or the position which he has held, as the good name he enjoys among 
his fellows. 



EDEN T. RILEY, M. D. 



Elsewhere in this volume, in connection with the biography of the late 
Hon. Zachariah T. Riley, the genealogy of the Riley family in this county 
is presented at some length, the Colonial and Revolutionary ancestry of the 
family being very clearly set out. In the presentation at this point of the 
biography of Dr. Eden T. Riley, one of Greensburg's best-known and most 
prominent physicians, the genealogical feature of the same therefore may 
properly be omitted, the reader being referred to the sketch above referred 
to for interesting information along that line, it being sufficient here to say 
that Doctor Riley is a member of one of the oldest and most prominent 
families in Decatur county, a family that has performed valuable service in 
the development of the best interests of the local commonwealth. 

Eden T. Riley, of Greensburg, Indiana, was born on a farm in Clinton 
township, this county, June 23, 1868, the son of Zachariah Thompson and 
Mary Jane (Anderson) Riley, prominent residents of the Springhill neigh- 
borhood, the former of whom was a one-time representative in the Indiana 
General Assembly from this district, genealogies of both of whom the reader 
may find presented under another heading in this volume, and the latter of 
whom is still li\'ing at her home in Greensburg, this county, enjoying the 
evening of her life at the advanced age of eighty years. There were four 
children born to Z. T. and Mary J. (Anderson) Riley, Mary Libbie, who 
died at the tender age of sixteen years ; Vessie, who is living at home with 
her aged mother; Dr. Eden T., the immediate subject of this sketch, and one 
who died in infancy. 



558 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Eden T. Riley was reared on the home farm in CHnton township, his 
preHminary schoohng being received in the local schools of that township, 
supplemented by a course in the high school at Greensburg, frum which 
latter schuul he was graduated. He then took a course in Butler University, 
at Indianapolis, Indiana, after which he entered Ohio ]\Iedical College at 
Cincinnati, being graduated from that excellent institution with the class of 
1895. Following his graduation. Doctor Riley located at Montpelier, in 
Blackford county, this state, where he remained for two years engaged in 
the practice of his profession. .Vt the end of this time he returned to 
Decatur county, locating at Greensburg, in which city he ever since has been 
very successfully engaged in practice, having made for himself a name as a 
practitiiincr that is known far ])eyond the precincts of the county. He served 
for six years as secretary of the city board of health at Greensburg and for 
two years as secretary of the Decatur county board of health, his services in 
that connectitin lia\ ing met with tlie most appreciative approljation of the 
general public ; his interest in the public-health service having been very 
largely instrumental in bringing to its present high state of efficiency the 
department of health in this county and in the city of Greensburg. 

In 190J Dr. Eden T. Riley was unitetl in marriage to Lottie McVey, who 
was born in Columbus, Ohio, daughter of C. P. McVey, and he and Mrs. 
Riley take a prominent part in the social affairs of their home city and are 
deeply interested in all the good works of the community. They are very 
popular among their many friends and are held in the highest esteem by all, 
being regarded as among the leaders in all movements having to do with the 
ad\-ancement of the best interests of this part of the state. 

Doctor Riley is a prominent Mason, as were his father and grandfather 
before him, his grandfather, \V. ^\'. Riley, having been a charter member of 
the Greensburg lodge of that order and for many years master of the lodge 
at Adams, this county. Doctor Riley's membership is in Greensburg Lodge 
No. 136, Free and Accepted Masons, in which for four terms he has served 
as master, there being few ]\Iasona in this section of the state who display a 
more active interest in Masonic affairs than he. Doctor Riley has been high 
priest of the chapter, and past worthy patron of Eastern Star. He has had 
ten years' official connection with Masonic bodies. He is a highly-cultured 
gentleman, genial and aft'able and a prime favorite hereabout. His extensive 
practice takes him to all parts of the county, and the number of his friends is 
limited only by the number of his acciuaintances, all who know him holding 
him in the highest respect and esteem. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. C^C^Cf. 

GEORGE E. ERDMANN. 

George E. Erdmann, a well-known citizen of Decatur county, Indiana, 
and the postmaster at Greensburg, Indiana, was born, March i, 1S67. in 
Gilford, Dearborn count}', Indiana, the son of Charles E. and Ellen Morris 
Erdmann, the former of whom was born in Switzerland in 1838, and the 
latter of whom was born in Ireland, March 17, 1836. Both the Erdmann 
and the Morris families emigrated to the United States about 1850, and 
settled in Cincinnati, where Charles E. Erdmann and Ellen Morris were 
married. They had four children: Charles J., a bond liroker, of Greens- 
burg ; W'illiam W". and Frederick, who are engaged in the cigar business, and 
George E., the subject of this sketch. 

The Erdmann family remo\ed to Greensburg, Indiana, in March, 1868', 
when George E. was scarcely a year old. Here he attended the public 
schools, and, after completing his education, was engaged in the manufacture 
of cigars with his father and Iirothers, until 1895, when he engaged in the 
real estate and insurance business. During his active business career in this 
city he built and repaired many of Greensburg's most splendid residences and 
business houses, especially one now occupied by the "Shoe Feller." Mr. 
Erdmann, from the time he engaged in the real estate and insurance Inisi- 
ness, enjoyed a satisfactory measure and was able to build up a large patron- 
age in Decatur count}'. 

For many years prominent in the councils of the Democratic party in 
Decatur county, he !ias served as a member of the Democratic County Cen- 
tral committee as acting treasurer and secretary ; as acting chairman, and, 
finally, as chairman by election. During his career as one of the leaders in 
the Democratic party in this county he had very much to do with its successes 
and \-ictories. and as a reward fnr faithful service to his party he was 
appointed postmaster of Greensburg on March 10, 1914, and is now ser\'ing 
in this capacity. 

Mr. Erdmann was marrietl, Octolier 9, 1889, to Kate Hamon, who died 
on March 25, 1895, leaving three children, Morris, Holden and William. 
Some three years later, Mr. Erdmann was married to Carrie L. Livenguth, 
the marriage taking place, June 22, 1898. Two children were born to this 
union, Alva, who died in 1899, and Robert L., who is still living. Mr. and 
Mrs. Erdmann reside at 432 East Main street, Greensburg, Indiana, where 
thev have a comfortable home and where they are surrounded with all the 
conveniences of life. 

A well-known citizen of this county, George E. Erdmann has won the 



560 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

confidence of the people and has worthily discharged the duties of every 
position of responsibility and trust bestowed upon him. He is a man of 
engaging personality, affable, generous, broad-minded and liberal in his 
views. 

He is a member of the Commercial Club since its organization, and was 
secretary for four years. He is also a member and director of the associated 
■ charities, and for many years has been affiliated to Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows. 



JOHN J. FOLEY. 



In the memorial literature of Decatur county, no name is more worthy 
of honorable mention in these pages than that which the reader notes above. 
Mr. Foley, a one-time well-known and wealthy grain dealer of the city of 
Greensburg and one of the most progressive and enterprising farmers of 
Decatur county, was the son of the late Hon. James Bradford Foley, one 
of the most noted men which this section of the state ever produced, and in 
all things lived worthy of the good name which had been bequeathed to him. 
Reared on a farm and following the vocation of farming, until he had sub- 
stantially established himself in a financial way, John J. Foley left the farm 
and engaged in the grain business in Greensburg, becoming the leading grain 
dealer of that city, a business which he followed with much success until he 
was ready to retire from active pursuits, after which he again took charge 
of his farm, but never left the cit}' of Greensburg after locating there. At 
his death there was much mourning, for he was a man who made and retained 
friends as few men are able to do and he was held in the sincerest affection 
throughout the whole county. His widow is living in pleasant retirement at 
her delightful home in Greensburg, located at 222 South Broadway, enjoy- 
ing, in the evening of her life, the profoundest regard of all who know 
her. 

John J. Foley was born on January 21, 1830, on a farm in Decatur county, 
Indiana, the son of Gen. James Bradford and Maiy THackleman) Foley, the 
former of whom was born in Kentucky on October 18, 1807, and became one 
of the pioneer settlers and most prominent citizens of this county, being 
honored by his fellow citizens in this district by election to a seat in the 
Indiana state constitutional convention in 1850; honored by Governor Wright 
by the appointment to the post of brigadier-general of the Indiana state 
militia for the fourth district, .and by the voters of this congressional district 




fr/n f-7Y/ry 




// 



(I 



ran f( f / - yv reu^ 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 561 

to a seat in the national House of Representatives in 1856. General Foley 
also had ser\-ed this county as treasurer, being elected to that responsible office 
in 1841, and in that and all other offices to which he was called, perfonned 
the most faithful public service. General Foley died at his home in this 
county on December 5, 1886, honored and respected of all throughout this 
entire section of the state. 

Gen. James B. Foley was twice married. On April 2, 1829, he was united 
in marriage to Martha Carter, of Mason county, Kentucky, who was born on 
February 25, 1810, and died on April 22, 1847, to which union there were 
born three children, Mrs. Mary Mansfield, who lives on Broadway, in the 
city of Greensburg, this county ; Mrs. Mary Zoller, also of Greensburg, and 
Mrs. Elizabeth Payne, of Franklin, Indiana. On March 4, 1848, General 
Foley married, secondly, Mrs. Mary Hackleman, of this county, to which 
latter union there were born three children, John J., the immediate subject 
•of this memorial sketch, Alexander A., and William O., of Connersville, 
Indiana. Mrs. Mary (Hackleman) Foley was born on January 21, 1830, 
and died on October 18, 1888. 

John J. Foley was reared on the paternal farm in Washington township, 
this county, and received excellent schooling, the course in the public schools 
being supplemented by careful reading in his father's excellent private library. 
He was a great reader and one of the most devoted lovers of books in this 
county, being recognized as a person of very fine literary tastes. On January 
13, 1853, Mr. Foley was united in marriage to Margaret J. Hillis and for ten 
year he and his wife resided on a farm in Washington township. At the 
end of that time they sold the farm and moved into the city of Greensburg, 
where, for years, Mr. Foley was successfully engaged in the business of buy- 
ing and selling grain, becoming one of the most extensive dealers in grain in 
this part of the state, amassing quite a comfortable fortune in the pursuit of 
this business. Some years before his death, Mr. Foley retired from business 
and bought a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres on the Madison road, 
near Greensburg, which he took charge of until his death. Mr. Foley's 
death occurred on February 16, 1903, and there was since mourning among 
his friends at his passing, for he was a good man. 

Mrs. Foley, widow of John J. Foley, was born on March 13. 1835, 
on a farm in this county, the daughter of John and Ann (Hazclrigg) Hillis, 
both of whom were natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born on 
February i, 1801, and died on May 6. 1876, and the latter of whom was born 
on May 23, 1811, and died on November 8, 1870, John Hillis was the son 
'(36) 



562 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of William and Margaret (Wilson) Hillis, who were the parents of three 
sons and one daughter, William, John, who married Ann Hazelrigg; David, 
who married "Patsey" McConnell, and Jane, who married John Hazelrigg. 
The brothers and sisters of William Hillis were John, James, Ebenezer, who 
married Jane Lile ; David, who married Sarah Burke ; Matthew, Mrs. Nancy 
]\IcConnell, Mrs. Cynthia Stevenson and Mrs. Jane Legerwood. 

John Hillis and his wife came to this county in the early twenties of 
the last century, when Greensburg was a mere hamlet, and here they reared 
their family. Mrs. Foley well remembers when a log cabin served as a court 
hoftse and jail for Decatur county, and she has been a witness of the mar- 
velous development which has taken place in this section of the country 
since the time of her girlhood, a development to which she and her late hus- 
band were among the most active contributors in their day and generation. 

To John and Margaret J. (Hillis) Foley two children were born, 
Edwin Wallace, born on February 18, 1854, died on September 8, 1867, and 
Anna Belle, born on November 18, 1855, died on August 21, 1868. 

Though not a member of the same, Mr. Foley was an attendant of the 
services of the Christian church and was active in the good works of his 
community, an honest, honorable and upright man, who believed in doing his 
full duty in the observance of all the principles of good citizenship. He was 
a Democrat and took an earnest interest in the political affairs of the county, 
though not an office seeker. He was a member of the Greensburg lodge of 
Odd Fellows, which he joined on January 15, 1855, and in the affairs of 
which he ever took an active and interested part. In the development of the 
best interests of both city and county, Mr. Foley was an active worker and 
few men labored in this region in the past, are more rightly entitled to an 
honorable memorial in the hearts of the people than he. 



CLARENCE FAY KERCHEVAL, M. D. 

Clarence Fay Kercheval, now a well establislied physician of Greens- 
burg, Indiana, who was born. October 18, 1872. in Rush county, Indiana, on 
a farm, is the son of J. Louis and ]\Iartha (Martin) Kercheval, the former 
of whom was born in 1846, Decatur county, and the latter of whom was 
born in 1848, Decatur county. J. Louis Kercheval was the son of William 
Kerche\'al, a native of \^irginia, who was married in that state to i\Iary 
Parmore. and who, in 1840, came to Decatur countv and settled in Adams 





en t7 



<J 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 563 

township, where he was a farmer, blacksmith and wagon maker. His shop 
was located on the site of the Kammerling residence, the first door west of 
the Centenary church. He died in 1872, after having been twice married. 
William Kercheval had seven children: Courtney and Margaret, deceased; 
Louis, Oren, William and Mary, deceased, and Mabel, the wife of James 
Caskey. Louis Kercheval has been a farmer most of his life. In 1870 he 
moved to Rush county, but moved back to Decatur county and settled in 
Adams township in 1872. He resided on the farm until 1914, when he 
removed to Greensburg, but he still looks after his farming interests. Mrs. 
Louis Kercheval, who, before her marriage, was Martha Martin, was born 
in Decatur county in 1848, and is the daughter of Dr. Matthew Martin, a 
native of Harrison county, Kentucky, and a practicing physician in Decatur 
county until his death of typhoid fever in 1856, at the age of thirty-five. 

Of the three children born to Mr. and Mrs. Louis Ivercheval, Albert 
lives in Indianapolis, Earl died at the age of one year, and Clarence Fay is 
the subject of this sketch. 

After having been reared on the farm and living on the farm until he 
was twenty-one years of age, Clarence Fay Ivercheval. who, in the mean- 
time, had attended the district schools, was married upon reaching his 
majority. For several years he taught in the public schools of Decatur 
county, and later entered Illinois Medical College of Chicago, where, after 
paying his own expenses, he was graduated with the class of 1898. Doctor 
Kercheval began the practice of his profession at Harris City, in Decatur 
county, and after remaining one and one-half years, located at Greensburg. 
Here he has built up an excellent practice, and here he has won the confi- 
dence of the public to an unusual degree. 

On September 2^. 1893, Doctor Kercheval was married to Nellie McKee, 
of St. Paul, Indiana, and the daughter of John McKee, a merchant of that 
place. To this happy union, one son, John Marine, has been born. He is 
now fifteen years old, and a junior in the Greensburg high school. He is 
well known in educational circles of this city as an earnest student, and was 
able to do the first and second year of high school work in a single year. 
He is a young man of splendid attainments and a son of whom his parents 
are very proud. 

A member of the Decatur County Medical Society and the Indiana 
.State Medical Association, Doctor Kercheval is also a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Loyal 
Order of Moose. Doctor and Mrs. Kercheval are active members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and both take a prominent part in the work of 



564 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the church. Doctor Kercheval is not only an eminent physician of Decatur 
county, but he is hkewise respected and hunored as one of the most enter- 
prising citizens of Greensburg. 



WILLIAM STEWART SMITH. 

Of the hundreds of young men who left home and friends at the out- 
break of the Civil War, to serve their country and to assist in the preserva- 
tion of the American union, no private soldier had a better record than 
William Stewart Smith, who served out three enlistments during this war. 
At the first call for volunteers, he enlisted on April 22, 1861, in the Bemin- 
stuffer Compan}', of Greensburg, and was with the Seventh Regiment, 
Indiana Volunteers, for three months. He then enlisted in the Seventeenth 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served eighteen months, and 
later in Wilder's Battery until the close of the war. The principal battles 
in which he was engaged were those of Cross Keys, Port Republic, Win- 
chester, Harpers Ferry, Knoxville, and several engagements in the Atlantic 
campaign. At Harpers Ferry he was captured by the enemy and set free 
twenty-four hours later, while on parade. After returning to Springfield, 
Illinois, he rejoined his regiment and proceeded south to Kentucky, and 
participated in the siege of Knoxville and Sherman's campaign to the sea 
as far as Resaca. At the close of the war, Mr. Smith returned to his 
Decatur county home and here took up the peaceful pursuits of life. 

William Stewart Smith, a retired farmer of Washington township, 
and the owner of sixty-two acres of land in this township, was born on 
October 22, 1839, in Switzerland county, Indiana, the son of Simeon and 
Roxanna (Jayne) Smith, natives of Indiana, whose parents came from Ire- 
land and settled in Switzerland county. Simeon Smith was the son of 
Walter Smith, a native of Ireland, and his wife was the daughter of Daniel 
Jayne, also of Ireland. In 1853 his parents moved from Switzerland to 
Ripley county and William Smith came with them. Upon the death of his 
mother, July 11, 1854, and the remarriage shortly afterwards of his father, 
William Smith left home. The father, who was born on January 29, 1812, 
and who was married the first time, April 4, 1829. died on June 14, 1886. 

Simeon and Roxanna Smith had eleven children, of whom only one 
other besides William S., is living. The other living child is a daughter, 
Rosanna. the fifth born, who lives near Lebanon. Indiana. The eleven chil- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 565 

clren, in the order of their birth, are as follow: Mrs. Jane Dilks, born on 
February 9, 1830, and died June 16, iS'Sj, who married Isaac Dilks, July 18, 
1849; Beniah, November 11, 1831, and died February 18, 1832; Cilicia, in 
November, 1832, and died May 16, 1859, who married Sylvester M. Rudy- 
cyla, in August, 1855; Celestia, January 19, 1835, and died on November 6, 
1891, who married James A. Burton; Rosanna, April 14, 1837, who married 
John Williams, October, i860; William S., the subject of this sketch; Marian 
D., February 28, 1842, and died on March 14, 1892; Maria E., September 
28, 1844, and died on March 13, 1861 ; Mary Alice, January 20, 1848, and 
died August 4, 1908; Eunice Ellen. August 5, 1850, and died August 9, 
1851, and Harriet Olive, November 4, 1853, and died on August 20, 1854. 
Simeon Smith married Laura M. Bowers and had one child born to this 
marriage, Dillard M., May 13, 1856, and died on August 21, 1908. 

Shortly after the close of the Civil War, Mr. Smith was married, and 
some time afterwards lived at Smith's Crossing for three years. After this 
they moved to Boone county, Indiana, where they lived for three years and 
then moved to their present farm in Washington township, where they have 
li\-ed ever since. For a period of eleven years, Mr. Smith was superintendent 
of the Greensburg gas and woolen works. He has always been known as a 
hard-working and industrious citizen, but the active period of his career is 
now passed and Mr. Smith has at his disposal a substantial competence for 
these unproductive years. 

On March 15. 1866, William S. Smith was married to Sarah C. 
Williams, who was born February 4, 1847, i" Washington township, and 
who is the daughter of George Washington and Drusilla (Van Cleave) 
Williams, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born in 1812 and 
died in 1879. and the latter of whom was born in 1816 and died in May, 
1897. George W. Williams came to Decatur county in 1830 with his father, 
John Williams, who had been a soldier in the War of 181 2. Mrs. George 
Williams was the daughter of David Van Cleave, a pioneer settler in Decatur 
county. Of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, only two are 
living: Mary Drusilla, born on April 17, 1867, died in infancy; Charles I., 
May 25, 1868, also died in infancy: William M., October 21, 1869, who 
married Eugene Petus, and has one child, INIarion Stewart; Julia Olive, 
March 10, 1871, and died on March i, 1908, who married Charles E. St. 
John and left four children. Hazel Catherine, Elton Livingston, William 
Sherman and Nadine Lavina ; ]\Iartha Rosanna, November 2, 1872, who 
died in infancy; one died in infancy unnamed; and Sarah Elizabeth, Septem- 
ber 5, 1880, who married Monteville Johnson, of near Indianapolis, and has 



566 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

three sons, Ivan William, George Franklin and Ralph Smith. William M., 
the only living son of Mr. Smith, served in Company F, One Hundred and 
Sixty-first Volunteer Infantry, recruited at Richmond, Indiana, by General 
Wilder for service in the Spanish-American War. William M., who was 
the second youngest captain of this company, served throughout the war. 
He is at present an electrician living in the city of Cincinnati. William 
Sherman St. John, the grandson of J\lr. Smith, married Blanche Farlow and 
has one child, Edna Marguerite. 

Fraternally, Mr. Smith is a member of Pap Thomas Post No. 5, Grand 
Army of the Republic, at Greensburg. Since the organization of the Pro- 
gressive party, in 191 2, he has been identified with this party and is well- 
known throughout Decatur county as an ardent admirer of Colonel Roose- 
velt and of Senator Albert J. Beveridge. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
are members of the United Brethren church. 



ANDREW M. WILLOUGHBY. 

Newspaper editors and publishers exert upon a community greater 
influence than any other institution. When a newspaper is well managed 
and well edited and when it seeks conscientiously to represent the best inter- 
ests in the community where it circulates, there is no means by which the 
breadth and depth of its influence can be accurately measured. In Decatur 
county the Greensburg Daily and Weekly Reviezv has exerted a profound 
influence, socially, religiously and commercially for many years. It has 
always stood faithfully and valiantly in support of the highest ideals of 
American citizenship and its high standard is due, in a large measure, to the 
forcefulness of Andrew M. Willoi-ighby, former mayor of Greensburg, who 
has been connected with the paper for thirty years. 

Andrew M. Willoughby, the editor of the Greensburg Daily and Weekly 
Reviezv and the former Mayor of Greensburg, was born on April i, 1857. 
Educated in the public schools, he began learning the printer's trade on 
August 17, 1874, when he was seventeen years old. After that he worked on 
metropolitan papers in the Central West in various capacities for a period of 
nine years, coming to Greensburg in 1883. Two years later he purchased an 
interest in the Reineiv and has been continuously connected with this paper 
for thirty years. Mr. Willoughby is an able editor and a writer of rare 
force and ability. The Review is a Republican newspaper and in the Fourth 




ANDREW y[. Wir.LOTTiHRY. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 567 

Congressional District there is no paper which has more worthily upheld the 
ideals of the Repuhlican party and which has fought harder for the success 
of its candidates than the Grcensbnrg Rcviciv. 

Mr. VVilloughby is a Republican and was elected mayor of Greensburg 
in 1898 and served almost four years, during which time he looked honestly 
and sincerely after the interests of the city, endeavoring to uphold the 
patriotic traditions of its first citizenship and to promote its moral, civic and 
political welfare. 

It was while serving as Mayor of the city that Mr. Willoughby opened 
a correspondence with Andrew Carnegie which resulted in the establishment 
of one of the handsomest public libraries in the state in Greensburg. He was 
a trustee of Decatur Lodge No. 103, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and 
a member of the committee which located the State I. O. O. F. Home in 
Greensburg, an institution of which not only Greensburg but the entire state 
of Indiana is proud. 

He resigned as mayor in February, 1902, to become postmaster of 
Greensburg, which position he held until March, 1906. During his term as 
postmaster, Mr. Willoughb)^ gave to Decatur county the excellent rural mail 
delivery service that it now enjoys, and in many other ways improved the 
postal service of the city and county. In 1900 Mr. Willoughby was chair- 
man of the Republican county central committee, and succeeded in restoring 
the county to the Republican column after the slump to the Democrats in 
1898. Mr. Willoughby has also served as deacon of the Presbyterian church 
for fifteen years, as secretary and president of the Indiana Republican Edi- 
torial Association and as a member of the library board for two terms. 
He is a charter member of Greensburg Lodge No. 148, Knights of Pythias, 
and of the Elks. 

Mr. Willoughby has been twice married, the first time to Minnie E. 
Christy, daughter of the late Samuel Christy, cashier of the Citizens National 
Bank. To them was born one son, Raymond C, who is now a well-known 
newspaper man of Indianapolis. On FeJjruary 12, 1895, Mrs. Willoughby 
died at Greelev, Colorado, and on November 22, 1898, Mr. Willoughby was 
married to Clara B. Hollowell, of Harrison, Ohio. 

Not only in the realm of public life, where he has been prominent iior,; 
more than a quarter of a century, is Andrew M. Willoughby admired and 
respected, but in the realm of private affairs, in the personal relations of life, 
he has won for himself an enviable position among the best people of this 
city and county. A worthy and capable editor, he is also an honored and 



568 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

GEN. JAAIES B. FOLEY. 

The civic honors which were bestowed upon Gen. James Bradford Foley, 
during his long and useful life in Decatur county, and the high tribute which 
the people of this section of the state of Indiana continue lovingly to pay to 
his memory, must stand as an abiding earnest of his singular ability as a 
statesman and his eminent services to the public, in the various capacities to 
which his fellow citizens had called him. In his public service, General 
Foley played a dignified and fdrceful part; in his private life he was gen- 
erous and large-hearted, greatly belo\ed of all who had the pleasure of an 
intimate acquaintance with him — a fine type of man, a useful citizen, who, in 
all things is fully entitled to have his name engraved high on the roll of 
Decatur county's great men. Though himself a leader of men, none was 
more willing to take even the most modest part in the service of the com- 
mon weal, and, in all that he did, the good that might be done in behalf of 
the people, ever was uppermost in his mind. Beginning his service as county 
treasurer of Decatur county, then called to take his part in the framing of the 
basic law of Indiana in the constitutional convention of 1850, as a delegate 
from this district, to that historic convention : then given by the governor of 
the state command of the Fourth Brigade of the Indiana state militia ; ne.xt 
sent to Congress by his admiring constituents in this district in 1856, declin- 
ing a nomination to the same high honor in 1874; all the while regardful of 
the best interests of his home county in a moral, civic and commercial way, 
General Foley certainly did his part in the upbuilding of this community and 
did it well. Therefore, it is but fitting that in a historical and biographical 
work of this character, honorable tribute should be paid to his memory. 

James Bradford Foley was born in Mason county, Kentucky, October 
18, 1807, and died at his home near the city of Greensburg, in this county, 
December 5, 1886, in the ripe fullness of a green old age, honored and 
beloved of all throughout this entire section of the state. His father died 
when James B. was seven years of age, leaving to his mother the task of 
rearing and supporting a family of seven small children. This brave pio- 
neer mother, who was Mary, the daughter of Benjamin Bradford, superin- 
tendent of the arsenal at Harpers Ferry during the Revolutionary War, 
was stricken with blindness shortly after the death of her husband, and the 
boys of the Foley family very early began life as bread winners. At the age 
of sixteen, James B. Foley began as a "hand" on a flatboat plying the waters 
of the Mississippi, engaged in the New Orleans trade. Applying himself 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 569 

to the opportunities which thus were oijcned to his discerning and enter- 
prising mind, he presently engaged in the river trade for himself, and, by 
the time he had reached the age of twenty-one, had accumulated a fortune 
of twenty thousand dollars; no insignificant achievement for one of his years 
in that day. On June 15, 1834, Mr. Foley abandoned the ri\er trade and 
opened a dry-goods store in the growing village of Greensburg, the seat of 
government in this county. For two years he operated this store, meeting 
with nuich success in his commercial \enturc, and llicn, in ihc year 1837, 
sold the store and bought a farm two miles from the city of Greensburg, 
on which he made his residence until the year 1880, at which time he sold 
this farm and bought a residence one mile out of town, in which he spent the 
rest of bis life, i'nr a iieriod ending with \^'/"/, (icncral l''i)ley was engaged 
in the pork-packing business in Cincinnati and in l.awrenceburg, Indiana, 
doing for years an aggregate business amounting to as much as eighty 
thousand dollars a year. 

During all this lime, (icneral ImiIcv was taking an actix'c ])art in the civic 
affairs of this section and there were few men in this part of the state whose 
lives proved more useful to the general welfare. lie w-as ever interested in 
the adxancement of the best interests of this comnnmity ;md gave himself 
unselfishly and ungrudginglx' to the public service. In 1841 he was elected 
county treasurer of Decatur county, an office in which he ])erforme(l good 
service. When the convention for the revision of the state constitution in 
1850 was called. General b'oley was elected as a delegate to that convention 
from this county and in the deliberations of that historic body, his counsel and 
advice, based upon his sound judgment and excellent executive ability, proved 
of high value. In 1852 Governor Wright appointed General Foley to be 
brigadier-general of militia for the foiuub district of Indiana and, in 1856, 
he was elected to .serve this district in the lower house of Congress, a service 
which he performed with an eye single to the public good, largely extending 
his reputation as a statesman and a jiublic man. In 1874 he was importiyicd 
by his party to accejit a second nomination to Congress, but he declined the 
honor, his extensive business interests and the inexorable encroachment of 
years, necessitating his gradual, though reluctant, retirement from a measure 
of his former public activities. 

On .\pril 2, 1829, General Foley was united in marriage to Martha 
Carter, of Mason county, who was born on February 25, 1810, and died on 
April 22, 1847. '^'i ^I'T'ch 4, 1848, General Foley married, secondly, Mrs. 
Mary Flacklcman, who was bf)rn on January 21, 1830, and died on October 
18, 1888. To each of these unions three children were born, as follow: 



570 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mrs. Mary Mansfield, who lives at Greensburg, this county; Mrs. Mary 
Zoller, who also lives at Greensburg; i\Irs. Elizabeth Payne, of Franklin, 
Indiana; John J., born on January 21, 1830, died on February 16, 1903, a 
memorial and biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this 
volume ; Alexander A. and William O., of Connersville, Indiana. 

General Foley was a liberal supporter of the Christian church at Greens- 
burg and also was a generous contributor to Bethany College, Virginia, and 
Butler College at Indianapolis, and was likewise active in all local good works 
in and about Greensburg. Fie was a Democrat and was one of the strongest 
supporters of that party in this county and throughout this section of the 
state, his sage counsel ever being sought by the party managers of this dis- 
trict. His large business affairs made him one of the leaders also in the 
commercial and financial life of this section, while his strong moral and 
religious convictions made him also one of the most potent factors in the 
general uplift of the community — a very faithful public servant of whom it 
truly may be said he did well his part; faithful, devoted and true in all the 
relations of life. 



ROBERT CASSIUS HAMILTON. 

One of the pleasantest and most hospitable homes in Decatur county, 
is that of Robert Cassius Hamilton, one of the best-known farmers of Wash- 
ington township, who is living on the farm, in the fine brick house ereceted 
by his father in 1863, and is active in the labors of the farm. His pleasant 
home is one of the landmarks in that part of the county and is a source of 
unbounded enjoyment to its genial owner, the well-kept lawn, driveway, 
evergreens and shrubbery testifying to the care with which the place is kept 
up. Cassius Hamilton is a member of the well-known Hamilton family of 
this county, of which further reference is luade at other points in this bio- 
graphical history, particular reference being made to the genealogy of the 
family in the biographical sketch relating to Chester Hamilton. 

Robert Cassius Hamilton was born in Clinton township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, June 26, 1844, the son of William Warder and Isabelle Jane (Ham- 
ilton) Hamilton, both natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born 
in April, 1821, died on January 22, 1907, and the latter of whom was born 
on February 7, 1820, and died on June 18, 1899. William Warder Hamilton 
w^as the son of William and Polly (Bernau) Hamilton, the former of 
Scottish and the latter of French descent, residents of Nicholas county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 57I 

Kentucky. Col. William Hamilton was a soldier and drilled a company for 
service in the War of 1812. Isabella Jane Hamilton was a daughter of 
Robert and Polly (Henry) Hamilton, natives of Kentucky, both of whom 
died within three days of each other, at the age of fifty-two. To the union 
of William and Polly (Bernau) Hamilton were born five children: Cincin- 
natus, who died in Kentucky; Thomas George, William Warder and Samuel 
Robert, all of whom died in this county, and Mrs. Mary Menefee, who died 
in Missouri. 

William W. Hamilton came to this county in 1823, when he was twenty- 
one years of age and spent the rest of his Hfe here. He settled on a tract of 
sixty acres in Clinton township, his sole possessions at that time being a 
horse and saddle and fifteen dollars in cash. He prospered, his energy and 
initiative quickly making him one of the dominant factors in that part of the 
county, and gradually added to his farm lands until he presently was the 
owner of no less than two thousand acres of wrell-cultivated land in the 
county. In the very nature of things he took a prominent part in the affairs 
of this section of the state, his energy and fine executive ability giving him a 
place among the leaders of men and for many years was one of the directors 
of the state board of agriculture, part of which time he served as president 
of the board. He was widely known and his influence was more than local. 
He was one of the men most largely instrumental in securing the location of 
the old Vernon, Greensburg & Rush\ille railroad and the Greensburg & Hope 
railroad and assisted in building every church in Greensburg, even the Catho- 
lic church, although he was an Old School Presbyterian. He w^as singularly 
progressive in his business methods for that day and, in some things, might 
even have been looked upon as a "plunger," although it must be said for him 
that he invariably "made good" in his many financial transactions. There 
was no more popular man in the county than he in his day and he gained and 
held the warmest friendship of all his associates. Charitable to all, liberal- 
minded and kind-hearted, he was extremely well liked. In 1863 he moved to 
the farm on which his son, Cassius, now lives and, erecting a brick-kiln, 
burned the bricks which entered into the construction of the fine house which 
he built upon the place. In this home he spent the rest of his life and there 
his son, Cassius, now makes his home. 

To William Warder and Isabella Jane Hamilton were born two sons, 
Robert Cassius and William Brutus. The latter died in 1905 in Greensburg, 
leaving four children, William Cassius Hamilton, of Indianapolis: ]Mrs. 
Mary Florine Roland, of Greensburg; Richard Ray Hamilton, of Greens- 
.burg, and Harry \\'arder Hamilton, of Indianapolis. 



572 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Cassius Hamilton received his elementary education in the district 
schools of his home neighborhood, supplementing the same with compre- 
hensive courses in Hano\'er College and in Alonmouth College. His father 
was a dealer in mules in an extensive way and when a young man Cassius 
was given practical direction of this branch of his business and has followed 
the business all his Hfe, having been very successful. During the Civil War 
he indirectly supplied the government with large numbers of mules and for 
years was one of the heaviest shippers of this class of stock in the country. 
He gives his personal attention to the direction of affairs on his place. This 
farm consists of four hundred acres of highly-cultivated land, one of the best 
farms in the county. 

On October 7. 1879, Robert Cassius Hamilton was united in marriage 
to Estelle Fenton, who was born in Wisconsin on ]\Iay 23, 1856, the daughter 
of ^^'ilIiam Warren and Mary Eliza (Totten) Fenton, the former of whom 
was liorn in 1825 and died in 1906, and the latter of whom was born in 1826 
and died in 1877. In 1859 the Fentons moved from the state of Wisconsin 
to Cincinnati. ^Ir. Fenton had been connected with large timber interests 
in Wisconsin and upon moving to Cincinnati was connected with the Little 
Miami Railroad Company. In 1871 the family moved to Greensburg. but 
after Mrs. Fenton's death, Mr. Fenton moved to Eaton, Ohio, later returning 
to Greensburg, where he died. Mrs. Hamilton has two sisters, Mrs. Iva 
Wooden, of Chicago, and Mrs. Phillip Auer, of Chicago. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are members of the Presbyterian church and 
Mr. Hamilton is a Democrat. They have many friends throughout Decatur 
countv, all of whom hold them in the highest regard and their pleasant 
home in Washington township is the center of much hospitable entertainment. 



DAVID ANDREW ARDERY. 

As we perceive the shadow to have moved along the dial, but did not 
perceive it moving; and it appears that the grass has grown, though nobody 
e\er saw it grow; so the advances we make in knowledge, as they consist of 
such insensible steps, are only perceivable by the distance. The same truly 
may be said of communities in a civic, social and industrial way. The 
present generation is conscious of the countless advantages shared by all the 
members of the commnnit}', but rarely is thought given as to how these 
advantages were secured, it requiring the perspective of the historian to 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



573 



bring into view tlie insensible steps by which the present lofty heights were 
reached. It is this perspective vvhicii \'olumes of this character design to 
lend to the view. A rigid comparison of the days of the pioneers in this 
community, with those of the present generation, is as startling as it is 
illuminating, and if this biographical work shall do no more than to create 
within the minds of the younger generation a vivid and comprehensive 
appreciation of the blessings they so readily accept as common gifts, the 
labor of its compilation shall have been well requited. There are still a few 
of the pioneers remaining in this section, who have seen these commonly- 
accepted blessings slowly bud and blossom and fructify, and it is of one of 
these that this biography shall treat, the venerable David Andrew Ardery, 
one of the best-known and most highly-regarded citizens of Decatur county, 
a man to whom his community owes much for the active part he has taken in 
the development of the same. 

David Andrew Ardery was born on a farm in Fugit township, this 
county, July 8, 1837, the son of Thomas and Martha (McKee) Ardery, 
both natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born in 1801 and died 
in 1846, the latter of whom was born in 1801 and died in 1872. Thomas 
Ardery and Martha McKee were married in Kentucky and their elder 
■children were born in that state. In 1830 they moved to this county, settling 
in Fugit township, where they rented a farm. Fifteen years later, Thomas 
Ardery died, leaving his widow with the responsibilities of the farm and the 
care of a family of young children. She was of the true pioneer brand, 
however, and kept the family well together, managing the farm with rare 
ability. In her old age, Mrs. Ardery was tenderly cared for in her house- 
hold ; David A., her son, thus lovingly requited the devotion of her earlier 
days. 

To Thomas and Martha (McKee) Ardery were born seven children, 
two sons and five daughters, all of whom now are deceased, save Mrs. Eliza 
Archibald Spear, of Rushville, this state, and David Ardery, the subject 
of this sketch. The other children were i\Irs. Jane ^^'allace Smith, Mrs. 
Mary Alexander Walters, Mrs. Martha Thomas Thomson, Eliza Archi- 
bald Speer, Mrs. Nancy Margaret Throp and John William. 

David Ardery was compelled, by the necessities of the case, to begin 
working for himself at an early age and received but a limited schooling, 
his attendance at school being confined to a few months in the season at the 
district schools, during his early boyhood. He was active, industrious and 
energetic and kept pushing along until, in 1872, he purchased his present 
farm of four hundred acres in Washington township, on which he ever since 



574 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

has made his residence. In 1881 his home was destroyed by fire and he then 
erected his present fine hirge farm residence, the same being completed in 
1884. j\lr. iVrdery has his own private gas well on his farm, the house and 
barn being piped for lighting and heating purposes. On his farm he also 
is fortunate enough to have a fine artesian well, the water from which is 
piped through the house and barn, the local water system receiving its 
pressure from a hydraulic ram. This is one of the best farm houses in 
Decatur county and. with its many modern improvements, afifords Mr. Ard- 
ery and his family much comfort and pleasure. 

On January 4, 1872, David A. Ardery was united in marriage to Theresa 
J. Lowe, who was born at Kingston, this county, October 5, 1852, daughter 
of Alfred and Isabella (Quigley) Lowe, members of old families in that 
section of the county. Alfred Lowe was the son of Seth Lowe, one of the 
earliest settlers of the Kingston neighljorhood. Seth Lowe was a native of 
Glenwood, xNTorth Carolina, born on December 27, 1787, and who emigrated to 
Kentucky, where he married and, in 1821, settled at Kingston, this county, 
homesteading the farm now occupied by Charles Throp. He was a fine, 
vigorous character and a strong force in the new settlement, his influence 
for good thereabout being felt in many ways during the pioneer days. Seth 
Lowe died in 1871, while on a visit to one his sons in Mills county, Iowa. 
Alfred Lowe, who was born in this county in 1826 and died in 18S7, mar- 
ried Isabella Quigley, who was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Samuel 
and Catherine (Spear) Quigley, who settled in the Kingston neighborhood 
in 1837, after living for a short time in Franklin county, this state. Isabella 
(Quigley) Lowe was born in 1835 and died in 1910. Her father, Samuel 
Quigley, died in 1847, the year the cholera was rampant in this section of the 
state. Both the Lowes and the Ouigleys were strong and influential families 
in that part of the county. 

To Alfred and Isabella (Quigley) Lowe were born eight children, 
namely : Mrs. Ardery : Seth. who lives at Greensburg : Charles, who lives 
at Kingman. Kansas: William, deceased: Edward, the Rex salt dealer, at 
Greensburg ; Catherine, wlio married Thomas Hamilton, a well-known farmer 
who lives on the old Hopkins jjlace east of Kingston, this county ; Marsh, a 
well-known traveling salesman, who travels out of Cincinnati, and Arthur, 
who was assistant cashier of the Greensburg National Bank. 

To David .-\. and Theresa J. (Lowe) Ardery fi\'e children ha\-e been 
born, as follow: ]\Iary, who is at home with her parents; Mrs. Martlia 
Batchelor, of Indianapolis, who has five children, David Ardery, Thomas 
Churchill, Robert Lowe, Martha Theresa and Helen Emily ; Clara, who also- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 57r 

is at home; Samuel David, a well-known farmer of Washington township, 
this county, who married Florine Bowman and has one child, a son, David 
Henry; Helen Lowe, a student in Indiana University at Bloomington, and 
May, a graduate of Bloomington, Indiana. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ardery are members of the Presbyterian church at Greens- 
bury and their children were reared in that faith. They, for many years, 
have been active in good works and no couple in the county is held in higher 
esteem. Mr. Ardery is a Republican and always has been interested in local 
politics, being one of the most earnest supporters of all measures designed 
to elevate the standards of government, not only being an active worker in 
the ranks of his party, but a liberal supporter of the finances of the party; 
such work as he has done, however, having been done only as a means of 
supporting the cause of good government as he recognized it, he never 
having been included in the office-holding class. Mr. Ardery is a large man 
and in the days of his vigor was a veritable giant for strength. He finds 
himself now somewhat enfeebled, with the near approach of his eightieth 
year, but, for all that, retains all his former wit and jocular manner. In 
his heyday, he was a man among men and still enjoys life as well as anyone, 
proving himself a most entertaining companion. He is hospitable and cheer- 
ful, an ardent lover of his home and is proud of Decatur, county and his 
native state. 



HENRY M. AULTMAN. 



To be a successful photographer, a man must study both cause and effect. 
Anyone may take a picture, but unless one has that artistic instinct, without 
which no art is perfect, the result is apt to be unsatisfactory. It is like mak- 
ing a suit of clothes. Anyone may build cloth into a covering for the human 
form, but the result is frequently very discouraging to all concerned. It is 
true, that a garment may frequently be tinkered with until it is wearable, 
but it is not a work of art, and comes under the head of a built-over article. 
A satisfactory photograph is one that is a perfect article at the start. It 
will admit of no building over. The gentleman whose name is mentioned in 
the following pages has so thoroughly satisfied his patrons as to his artistic 
ability and good work, that he has no need for worry in regard to bis future 
success. 

Henrv 'M. Aultman. photographer and engraver, of Greensburg, Indi- 
ana, was born on December 5, 1S68. in Jennings county, and is a son of 



576 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Martin and Nancy (Porter) Aultman. He worked on a farm iov a time, 
and after his marriage, took up the study of photography at home, and later 
estabhshed his present gallery at Greensburg, where he has been most suc- 
cessful and where he has about paid for a fine new home. He is a Repub- 
lican, a member of the Baptist church, and a member of the ^Modern Wood- 
men of iVmerica. 

Martin .Vultman, father of <mv suljject, was a nati\e of Louisiana, and 
served three years in the Confederate army in a Louisiana regiment. He 
was captured at Pittsburg Landing, and taken to Louisville, where he took 
the oath of allegiance. He came directly to Indiana after the war, settling 
on a farm in Jennings county, and with the exception of about five years in 
Illinois, he lived in Jennings county until his death. 

Henry M. Aultman, our subject, was united in marriage, in 1895, to 
Miss Luella Gelling, daughter of George Gelling, of Jennings county. They 
were the parents of the following children: Ivan O., Leroy Chester, Omer 
Franklin, Edna May and William Raymond. Ivan O. is in the coast artillery, 
United States army, at Fort Stevens, Oregon ; Leroy is at home. Mr. Ault- 
man's present gallery was established in 1903, on the north side of the square 
at Greensburg, where he carries on all branches of photography and engra\-ing. 



ROBERT S. MEEK. 



The Meek family is not only among the best known families of Decatur 
count}', but it is likewise one of the most numerous in this county. The 
earlier generations of the family all had large families of children, and since 
the family was established in this countv in pioneer times, it naturally has 
become numerous. Thomas and Martha ^Nleek, who came from Kentucky 
to Decatur county, Indiana, had fifteen children, most all of whom lived to 
maturity. Samuel Meek, a son of Thomas and Martha (Davis) Meek, 
accompanied by two brothers-in-law, James and William McCracken, was 
the first of the Meek family to settle in Decatur county. Samuel Meek, and 
the McCrackens came here in 1821. Robert S. iMeek, the son of John ^Nleek, 
who was the son of Samuel Meek, who in turn was the son Thomas and 
Martha (Davis) Meek, is also a native of Decatur county, and has spent all 
his life here. His wonderful business success in life is not a matter of acci- 
dent, since it is founded upon habits of industry and methodical ways of 
doing work formed early in life. In fact, most successful careers are founded 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



577 



itpon habits formed during youth and young manhood. Robert S. Meek is 
hale and hearty at the age of seventy-five years, and this is a condition which 
is due to his open and active Hfe, and to the painstaking care he has always 
taken of his health. 

Robert S. Meek, well-known capitalist of Greensburg, and one of the 
heavy stockholders in Meek Ice Company, was born, March 2;, 1840, on a 
farm in Clinton township, in a log cabin built by his grandfather, John 
Montgomery, who, by the way, was the father of his mother, Mrs. Jane 
(Montgomery) Meek. 

Robert S. Meek's father, John Meek, was born in Kentucky in October, 
1814, and passed his youth in the wilds of Fugit and Clinton townships, 
Decatur county. He married Jane Montgomery, and after enjoying a suc- 
cessful career as a farmer, retired to Greensburg, where he died on April 20, 
1896. He and his wife, who, during their lives, were devout members of 
the United Presbyterian church, had a family of four sons and six daughters, 
four of whom, the eldest, are deceased. Mrs. Turgot Ennis, Mrs. Lola 
Smith, Josiah and Etta are deceased. The last two died early in life. Robert 
S. is the subject of this sketch. The other children, in the order of their 
birth, are, Mrs. Margaret E. Robinson, John T., Louisa, the wife of John A. 
Meek, Adam, Jethro C, Mrs. Mary Brown, of Rushville, and Mrs. Anna 
Pleak, of Greensburg. 

It was Thomas Meek, the grandfather of John, who was the first of the 
Meek family to settle in Decatur county, as heretofore related. Samuel was 
one of fifteen children born to his parents, Thomas and Martha (Davis) 
Meek. The children were a? follow: James, born January 8, 1781, died in 
Kentucky ; Samuel, born. May 15, 1782, and died, August 18, 1837; Sarey 
was born. August 17, 1784: Priscilla was born, September, 1786; Adam R. 
was. born, December 15, 1789: Martha was born, April 30, 1792; David was 
born on January 21, 1794; Jemima was born. May 9, 1796; Luziah was born, 
April 28, 1797; Mary was born, June 15, 1800; Davis was born, September 
18, 1802; Sophia was born. August 31, 1805, and Anna K. was born, Janu- 
ary 18, 1808. 

With little or no opportunity to secure education, because pioneer edu- 
cational advantages were extremely limited, Robert S. Meek remained at 
home until of age, helping to clear the land his father settled and working 
hard from early boyhood, usually from sunrise until dark. His earliest 
recollections are of driving cows and milking them at the age of six years. 
Pie actually began when five vears old, and, by the time he was grown, had 

(37) 



578 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

built up a strong and rugged constitution. At the age of twelve years, he 
was accustomed to do a man's work. 

In April, 1 861, Robert S. Meek enlisted in Company F, Seventh Indiana 
Volunteer Infantry, under Captain BeamenstafTer, and served four months. 
On the second call, he responded with an enlistment for thirty days to help 
ward off a guerrilla attack at Henderson, Kentucky, in 1861. He also 
re-enlisted to repel the Alorgan invaders. 

After the war, Mr. Meek settled on a farm at Springhill in Fugit town- 
ship, his father having given him a hundred and sixty acres of land, for 
which he paid one thousand dollars, as he earned it. Mr. Meek was very 
successful with hogs and cattle. For a long time he was in the employ of a 
Mr. Allerton, of Illinois, as a stock buyer, and bought thousands of cattle 
for e.xport purposes to Europe. Investing his savings from time to time, 
he accumulated about nine hundred acres of land in Rush and Decatur 
counties, and this land is today well improved and very valuable. Mr. Meek 
has refused a hundred and fift}' dollars an acre for his home farm. 

In 191 1, Mr. Meek became interested in the Greensburg Ice Company, 
or rather in what came to be called the Meek Ice Company. Previously, he 
was associated with his son. Clyde L. Meek, in the grain business. The 
Meek Ice Company was organized by Robert S., Jethro C, his brother, and 
the son of R. L., Clyde L. Meek, with a capital of fifty -five thousand dollars. 
The Meek Ice Company does a most substantial and profitable business, and 
now includes, not only ice, but the retail coal business, and furnishes employ- 
ment to ten men. In 190Q. Mr. Meek removed to Greensburg. and enjoys 
the occupation of a splendid brick residence on North Franklin street. 

On January 26, 1861, Robert S. Meek was married to Espy Patton, a 
daughter of Nathaniel Patton, an early settler of Decatur county, and a native 
of Ohio. Mrs. Espy (Patton) Meek died on February 16, 1879, after hav- 
ing had four children, two of whom are deceased. Of these children, Leda, 
the eldest, died at the age of eighteen years; Mabel is the wife of George 
Davis, of Greensburg; Delta died in childhood, and Clyde L. is the manager 
of the Meek Ice Company. On June 18, 1895, Mr. Meek was married again 
to Melissa Patton, a sister of his first wife. Her father, Nathaniel Patton, 
was born in 1809 and died in 1889. He married Elizabeth M. Duncan, of 
Kentucky, who was born in 1812 and died in 1894. Nathaniel was a native 
of Adams county, Ohio, and the son of Nathaniel Patton, Sr., who mo\'ed 
to Rush county, about 1823. 

Although a Republican in politics, Mr. Meeks has never found time for 
any considerable political activity. The IMeeks are stanch members of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 570 

United Presbyterian church at Springhill, four Meek brothers having con- 
tributed five thousand dollars for the building of this church. In fact, the 
ancestors of Robert S. Meek were some of the founders of the church at 
Springhill. 

Robert S. Meek has not only lived a life of usefulness in Greensburg 
and Decatur county, but he has set a worthy example to young men of the 
present generation. Few men have more effectively demonstrated what 
economical and frugal li\'ing, industry and good management will accomplish. 
At the age of seventy-five, Robert S. Meeks, not only is able to enjoy the 
fruits of his early labors, but, because he has cared wisely for his health, he 
is enabled to enjoy the competence he has accumulated in the fullest measure. 
He is a most worthy citizen of this great city and county. 



ALBERT C. RUSSELL. 



One of the best-known and most popular men in Decatur county, is 
Albert C. Russell, of Greensburg, a retired merchant and farmer who was 
born in this county and has li\ed here all his life, being known to nearly 
every man. woman and child in that part of the county in which the greater 
part of his acti\e life was spent, the eastern part of the county, in the Clifty 
(or IMilford) neighborhood in Adams and Clay townships, where for years 
he was engaged in the merchandise business and where for years he also 
was equally well known as a farmer. He and his wife, who are among the 
large landowners of the county, are now living a life of quiet retireincnt 
in the county seat, where they enjoy the esteem and regard of all their large 
circle of acquaintances. 

Albert C. Russell was born in Clifty, this county, on July 2, 1841, the 
son of Robert C. and Sarali C. ( Craig ) Russell, natives, respectively, of 
Ripley county, Indiana, and Kentucky. Robert C. Russell came to Decatur 
county in 1845, '^vhen fifteen years of age. and engaged in the manufacture 
of wheat fans at Clifty. He also farmed and engaged in the merchandise 
business at that place, moving from thence to St. Paul, this county, where 
he died in 1901 at the age of eighty years. He married Sarah P. Craig, who 
was a daughter of William Craig, an early pioneer of this section, who 
entered about sixteen hundred acres of lanil near Burney and then went to 
Shelby county. To this union there were Iwrn ten cliildren, two sons and 
eight daughters, .-Mice, Dorcas, Plenrietta, Albert C, Mary, Lena, George H., 



580 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Adelia, Ida and Ann K. Of these six are living, namely: Mrs. Dorcas Rid- 
len, of Rosedale, Indiana ; Mrs. Henrettia Stevens, of Rushville, Indiana ; 
Albert C, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. Lena lupenlautz, of 
Gilman, Indiana; Mrs. Adelia Tomkins, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Mrs. 
Ida Cory, who lives near Burney, in this county. 

Albert C. Russell was reared at Milford and grew up to a full acquaint- 
ance with the merchandise business in his father's store at that place. After 
his marriage, he became a partner with his father in the store at St. Paul, 
this county, where he remained four years, being engaged in the buying of 
grain in connection with the general merchandise business. At the end of 
this time he bought a small farm in Adams township, on which he lived for 
three years, at the end of which time he sold the farm and bought one hun- 
dred and sixty acres at Turners cross roads, which he presently traded to 
Edward Marshall for a stock of goods and the store building at Clifty, 
taking in, at the same time, a partner in the person of James D. Bradein, 
whose interest in the store he later bought. He then traded a half interest in 
his store for the Walter Braden farm and he and Mr. Eraden bought the 
adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres. About two years after buy- 
ing the Braden interest, Mr. Russell's store was destroyed by fire and Mr. 
Russell moved onto the Braden farm, \\-here he lived for twenty years and 
where his wife, who was a daughter of Walter Braden, died. In the old 
brick house which was known as the Braden homestead, Mrs. Russell was 
born, married and died and there she also spent the most of her life. 

Following the death of his wife, Mr. Russell rented his farm and for 
about thirteen years boarded with his tenant farmer, at the end of which 
time he married the widow of James D. Braden and, in February, 1906, 
moved to the city of Greensburg, where he and Mrs. Russell are living in 
pleasant retirement. Together they own a farm of five hundred and ninety 
acres about two and one-half miles southwest of Clifty, in Clay township, 
and are very well circumstanced. 

In the year 1860, Albert C. Russell was united in marriage to Lucinda 
Jane Braden, who was born on March 10, 1843, ^"d died on September 13, 
1894, the daughter of Walter and Elizabeth (Mowery) Braden, pioneers of 
the Clifty neighborhood, to which union there were born four children, 
namely: Nina A., on August 27, 1862, married J. W. Young and lives on a 
farm south of Clifty; Walter Braden, September 3, 1864, died on November 
5, 1891; Robert J., April 7, 1867, was graduated from the Indiana Dental 
College at Indianapolis in 1894 and has practiced dentistry in Greensburg 
for twenty-one vears; married on March 3, 1902, Glenn Montgomery, daugh- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 58 1 

ter of John G. and Lida Montgomery, of Greensburg, and has one child, a 
son, Albert M., and John N., born on March i6, 1869, died on November 30, 
1869. The mother of these children died in 1894, as set out above. 

On March 7, 1906, Albert C. Russell married, secondly, Mrs. Etta G. 
(Anderson) Braden, widow of James D. Braden, who was born on Novem- 
ber 19, 1851, the daughter of William and Mary E. (Stanley) Anderson, 
natives of New Jersey, the former of whom was born on February 15, 1814, 
died on May 26, 1894, and the latter of whom was born on January 5, 1825, 
and died on February 11, 1905, who were the parents of six children, John 
F., William B., Mrs. Sallie R. Whisman, Mrs. Russell, Hamlin and Mollie. 
James D. Braden, who died in 1886, was the son of Walter Braden. By his 
marriage with Etta G. Anderson he had one son, Emmet, who married Clara 
Jenkins and died, leaving one daughter, Mary Louise. 

Mr. and Mrs. Russell are members of the Methodist church and take a 
warm interest in the various beneficences of that church. Mr. Russell is a 
Republican and a member of the Odd Fellows and the Masons. He also is 
a member of the Horse Thief Detective Association at CHfty. Though 
practically retired from the active labors of life, he continues to take a keen 
interest in public and general affairs and he and his good wife are held in 
universal esteem among all who know them. 



MRS. DORCAS E. (McLAIN) HOLMES. 

Among the well-known women of Greensburg, Indiana, is Dorcas E. 
(McLain) Holmes, who was born on October 31, 1842, in Butler county, 
Ohio, the daughter of David and Lucinda (Brown) McLain, natives of Ohio, 
who came to Lidiana in January, 1842, first locating in Bartholomew county. 
The father engaged in the mercantile business near the Decatur county line, 
buying land in Decatur county and becoming a very wealthy man. He and 
his wife had five children, two of whom died in childhood. The three chil- 
dren who lived to maturity are Mrs. Holmes; Elizal)eth, who married Lafay- 
ette Elliott, of Bartholomew county; and Oliver Perry, who died in 1905. 

Mrs. Holmes grew up in Bartholomew county, Indiana, and lived at 
home with her parents until her first marriage to John Kelley. on November 
7, 1858. He was the son of Matthew and Charity Kelley, the former of 
whom was a large landowner in Jackson township, Decatur county. John 
Kelley, the first husband of Mrs. Holmes, who was a well-known school 
teacher and farmer, died in 1864, leaving a son, James P., who died at the 



582 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

age of thirty-three years in Kansas City, Missouri. Mrs. Holmes and her 
first husband lived in Decatur county. 

The second husband of Mrs. Dorcas E. (McLain) Holmes was George 
W. Holmes, who was born in 1828 and died in 1912. He was born in Sand 
Creek township, Decatur county, and was the son of Robert Holmes, a native 
of Ohio and one of the pioneers of Decatur county. Mr. and Mrs. Holmes 
were married on July 3, 1865. He had been twice married before, first to 
Jane AlcCannon, who bore him one daughter, Ann Eliza, who is now deceased, 
and second to Martha Stafliord, who bore him one son, George, who now 
lives at Redlands, California. Four children were born to him and Mrs. 
Dorcas E. Holmes, David T., of Greensburg; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Anner- 
man, of Sardinia, who has six children, Frederick, Magnolia, Ruth, Calvin, 
Helen and Edna ; Mrs. Lucinda Williams, of Austin. Texas, and Henry Clay, 
of Wyoming, who has two children, Mary and Ruth. 

David i\lcLain, the father of Mrs. Dorcas E. Holmes, was a prominent 
citizen of two counties, having served as county commissioner in Bartholo- 
mew while living there, and having been elected to the same office after his 
removal to Decatur county. He was a well-known leader in the councils 
of the Democratic party. Although he himself was a stanch Democrat, he 
was perfectly willing that others should think and vote as they pleased. He 
owned nearly four hundred acres of land in Jackson township and, before 
his death, presented this land to his children. The farm of one hundred 
and sixty-two acres in Jackson township, which Mrs. Holmes now owns, she 
received from her father. Her onl}- brother who grew to maturity, Oliver 
Perry McLain, died in 1905, leaving a wife and three daughters, who now 
live in Indianapolis. The daughters are Clara, Blanche and Edith. 

After Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were married, they settled on a farm near 
Westport, in Sand Creek township, Decatur county, and within one and 
one-half years they moved on Sand creek, two miles south of Westport. 
Two years later they moved to near Sardinia in Jackson township and, in 
October, 1907, moved to Greensburg, Mr. Holmes dying five years later. 

Mrs. Dorcas E. Holmes is an intelligent, cultured and refined woman and 
is highly respected by the people of Greensburg and is well known, especially 
in the several communities in which she has li\ed in Bartholomew and 
Decatur counties. She has experienced, no doubt, her share of both joys and 
sorrows, but she has borne the one without great exultation and the other with- 
out complaint. In her declining years she is able to enjoy the comforts of 
life and to live in ease. These are her compensations for the toil and worry 
of latter days. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 583 

CHARLES ZOLLER. 

Carles Zoller is one of the best-known business men in the city of Greens- 
burg and in Decatur county, Indiana, a man who for sixteen years has been 
engaged in the insurance business in this city, and who during this period 
has built up a large clientele and patronage. Aside from his insurance busi- 
ness, which he personally conducts, he is also heavily interested in two of 
Greensburg's most flourishing enterprises, the Greensburg Building and Loan 
Association and the Greensburg Natural Gas, Oil and Water Company, to the 
latter of which he is secretary-treasurer and general manager. 

During Mr. Zoller's sixteen years in the insurance business at Greens- 
burg. Indiana, he has represented most of the time fourteen of the largest 
and best companies of this country, among which are the Aetna, the Hart- 
ford, Springfield. Queen, National, Fire Association, New York Under- 
writers, Niagara, Fireman's Fund and the Sterling. He also is the Decatur 
county representative of the Fidelity and Casualty Company, the Southern 
Surety Company and the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford. These 
companies comprise not only the largest and the best in the insurance field, 
but the ones which are the surest and safest guarantee of the promises and 
pledges contained in their policies. Mr. Zoller now has, as a result of his 
sixteen years continuous business, an extensive renewal department, which 
has become very profitable. 

In the Greensburg Building and Loan Association, a corporation estab- 
lished in 1896, and capitalized at a half million dollars, Mr. Zoller is associ- 
ated with some of the best-known business men of Decatur county. The 
original capital of this company was one hundred thousand dollars, but from 
year to year it has grown to its present large proportions. The president of 
the company is W. C. Woodfill : the secretary, Mr. Zoller, and the treasurer, 
Walter W. Bonner. The directors include, besides the officers, Robert 
Nagle, George P. Shoemaker, P. T. Lambert and Louis Zoller. No institu- 
tion in Decatur county has had more to do with the construction of new 
homes and the repair of old homes than the Greensburg Building and Loan 
Association, since it has furnished to home owners an easy means by which 
their property might be improved. 

Another flourishing enterprise, of which Mr. Zoller is an important 
factor, is the Greensburg Natural Gas, Oil and Water Company, an incor- 
porated concern which was establislied on July 17, 1886. and of which he 
is now secretary-treasurer and general manager. Capitalized at twenty-five 
thousand dollars, it supplies natural gas for dornestic purposes. Its presi- 



584 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

dent is W. B. Ansted and its directors, besides the officers, are Margaret 
Porter, Mary Lewis and Louise German. 

Two other enterprises, with which Charles Zoller is connected, are the 
Decatur County Independent Telephone Company, and the Third National 
Bank. He is secretary of the telephone company and a director in the Third 
National Bank. 

Mr. Zoller's important connections with leading business enterprises in 
Decatur county is, therefore, apparent. He is a widely known citizen and 
popular, not only in commercial and industrial circles, but in the larger life 
of the community. He is a man of broad and liberal views, interested keenly 
in all worthy public enterprises and a man who in support of their behalf 
can always be depended upon. 



ARTHUR J. LOWE. 

A resident of Decatur county, Arthur J. Lowe, assistant cashier of the 
Greensburg National Bank, enjoys the distinction of having been the youngest 
grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias ever elected in this state. He 
had filled all of the chairs in the grand lodge and had attained the rank of 
grand chancellor at the early age of thirty-one. He is now one of the five 
supreme representatives of the Knights of Pythias, one of the most numerous 
of the fraternal organizations in this country. The Supreme Lodge of 
Knights of Pythias hold their convention every two years, the last conven- 
tion having been held at Winnipeg, Canada, and the one previously at Denver, 
Colorado. Arthur J. Lowe was a representative to both conventions. Aside 
from the distinction which he enjoys as a prominent member of this great 
fraternal society, he belongs to one of the oldest and most favorably known 
of the pioneer families of Decatur county. 

Born in Greensburg, Indiana, on February 8, 1877, Arthur J. Lowe is 
the son of Alfred and Isabelle (Ouigley) Lowe, the former of whom was 
born on May 7, 1826, and who died, September 5, 1887, and the latter of 
whom was born on May 9, 1835, and who died, December 22, 1910. Mrs. 
Isabelle (Ouigley) Lowe was the daughter of Thomas and Catherine Ouigley. 
Alfred Lowe was the son of Seth and Rebecca Lowe, the former of whom 
was born in Glenwood, Wilkes county. North Carolina, on December 22, 
1787, and who died in Mills county, Iowa, in May, 1871, in his eighty-fourth 
year. In 1795 he had moved with his father's family to Fayette county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 585 

Kentucky, not far from Lexington, and after living there for some years had 
moved to Montgomery county, where, in 1810, he had married Rebecca 
Ryan, who was born in Virginia on October 22, 1790, and who died on Febru- 
ary 5, 1865, in her seventy-fifth year. They had seven children, namely: 
Polly, Matilda, Jackson, George, Eliza, Franklin and Alfred. Eliza, born 
in 18 1 9, died in her second year. 

Seth and Rebecca Lowe, having come to Indiana, settled in Dearborn 
county in 1S19, and two years later moved to Kingston, Decatur county, and 
there entered' land. On his trip to Decatur county, Seth Lowe was accom- 
panied by two of his children, who, after he had done some "deadening," 
went to Dearborn county for the remainder of the family, leaving the chil- 
dren in the care of two men who were assisting him in the work. 

About the time that Seth and Rebecca Lowe came to Decatur county, 
there came also James and Cyrus Hamilton, the Donnells, the McCoys and 
Hopkinses a year or two later. William Custer, who lived about a mile south 
of the old Lowe homestead at Kingston, is supposed to have preceded Seth 
and Rebecca Lowe, the founders of the Lowe family in Decatur county, and 
from whom is sprung Arthur J. Lowe, a prominent banker of Greensburg, 
Indiana. 

Among the first pioneers in Decatur county to plant an orchard was 
Seth Lowe, and people came great distances to get apples from his orchard. 
He was truly a temperance man and never used tobacco or intoxicating 
beverages and never used profane language. A public-spirited citizen, he 
was ardently favorable to public improvements, such as pikes and railroads, 
and gave land upon which to build churches and schools. He was among 
the first citizens of the county to introduce improved breeds of stock, 
importing choice animals from other states, and from foreign countries. His 
worthy wife was remembered long after her death. The Lowe house became 
known far and near for the generous hospitality accorded strangers, and 
men, weary after a long day"s ride in a wagon or on horseback, found shelter 
from storm and darkness in the Lowe home. Although they were not mem- 
bers of any church, they believed in the kind of Christianity set forth and 
practiced by the lowly Nazarene, and the Reverend Mr. Stegdel is said to 
have preached in the Lowe home. 

In an unbroken forest, was performed the arduous toil upon which 
the family fortune w-as builded. Alfred Lowe was a farmer upon the old 
homestead until his father's death. He was crippled when twenty-eight 
vears old while assisting in the construction of the Kingston church, having 
fallen and broken a leg. Later he spent one year in the W^est, after the 



4 



586 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

homestead was sold, accompanying; Seth and Jackson, who were pioneers in 
the state of Iowa. He, however, went to Kansas and, after a time, returned 
to Indiana and hved in the village of Kingston until his death. Alfred and 
Isabelle (Ouigley) Lowe had eight children, as follow: Terressa Jane 
Ardery, wife of David Ardery, of Washington township; Seth Samuel, of 
Greensburg; Charles, of Kansas; William Walter, deceased; Edward C, a 
manufacturer of Greensburg; Catherine Ella, the wife of Thomas M. Hamil- 
ton, of Kingston; Marsh, of Greensburg, and Arthur J., the youngest member 
of the family, the assistant cashier of the Greensburg National Bank, and 
the subject of this sketch. 

Reared on the old Lowe homestead in Fugit township, Arthur J. Lowe 
grew up on the farm and was educated in the common schools of the town- 
-ship. After a time he attended the high school and Greensburg Normal 
School, when he began teaching. Eor four years he was engaged in follow- 
ing this profession, and then attended Heeb's Business College at Indian- 
apolis. Returning to Greensburg from Indiana in the fall of 1899, he 
engaged in banking. On August i, 1899, 'i^ became associated with the 
Citizens National Bank, where he remained until April 15, 1905, when he 
was elected assistant cashier of the Greensburg National Bank. Here he 
has been engaged in the banking business ever since. His own personal 
integrity and capable business ability have been no small factors in the progress 
and growth of this bank. 

In 1905 Mr. Lowe was married to Eleanor Eich, the daughter of Hubert 
Eich, who married Catherine Brinkmeyer. The father was a native of Bonn, 
Germany, who came to Cincinnati, Ohio, when he was seventeen years old. 
There he engaged in his trade, which was that of a locksmith, and after 
several years came to Decatur county and settled in Greensburg. Here he 
followed his trade for many years and was very successful. He was one of 
the solid and substantial citizens of Decatur county, and at his death, which 
occurred on April 7, 191 5, he left a large estate, which was divided among 
his children. His wife was a native of Decatur county, her parents" ancestry 
having been of German extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe have one daughter, 
Margaret Alice, who was born on May 20. 1909. 

The Lowes have a beautiful home in Greensburg where they live in com- 
fort and happiness. Mr. and Mrs. Lowe are members of the Presbyterian 
church. Fraternally, Mr. Lowe is a member of the Elks lodge, and the 
Knights of Pythias, as heretofore mentioned. A Republican in politics, he 
IS ardent in his political beliefs and can always be found on the firing line 
when campaigns come around. Arthur J. Lowe is a worthy representative 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 587 

of tlie family in whose \ein,s flow the l^ilood of Seth and Rebecca Lowe. He 
is a representative citizen not only of Decatur county, but he is representative 
of her larger interests and her larger connections. 



RICHARD J. BRADEN. 



Richard J. Braden, a retired farmer of Decatur county, who owns one 
hundred and sixty acres of land two miles northeast of Burney in Clay town- 
ship and who is now li\'ing retired in Greensburg, is one of the well-known 
and interesting citizens of this county. 

Born in Clay township in 1840, he has lived here practically all of his 
life and, until quite recently, in Clay township. He is the son of Walter and 
Elizabeth (Mowry) Braden, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky, 
who came to Decatur county during the early period of its settlement, and 
entered land here. The Mowrys were natives of Kentucky and an old and 
prominent family in that state. Walter Braden was identified with the 
Whig party until the f(_irmation of the Republican party, when he became 
an ardent supporter of the party of Lincoln and remained throughout his 
life. He had nine children, of whom Richard was the fourth. 

Richard J. Braden was twenty-one years old when the Civil War broke 
out. He responded to the first call for volunteers and enlisted in the Seventh 
Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving for three years. He partici- 
pated in some of the bloodiest battles of the war and, at the battle of the 
Wilderness, was wounded. Later, at Fort Republic, he was captured by the 
Confederates and held a prisoner for three months in Libby prison. There 
he suffered the most indescribable horrors of prison life. He was mustered 
out of service as a corporal of Company D, Seventh Regiment, Indiana 
Volunteer Infantry. Colonel \\'elsh was in command of the regiment. 
After the war Mr. Braden came hdme and resumed farming, in which he 
proved to be very successful. 

In 1865 Mr. Braden was married to Ermina Dickinson, the daughter of 
Amos and Indiana (Palmerton) Dickinson, who were natives of Kentucky 
and who came to Dearborn county in pioneer times and e\'entually settled 
in Decatur county. Mrs. Braden was born shortly after the arrival of her 
parents in this state in 1S44. The Dickinsons became very prosperous in 
this section of the state, where they were people of power and influence 
in agricultural circles. 



II 



588 . DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mr. and ^Nlrs. Braden have had three children, all of whom are living, 
Charles A., born on August 2, 1866, who is now farming in Clay township; 
Mrs. Anna Butler, May 19, 1870, who is the wife of Ozro Butler, of Clay 
township, and Harry, September 3, 1880, of Greensburg, who married Carrie 
Erhart. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Braden are a happy couple and are spending 
their declining years in peace and plenty at their comfortable home in Greens- 
burg, to which they moved in 19 10. He has always been an enthusiastic and 
loyal supporter of the principles of the Republican party. Both Mr. and 
Mrs. Braden are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Fraternally, 
Mr. Braden is a member of the Masonic lodge at Milford. He is also a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Greensburg. Since the war, 
his health has not been good and he has had more or less sickness as a conse- 
quence of the wound he received at the battle of the Wilderness. Neverthe- 
less, he is a man of happy and philosophical temperament and gladly says 
that if he could live to be one hundred years old, he would make the best 
of life and would expect to enjoy the very last minute. Mr. and Mrs. Braden 
are charming citizens of this city and are highly respected here. 



ELMER E. WOODEN. 



Since the very beginning of a social order of things in Decatur county, 
the Woodens have been prominent factors in the development of this com- 
munity and no volume purporting to carry to posterity the invaluable mes- 
sage of the past, as related to this region, would be complete without special 
reference to the lives and the achievements of those of the family who, for 
several generations, have performed well their parts in the upbuilding of 
this favored region. In 1821, five years after Indiana had been admitted to 
statehood, Levi Wooden emigrated from Kentucky to this county, settling 
two miles west of the struggling village of Greensburg. His son, Dr. John 
L. Wooden, for many years one of the most successful practicing physicians 
in this county, a surgeon-major in the Lhiion army during the Civil War, and 
one of the best-loved men that ever lived in this county, was the father of 
Elmer E. Wooden, whose name stands as a caption for this biographical 
sketch, a retired merchant of the city of Greensburg, who, following in the 
footsteps of his honored father and grandfather, performed well his part 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 589 

during the days of his larger activity in tlie commercial walks of his home 
town. 

Elmer E. Wooden was born in the city of Milford, Decatur county, 
Indiana, December 28, i860, the son of Dr. John L. and Sarah (Guest) 
Wooden, the former of whom w'as born in Shelby coupty, Kentucky, on 
May 17, 1826, and died at his home in Greensburg, this county, November 
28, 1886, the latter of whom was born in Elamilton, Ohio, on August 24, 
1835, and is still living at her home in Greensburg. 

Dr. John L. Wooden, a native of Shelby county, Kentucky, was the 
son of Levi and Frances (Wyman) Wooden, the former of whom was a 
native of that county, and the latter of whom was born at Bingen-on-the- 
Rhine, Germany. Levi Wooden's parents were among the early settlers in 
Shelby county, Kentucky. The W'ymans emigrated to America from Ger- 
many in the year 181S', at a time the daughter, Frances, was fifteen years 
'of age, locating first at Baltimore, Maryland, later emigrating to Shelby 
county, Kentucky, where Levi Wooden and Frances Wyman were married. 
In 1821 Levi Wooden came* to Indiana, entering land in Decatur County, in 
Clark county and in Floyd county, making his home in this county, on the 
homestiead four miles west of Greensburg, in Clay township. He became 
one of the most extensive landowners in this part of the state and was a 
man of large influence in the formative period of the now well-established 
farming region. He died in 1840, leaving a large estate and his wife, being 
a resourceful and energetic woman, carried on the large farming operations 
with much success. To Levi and Frances (Wyman) Wooden were born 
four children, John L., father of the immediate subject of this sketch; Mrs. 
Mary Barger, who died in Iowa, and Martha, who died in Illinois, and 
William, who died in Kansas, was a fanner. 

When twenty-one years of age, John L. Wooden entered a dry goods 
store at Milford and for two years followed commercial pursuits, at the end 
of which time he determined to devote his life to the practice of medicine. 
He studied in the office of Dr. L. McAllister, at Milford, and in May, 1853, 
began the practice of his chosen profession at Andersonville, in Franklin 
county, this state. In the fall of 1859 he entered the iledical College of 
Ohio, at Cincinnati, from which institution he was graduated on March i, 
i860, thereafter entering the practice of medicine at Milford, this county. 
In the fall of 1861, Doctor Wooden volunteered his services as an assistant 
field surgeon for service in the Union army during the Civil War. He was 
attached to the Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Field 
.Surgeon Dr. J. Y. Hitt, with the rank of captain, later being promoted to 



i 



590 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the position of field surgeon, with the rank of major, being attached to the 
Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, on Aug^ist 18, 1862. On 
September 17, 1862, at Munfordsville, Kentucky, Doctor Wooden was taken 
prisoner by the Confederate forces, but was exchanged in the November fol- 
lowing when he rejoined his regiment. At the battle of Chickamauga on 
Septemljer 20, 1863, he again was captured by the Confederates and this 
time was sent to IJbby prison, at which time he weighed one hundred and 
thirty pounds; when exchanged he weighed but about ninety pounds. After 
an incarceration of three months in that historic prison, he again was 
exchanged, when he again rejoined his regiment, and served until the close 
of the war, becoming brigade surgeon on the staff of General Willich. At 
the close of the war, Doctor Wooden located in Greensburg, where he spent 
the remainder of his life, becoming a very successful practitioner and was 
loved throughout the entire county, where he was devoted to his profession 
and his practice tt^) him ever was a labor of love, his devotion to humanity 
being paramount to any cpiestion of lees for his services; much of his practice 
being conducted with(jut regard to money consideration. He was president 
of the Decatur County Aledical Societ}- and for many years served as examin- 
ing surgeon for the United States pension board in this district. 

In 1847, Dr. John L. Wooden was united in marriage to Jane Braden, 
who died in 1850. Chi October 13. 1853, Doctor Wooden married, secondly, 
Sarah Guest, of Milford, this county, daughter of John and Elizabeth 
(Branson) Guest, natives of Pennsylvania, who located in Hamilton, Ohio, 
later coming to this countv, l)ecoming prominent residents of the ]\Iilford 
neighborhood. Elizabeth Branson was a daughter of David and Sarah 
(Antrim) Branson, pioneers of this county. Elsewhere in this volume the 
reader will find set out a genealogy of the Antrim fanfily. 

To Dr. John L. and Sarah (Guest) Wooden were born four children, 
namely : Ida May, who married T. Edgar Hamilton, a well-known resident 
of this county: Dr. William H., who died in 1900, was graduated from the 
Ohio Medical College and for many vears i)racticed his profession in Greens- 
burg; Elmer E., the subject of this sketch, of the firm of Bird, Deem & 
Wooden, hardware merchants, now retired, and Fannie E., who married 
J. S. Moss, a well-known druggist of Greensburg. 

Doctor and INIrs. Wooden were earnest members of the jMethodist 
church, in the faith of which they reared their children. Doctor Wooden 
was a member and first commander of Pap Thomas Post No. 5, Grand Army 
of the Republic, had served as commander of that post and also had served 
as senior vice-commander of the Department of Indiana, Grand .Army of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 59! 

the Republic, being held in the highest esteem by the comrades in all parts- 
of the state. He was a Mason, and for years had served as master of Con- 
cordia lodge of that order at Greensburg. He was a Republican and ever 
took a good citizen's part in local politics, his views on political questions 
ha\'ing much weight with the party managers of this county. Doctor 
Wooden's widow is still living and continues to take a warm interest in social 
and church affairs in Greensburg. She was reared a Quakeress, being a 
birthright member of that church, l:)ut for many years has been devoted to 
the work of the Methodist church, of which she is an active member. She 
is a member of the De]:)artment Club at Greensburg and retains a hearty 
interest in the affairs of that useful organization. She has hosts of admir- 
ing friends and no woman in the cnunty is held in higher respect than she. 

Elmer E. Wooden was educated in the Greensburg schools and at 
eighteen years of age left the high school and graduated to take a place 
as a clerk in the hardware sti)re of O. P. Shriver & Company, at Greens- 
burg, continuing in that jjosition for se\en years, at the end of which time 
yiv. Schri\er mo\'ed to Cincinnati to engage in the same form of business 
and Mr. Wooden accompanied him, remaining in Cincinnati for seven years. 
He then returned to Greensburg and engaged in the hardware business with 
O. P. Schri\er, under tlie firm name of O. P. Schri\-er & Company, which 
firm was maintained for four years, at the end of which time Mr. Schriver 
withdrew, and the firm was continued under the name of Bird. Deem & 
Wooden, this arrangement continuing from 1894 to 1900. In the latter 
year the firm became Bird, Meek & Wooden. In 1901 Mr. Bird withdrew 
from the firm, which was continued under the name of Meek & Wooden 
until July 9, 191 3, at which time the company was dissolved, Mr. Wooden 
retiring from active business. 

On Mav 7, 1905, Elmer E. Wooden was united in marriage to Delia 
Mount, of Shelby county, daughter of Thomas J. Mount, a member of one 
of the pioneer families of Shelby county, a general history of which family 
is presented elsewhere in this volume in the biographical sketch relating to 
H. H. Mount. To Mr. and Mrs. Wooden have been born, Herschel, on 
December 31, 1907; Marv Elizabeth, October ro. 1909, and Jnnies Edgar, 
December 24, 19 10. 

Mrs. Wooden owns a fine arm west of Milford. the old Butler place, 
and Mr. Wooden gives much of his time to the active supervision of this farm. 
Mr. and Airs. Wooden are active members of the First Alethodist church 
of Greensburg, and t<heir children are being reared in that faith. Mr. 
Wooden is a Republican and is a member of Green.sburg Lodge Xo. 36^ 



592 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Free and Accepted Masons ; Lodge No. 346, Knights of Pythias, and Deca- 
tur Lodge No. 103, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His. many years' 
connection with the commercial interests of Greensburg gives to his opinions 
regarding the advancement of the best interests of the city and county much 
value and he is regarded as one of the most public-spirited citizens in that 
city. Mrs. Wooden takes a prominent part in the social affairs of the city 
and is a valued member of the well-known Department Club of Greensburg, 
being a leader in the musical section of that important organization. She 
and her husband are very popular with their friends and are held in the 
highest regard by all. 



SUTHERLAND McCOY. 

As stated in many other places in this volume, the ]\IcCoy family was 
among the first to settle in Decatui' county. Indiana, Andra j\IcCoy, who 
lived first in Virginia and then in Kentucky, having come to Decatur county 
in 1823. As one of the pioneers in Decatur county, he attained considerable 
prominence in the political and civic life of this county, having served a 
period of several years before the Civil War as county commissioner, and his 
name is to be found today on the west front of the Decatur county court 
house. Sutherland McCoy, one of the second generation of McCoys in 
Decatur county, more than a cjuarter of a centur}^ later filled the same office, 
and the latter having in the decade before the Civil W^ar served as an Indiana 
fighter in the West, at the outbreak of the Civil War, enlisted as a soldier 
and made for himself a brilliant record as a private soldier. 

The late Sutherland McCoy, public-spirited citizen and farmer, who 
owned at the time of his death three hundred and eighty-seven acres of fine 
farming land in Decatur county, was born, Novemlier 8, 1829, on the farm 
where the McCoy children are now living, and died, April 5, 1906. He was 
the son of Andra, who, the son of Daniel, the son of William, was born, 
December 20, 1789, at Wheeling Creek, Virginia, and who moved to Nicholas 
county, Kentucky, in 1791. and to Decatur county, Indiana, in 1823. A 
splendid farmer and a good mechanic, as well as a pioneer horse breeder, 
he settled on the farm where his grandson and granddaughter now live. On 
January 15, 1818, Andra McCoy was married in Kentucky to Margaret Hop- 
kins, who was born, September 29, 1793, and who died, August 27, 1851. 
Andra, himself, died. July 14. 187 1. His wife taught the first Sabbath 
.school in Fugit township at 'Sit. Carmel. This school probalily was the first 




SUTHEKLANI). BENJAMIN M. AX1> .TISTTS It. McCOY. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



593 



•ever conducted in Decatur county. She was the mother of nine children, 
Cohimbus, George W., John H., Kate, Parthena E., the wife of David L. 
Miller, Sutherland, Benjamin M., Amanda and Justus Barton. 

The present residence of the McCoys on the old McCoy homestead, 
which is a substantial and attractive dwelling, was built hy Sutherland 
McCoy, Andra having built and lived in a log house. The latter, who was 
a strong man, an industrious worker and an enterprising citizen, was emin- 
ently respected during his day and generation by the people of Decatur county, 
and being elected as a county commissioner of this county in 1853, served 
thereafter a term of six years. 

The late Sutherland McCoy, who was the seventh child born to his 
parents, Andra and Margaret (Hopkins) McCoy, pioneers of this county, 
crossed the plains to the Pacific coast in 1852, shortly after reaching his 
majority, proceeding with a company of sixty-three men from Shasta Valley, 
to which place they had gone to drive back the Indians. After being actively 
engaged for a ])eriod of thirty-three days, during which the party participated 
in many thrilling exploits, they returned with only twenty-seven of the 
original party of sixty-three men, thirty-six having been killed and wounded. 
Sutherland McCoy himself was wounded in the neck by an Indian arrow. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sutherland McCoy responded to one 
of the early calls for \-olunteers and enlisted in Company G, Seventh Indiana 
Volunteer Infantry. During the war he was engaged in many severe battles, 
among which were those of South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, 
Rappahannock, Gettysburg, Thorough Gay, Mine Run, etc. 

Returning from the war, Sutherland McCoy settled down to the peace- 
ful pursuit of agriculture, and about ten years after the close of the Civil 
War was married. May 25, 1875, to Priscilla Kincaid, who was born, Octo- 
ber I, 1847, in Decatur county, Indiana. Four children were born to bless 
this marriage, one of whom, the third child, Mary J., who was born, June 5, 
1883, died, September 5, 1899. Of the three living children, Ella was born. 
May 5, 1877. Amanda, who was born, January 27, 1880, was married, 
March 13, 1901, to Clyde William Kitchin, who was born in January, 1879, 
in Decatur county, Indiana. They now reside on a farm in Rush county, 
Indiana, and have five children, May Florence, born December 10, 1901 ; 
Martha Amanda, born November 5, 1903; Ruth and Ruby, twins, born June 
4, 1907, and Clara Margaret, November 4, 19 13. John Andra, the youngest 
child of Sutherland and Priscilla AlcCoy, was born, April 14, 1887, ^"<J after 
graduating from the Clarksburg high school, April 13, 1904, took up farming 
(38} 



594 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

on the old homestead, and so far as a son is able to follow in the footsteps 
of a worthy father, John Andra is doing this. 

For almost a half century the late Sutherland McCoy was one of the 
leaders of the Democratic party of Decatur county. His judgment as an 
organization man was admitted to be of a superior order, and, possessed as 
he was of a genial and cordial manner, he was able to rely for his strength 
upon his own personality. Between 1882 and 1886 he served as county com- 
missioner of Decatur county, filling the same office his father had so well 
filled before him. Religiously, the McCoys are devout members of the 
Springhill Presbyterian church. The late Sutherland McCoy, who was a 
member of the Clarksburg Masonic lodge, took a great interest in the wel- 
fare of this order. 



CHARLES WILLIAM WOODWARD. 

The Citizen's National Bank, of Greensburg, Indiana, which was organ- 
ized as a private bank in 1866, is the oldest financial institution in the city of 
Greensburg. The bank having been organized by David Lovett, Levi P. 
Lathrop'and Samuel Christy, on October 9, 1871, it was created a national 
bank with David Lovett as its first president, and Samuel Christy as its first 
cashier. These positions were later held by the Hon. Will Cumback and 
Louis E. Lathrop, now of Indianapolis, who filled all the offices in the insti- 
tution, which at present are filled by James B. Lathrop, as president; S. P. 
Minear, of the Minear Dry Goods Company, vice-president, and Charles 
W. Woodward as cashier. The directors include Messrs. James B. Lathrop, 
S. P. Minear, John W. Lovett, Louis E. Lathrop, John H. Christian, C. W. 
Woodward and F. D. Bird. 

Charles W. Woodward, who has been connected with the Citizens 
National Bank since 1879, a period of thirty-six years, was appointed assist- 
ant cashier on January 14, 1890, and cashier on January 8, 1901, and since 
then the career of Mr. Woodward has been identified with this bank, a period 
including practically his entire active life. This bank has a capital of one 
hundred thousand dollars, average deposits of three hundred thousand dol- 
lars and surplus and undivided profits of fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Wood- 
ward not only has been connected with the Citizens National Bank for 
thirty-six years, but he has lived in Greensburg all his life, with the exception 
of his youth, which was spent at Adams, Decatur county, Indiana. 

Charles W. Woodward was born on July 18, 1854, at Greensburg, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 595 

Indiana, the son of Isaac L. and Cliriste Ann (Jackson) Woodward, the 
former of whom was born in Kentucky on June 3, 1830, and who died on 
November i, 1914, and the latter of whom was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
the daughter of Wilham Jackson, a pioneer citizen of Decatur county, and 
a native of Virginia. Isaac L. was a son of Charles Woodward, who settled 
on a farm west of Greensburg in 1832, eventually became a druggist and 
merchant at Adams, in this county, afterwards becoming a gardener before 
he retired from active life, when he removed to Greensburg, Indiana. He 
was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in Company G, Seventy-sixth 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for thirty days. He was a Repub- 
lican in politics, and was identified with the Baptist church. His wife, who 
is now deceased, was a daughter of a pioneer farmer, who came from his 
nati\'e state of Virginia to Cincinnati in an early day, later coming to Deca- 
tur county, where he was a farmer in the pioneer days. He died in Greens- 
burg after a long and useful life. 

Charles William Woodward was reared at Adams, the eldest of a family 
of ten children, three who died in infancy, the others, who live at Greensburg, 
Indiana, being Frank, a drayman; Mrs. George W. Magee, the wife of a 
dry goods merchant; Mrs. F. R. Christman, whose husband is a merchant; 
Ion L., a merchant; Mrs. James Porter, who lives on a farm three miles 
from that place, and Mrs. D. A. West, the wife of a merchant. 

Charles W. Woodward received his education in the schools of Adams, 
and was one of the first bookeepers for the Greensburg Woolen Mills, hav- 
ing worked for Arthur Hutchinson for two years. Later he became a clerk 
for John Emmert, and a bookkeeper in a grain elevator for two and one-half 
years, after which he also spent six months working in a grocery store. 
Entering the Citizens National Bank as a bookkeeper on May 26, 1879, his 
rise to the position of assistant cashier in 1890, and to that of cashier in 
1 90 1, has already been related. 

Mr. Woodward was married on May 12, 1880, to Candas Coy, who was 
a native of Greensburg, and a daughter of Matthew Coy, a pioneer resident 
of Greensburg, now deceased. Mr. and ]\Irs. Woodward are the parents of 
one son, Arthur Coy, born on August 18, 1890, is now a student at Cornell 
University, of Ithaca, New York. He is a graduate of the Greensburg 
high school, and also of DePauw University. At Cornell he is taking an 
engineer course. Arthur C. Woodward was married to Hazel Ayres, of 
Greencastle, Indiana, and they are now living in Ithaca. 

Identified as he is with one of the leading financial institutions of 
Greensburg and Decatur county, Mr. Woodward is, of course, well known 



596 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

to the people of this county. As a banker he has had no small part in its 
growth and prosperity, and it may be truly said that as cashier of this 
institution he enjoys the confidence not only of the board of directors and 
ot^cers, but also of the patrons of the bank, with whom he is exceedingly 
popular. 



SHERMAN B. HITT, M. D. 

Devoted to the noble work which his profession implies, the late Sherman 
B. Hitt, M. D., of Greensburg, by faithful and indefatigable service not only 
earned the due reward of his efforts in a material way, but proved himself 
eminently worthy to practice his great profession. He was a man of abiding 
sympathy, and his earnest zeal in behalf of his fellow men made him a 
popular resident of Decatur county. His understanding of the science of 
medicine was regarded by his patients, by his fellows in the medical pro- 
fession as broad and comprehensive, and he earned for himself a distin- 
guished place among the physicians of Decatur county. 

The late Dr. Sherman B. Hitt. who was born on January 15, 1854, in 
Louisville, Kentucky, and who died, September 25, 1911, in Greensburg, was 
the son of Dr. John Y. Hitt, himself a well-known physician in two states. 
Dr. Sherman B. Hitt's mother was. before her marriage, Martha Ann Logan 
and was the daughter of Samuel Logan, one of the earliest of the pioneers 
of Decatur county, who came here with Thomas Ireland, whose life work 
is referred to repeatedly in this volume. 

John Y. Hitt was born in Sullivan, Illinois, and was the son of Joel 
and Sarah Hitt, the former of whom, a farmer by occupation, was born on 
November 7, 1798, and who lived and died in the state of Kentucky, where 
he was a large landowner and slaveholder. His family is of English origin. 
Joel Hitt was one of a family of ten children, there being seven sons and 
three daughters. He was married in 181 7. After practicing- his profession 
for a number of years at Sullivan, Illinois, the late Dr. John Y. Hitt came 
to Greensburg to live about 1901, and died there on April 14, 1914. He and 
his wife, Martha Anne (Logan) Hitt had two children, Joel and Dr. 
Sherman B. 

Sherman B. Hitt was educated for his profession at Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, where he spent four years at one of the post-graduate institu- 
tions of Berlin, Germany. After practicing his profession for five years in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, he came to Greensburg, Indiana, and here he built up a large 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 597 

and profitable practice and was highly esteemed and widely honored not only 
by his fellows in the medical profession, bnt by the public generally. 

Dr. Sherman B. Hitt was married, May 9, 1895, to Mary S. Smitii, a 
daughter of John H. and Mary Jane (Parant) Smith, the former of whom 
was a native of Jeft'erson county, Indiana, and one of a large family. 
Beginning life on a farm he became a successful farmer and owned a large 
tract of land in Decatur county. During the latter years of his life he lived 
in Columbus, Indiana, and died in that city. Mrs. Mary (Smith) Hitt was 
educated in the common and high schools of Decatur county and at Notre 
Dame University, located near South Bend, Indiana. She is a woman not 
only of wide information and of rare native intelligence, but a woman of 
refined and cultured habit, one who is popular in the social life of this city. 
As the result of her marriage to the late Sherman B. Hitt, one daughter, 
Gladys, was born on May 9, 1896, in Greensburg. Miss Hitt was educated 
in the common schools of Decatur county, and later pursued her academic 
work at Moores Hill College. Finally she entered the conservatory of music 
at Cincinnati and was a student there for three years, during which she com- 
pleted the regular four }'ears' course in vocal and instrumental music. Miss 
Hitt is a young woman of prominence in musical and social circles in the city 
of Greensburg. 

Although the work of the late Dr. Sherman B. Hitt is finished, his 
influence goes on not only in the life of the members of his family, but also 
in the larger community where his work was done, since he was a man in 
whom the public placed implicit trust and confidence. 



LAFAYETTE FORD. 



Lafayette Ford, a retired railroad man and well-known citizen of 
Greensburg, was born on February i, 1841, on a farm in Washington town- 
ship, the son of Johnson and Eliza (Waters) Ford, natives of Kentucky, 
the former of whom was born in 18 18, and died 1906, and the latter of 
whom was born in 1819, and died in 1851. She was the daughter of William 
Waters, a native of Kentucky and an early settler who became wealthy, 
owning a large tract of land in this section and large herds of li\'e stock. 
Johnson Ford was a son of Bailey Ford, who was born and reared in North 
Carolina, and who became a follower of Daniel Boone, a pioneer in the state 
of Kentucky. He moved to Decatur county from Kentucky in the early 



598 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

thirties, purcliasing a farm in Washington township, two miles east of 
Greensburg. Johnson Ford settled on a farm, immediately after his mar- 
riage, known as the Waters farm, and after the Waters estate was settled 
up, he removed to Hendricks county. He died suddenly on the streets of 
Indianapolis. Of his eight children, four are now deceased, Alfred died in 
the ser\'ice of his country during the Civil War; James died in Nebraska; 
the third born, was Mrs. Mary Smith ; Mrs. Malinda McKee died near 
Brownsburg; Arnold lives at Miami, Indiana; William lives in Detroit, 
Michigan; Mrs. Ida Smith lives in Brownsburg, Indiana, and Lafayette is the 
subject of this sketch. 

Mr. Ford is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted on President 
Lincoln's first call for volunteers on April 14, 1861. He served in Company 
F, Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for three months and was 
engaged in the first battle on Cheat river, where the first rebel general was 
killed. Upon his second enlistment, September 9, 186 1, he became a soldier 
in Company E, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and 
served for three years. During this period he served under Capt. M. C. 
Conett, and Col. George W. Hazard, a brutal officer who w'as cashiered, and 
thereafter was succeeded by Colonel Gazely, who w-as also cashiered. He was 
succeeded by Colonel Hull, who was wounded, and who was succeeded by 
Colonel Ward, now an attorney at Versailles. The principal engagements in 
which Mr. Ford served w^ere the battles of Stone's River, Chickamauga, siege 
of Atlanta, and many skirmishes and minor battles. He was mustered out 
of service, October 4, 1864. 

After the war, Mr. Ford returned home to Decatur county, and farmed 
in Washington township for one year, and then farmed near Peru, Indiana, 
for about seven years. Subsequently, he engaged in railroading as express 
messenger and baggage man on the Wabash railroad for thirty-five years. 
In 19 1 2, he retired, and in October of that year removed to Gi^eensburg, 
where he has since been living. 

In 1868, Mr. Ford was first married to Louisiana Isabelle Johnson, 
of Decatur county, the daughter of William P. Johnson, an early settler of 
the county, who bore him one child, Dr. Walter D. Ford, a well-known 
physician of Detroit, Michigan, who married Clara M. Dean. Mr. Ford 
lived in Detroit during his long service on the railroad. 

On October 17, 1912, Mr. Ford was again married to Mrs. EHzabeth 
Ann (Guest) Perry, of Decatur county, who w^as born on November 14, 1843, 
in Clay township, and is the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Branson) 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 599 

Guest, natives of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, respectively, who first set- 
tled in Ohio, and from Ohio came to Indiana in the late thirties. 

John and Elizabeth (Branson) Guest have nine children: Thomas, born 
on March i8, 1827; Hannah, January 5, 1829, and died on June 14, 1869; 
David, March 28, 1831, and died on October 23, 1855; Stephen, June 6, 
1833, died on July 26, 1847; Sarah, August 24, 1835, married Dr. Wooden; 
Mary, May 17, 1838, died on October 12, 1852; Moses, November 16, 1840, 
died on August 24, 1853; Elizabeth A., November 14, 1843, is the present 
wife of Mr. Ford; Louisa J., October 27, 1846. 

Elizabeth (Branson) Guest, the wife of John Guest and the mother 
of the above named children, was a daughter of David and Sarah (Antrim) 
Branson. The Antrim family was a very famous family, not only in this 
country, but abroad. The first of the Antrims to settle in this country was 
John Antrim, who received a large grant of land from the English king. 
James, the direct ancestor of Mrs. Ford, and a brother of John, purchased 
land from him. The family was originally of Irish extraction, and prob- 
ably belong-ed to the landed gentry class of Couijty ^^ntrim, Ireland. They, 
as well as the Bransons, were Quakers. A genealogical history of the family 
has been issued by people at Burlington, New Jersey. An old Friends church 
built in the blockhouse at High street, Burlington, was the house of wor- 
ship of the Antrims of that city. James Antrim, a brother of John Antrim, 
heretofore referred to, came to America from England, and settled in Mans- 
field township, New Jersey, some time between 1678 and 1680. His son, 
James, had a son, James, whose daughter, Sarah, was born on October 7, 
1764, and who died, July 23, 1821. She married David Branson, hereto- 
fore referred to. 

Mrs. Lafayette Ford was first married to Walliam S. Perry, who was 
torn in Decatur county, 1834, and who died, April 10, 191 1. 

A Republican in politics, the venerable Lafayette Ford is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and a member of Zion Lodge No. i. Free 
and Accepted Masons, of Detroit, Michigan. His career has been long and 
honorable, and he is glad to spend his last days in the county of his birth, 
where his early friendships were fomied, and where lived many people whom 
he dearly loved. In some respects Mr. Ford's life has appeared to be a 
charmed one. During his valiant service as a soldier in the Civil War. he 
received seven bullet holes in his clothing, but was never wounded. In fact, 
these entire seven narrow escapes were all incidents of the battle of Stone's 
River. Moreover, he took part in the one hundred and four days of con- 



11 



600 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tinuous fighting from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and here he also escaped. 
Mr. and Mrs. Ford are splendid people, intelligent, well informed, sociable 
and hospitable. Both are well preserved and enjoy the best of health. 



ROLLIN A. TURNER. 



Rollin A, Turner, a member of the law firm of Treemain & Turner, and 
a graduate of the Harvard law school in 1907, is the son of a pioneer Meth- 
odist minister of this section of Indiana, and himself one of the brilliant 
young men of the fourth congressional district. 

Mr. Turner has been well prepared for the practice of law. Aside from 
graduating from the public schools of Greensburg and from the Greensl:)urg 
high school in 1900, he pursued for four years an academic course at 
DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, and received the degree of 
Bachelor of Arts frcMtn this institution. After graduating from DePauw in 
1904 he entered Ilarva-rd University in the fall of that year, and for three 
years was a student of the law department, receiving the degree of Bachelor 
of Laws in 1907. Hundreds of young men enter the Harvard law school 
every year, but comparatively few of them remain to graduate, on account of 
the very high standard of the institution. It is impossible for the derelict or 
the stupid, or for the brilliant young man who refuses or declines to study, 
to get a diploma from this institution, and it is a mark of distinction to any 
young man that he holds a diploma from the Harvard law school, for prac- 
tically half of the freshman class is dropped at the end of the first semester, 
because of failure to maintain the standard of studentsliip required by this 
institution. 

The firm of Treemain & Turner within a comparatively brief period 
has built up an extensive practice, not only in Decatur county, but in the courts 
of other counties adjoining Decatur, and in the state and federal courts as 
well. Rollin A. Turner is not only a profound student of the law, well 
learned in legal principles and well informed in present day jurisijrudence, 
but he is what is commonly called a successful practitioner in court, and his 
success has been builded upon careful and painstaking study of the minutest 
details involved in every case presented to him. He never goes into the court 
room unprepared, and his habits in this particular are not difficult to explain. 
Careful and methodical work was required of him during the time he was a 
student of the law. 

Rollin A. Turner was born, July 26, 1881, at Laurel in Franklin county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 6or 

Indiana, the son of the Rev. J. W. and Lizzie (Woodfih) Turner, the former 
of whom was a native of Indiana, and the latter of whom was a daughter of 
Wilham S. Woodfill, one of the pioneer citizens and business men of Decatur 
county. Of Rolhn Turner's ancestry it may be said, that the Rev. J. VV. 
Turner was a son of Rev. Isaac Turner, one of the pioneer Methodist 
ministers of southeastern Indiana, and himself a native of England, whose 
wife was Alice Turner, and who came to America in 1854. The Rev. J. W. 
Turner, who n(nv resides on a farm in Decatur county, spent thirty years 
in the ministry of the Methodist church, retiring in 1905, and locating on his 
present farm. He was born, August 11, 1857, in Dearborn county, Indiana, 
and was graduated from Moores Hill College with the class of 1878, receiv- 
ing, later, the degree of Master of Arts and Doctor of Divinity. He was 
fnarried in 1880 to Lizzie Woodfill. During his career as a minister, he 
was located at the Trinity church, of Madison, Indiana, the Irvington church, 
at Indianapolis, the Trinity church at Louisville, the Trinity church at Evans- 
ville, and, finally, was presiding elder of the Evans\'ille district, and pastor 
of St. Paul's church at Rushville when he retired. 

Of the mother of Rollin Turner, who, before her marriage to Rev. J. W. 
Turner, wajS Lizzie Woodfill, it may be said that she is the daughter of Will- 
iam S. and Sarah A. (Tall)ot) Woodfill. the latter of whom was the daughter 
of H. H. Talbot, the first clerk of Decatur county. William S. and Sarah 
(Talbot) Woodfill had four children, Elizabeth, who married the Rev. Mr. 
Turner, was the eldest. The others are, William Wirt, of Greensburg; 
Harry Talbot, who is superintendent of the Greensburg gas and electric plant, 
and Web Woodfill, secretary and treasurer of the Greensburg Gas and Elec- 
tric Company. William S. Woodfill passed away, July 25, 1899, and his 
wife, the mother of }ilrs. J. W. Turner, died, October 31, 1898. The former 
was born in Owen county, Kentucky, November 16, 1825, and was the son 
of Gabriel and Eleanor (Pullam) Woodfill, of \Velsh and English extraction, 
the Woodfill family having been established in Pennsylvania in early colonial 
days. The Rev. Gabriel Woodfill, the great-grandfather of William S. 
Woodfill, emigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, and moved from Shelby 
county, Kentucky, to Jefferson county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder 
of his life. He was a minister in the Methodist church in Kentucky and 
Indiana, and a man of large influence in the pioneer communities, .\ndrew 
Woodfill, the son of Rev. Gabriel Woodfill, and the grandfather of William 
S. Woodfill, was born in Pennsylvania, and spent most of his life at Madison, 
Indiana, where he entered government land, and where he was married to a 
Miss Mitchell. He and his wife had twelve children, eight of whom lived 
to maturity. Gabriel Woodfill, one of the sons of Andrew Woodfill, and the 



602 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

father of William S. Woodfill, was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1800, 
and though he emigrated from Kentucky to Indiana with liis parents, he later 
returned to Kentucky and there was a farmer and tavern keeper. He came 
to Greensburg, Indiana, Xovembcr 16, 1830, and here during his life took a 
prominent part in the financial and commercial life of Decatur county, subse- 
quently establishing a general mercantile store, which has been under the 
management of the Woodfill family for almost a century. Gabriel Wood- 
fill's first wife was Eleanor Pullani, who bore him three children, Andrew, 
William S., the father of Mrs. J. \V. Turner, and Alary, who married Henry 
Christian. Upon the death of his first wife, Gabriel Woodfill married Eliza- 
beth Van Pelt, daughter of Joseph Van Pelt, and there were three children 
by this second union, James AI.. John, deceased, and Catherine, the wife of 
Rev. James Crawford. The store with which William S. Woodfill became 
associated in 1825, after his death was operated under the name of W. S. 
Woodfill's son, and is now under the individual management of W. W. 
Woodfill. 

The Rev. J. W. and Airs. Elizabeth (Woodfill) Turner have had seven 
children: Rollin A., the subject of this sketch, is the eldest; Sarah married 
Louis C. Uhl, of Huntingburg: Lieut. \\'illiam W. Turner, of the United 
States navy, is stationed at Annapolis, Maryland; Harry D., James W., Jr., 
Rachel and Welwirt live on the home farm. 

Rollin A. Turner was married, June i, 1910, to Lillian Hill, of Greens- 
burg, the daughter of W. J. and Lillian Hill, old residents of Greensburg. 
The former, a native of Ireland, is a traveling salesman for Young, Smythe, 
Field & Company, of Philadelphia, and has resided in Greensburg for the 
past thirty-five years. He is a well-to-do and substantial citizen, who has 
extensive propertv interests in real estate and business blocks in this city. 

In 1914, Rollin A. Turner was nominated by the fourth district con- 
vention as the Republican candidate for congress in this district. Although 
he made a most vigorous fight, the fourth district is strongly Democratic, and 
Mr. Turner was defeated, but he is, today, one of the leaders of the Repub- 
lican party in the fourth district, and is one of the counsellors of the party 
in state politics. Mr. Turner is a member of the Centenary Alethodist Epis- 
copal church, of Greensburg, while Mrs. Turner is a member of St. Alary's 
Catholic church. Fraternall}'. he is a member of the Benevolent Protective 
Order of Elks, the Knights of P\»thias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 
At college. Mr. Turner was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Greek 
letter fraternity, as well as other Greek letter societies, local in their mem- 
'bership. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 603 

JOSEPH PATTERSON. 

Of the many retired farmers living in Greensbnrg, Indiana, who have 
been successful in their life's vocation, mention must be made of Joseph 
Patterson, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, who was born on July 12, 
1839, the son of Roger and Mary Jane (Hall ) Patterson. 

Roger Patterson, after immigrating to America, in 1845, to find a home 
for his family, located in Clinton township, Decatur county, Indiana, where 
he rented land for a short time, and, in 1847, the family, consisting of a wife 
and two sons, John and Joseph, joined the husband and father. Roger Pat- 
terson died when he was thirty-seven years old, in 1855, leaving a wife and 
two children, who, at that time, were living in Clinton township. John was 
killed in the second battle of Bull Run. The mother, who was married again 
to Michael Ryan, had three children by the second marriage, Mrs. Sallie Meek, 
William and Mrs. Katie Lanham, all of whom are living at Greensburg, 
Indiana. The mother of these children died at an advanced age. 

During the Civil War, hogs sold for a considerable period for ten dol- 
lars a hundredweight, and it was during this time that the venerable Joseph 
Patterson purchased his farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He raised a 
great many hogs, and, being successful with them, was soon able to pay for 
his land. Beginning with nothing, he took advantage of the opportunities 
offered and soon made good, prior to which time he had rented and for 
several years in Clinton township. His farm is now well improved and very 
valuable. In 1905 Mr. Patterson moved to Greensburg. 

In September, 1S57, when he was eighteen years old, Joseph Patterson 
was first married to Mary Bird, the daughter of William and Maria Bird, 
natives of Kentucky and Virginia, respectively, who moved to Decatur 
county, Indiana, in the late twenties. They reared a family of eight children : 
Harvey, who married Sarah Lowe ; Mrs. Martha Anna Johnson ; Benjamin, 
who married a Miss Small ; Henry, who married a Miss Davidson ; Edwin, 
who married Charlotte Powers; Harriett, the wife of William Sefton; IMary, 
the wife of a Mr. Patterson, and Minerva, who first married Jacob Hick- 
man and had four children, Luna. William, deceased; Martha, the wife of 
Charles S. Reed, who lives in \A^ashington township, and Mrs. Ottawa 
Baumgarten, who lives in Greensburg. Mrs. Mary Patterson was born on 
July 31, 1839, and died on May i, 1908. Four years after her death, 'Sir. 
Patterson was again married to Minerva, the sister of his first wife, the 
marriage taking place on December 9, 1912. 



& 



604 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

To Joseph and Mary (Bird) Patterson were born seven children, all of 
whom are stilling living, Mrs. Maria Jane Robison, who lives near Adams and 
has one child, Millicent; Harriet Elizabeth, who is the wife of J. L. Hamil- 
ton and has one child, Cora; j\lrs. Nora Olive Ford, who Hves at Greens- 
burg and has one child, Mary ; John William, of Clinton township, who mar- 
ried Lou Hazelrigg and has three sons, William, Van and Daniel ; James, 
who married Margaret Goddard and lives on the old home place : Charles, 
of near Adams, who married Dessa Guthrie and has one child, Charles 
Guthrie, and ]\lrs. Ina Anderson, of Greensburg. Mr. Patterson died on 
May 19, 191 5, at the age of seventy-si.x years. 

Although Mr. Patterson was a Republican all of his life, in 1912 he 
voted the Democratic national ticket, supporting the Democratic candidate, 
now the President of this country, Woodrow Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Pat- 
terson are members of the ]\Iethodist Episcopal church at Greensburg. 



WILLIAAl yi. McCOY. 



William M. McCoy, a retired farmer of Greensburg, Indiana, who 
removed from his farm one and one-half miles southeast of Greensburg, in 
September, 191 4, to that city, was bom on January 16, 1832, in Washing- 
ton county, Indiana, and is the son of .Alexander and Prudence (Armstrong) 
McCoy, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, the former of whom 
was born on October 18, 1794, in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and 
the latter of whom was born on November 2, 1809, and who died, January 31, 
1857. Alexander McCoy, a representative of the third generation of the 
McCoy family in America, removed with his parents to Bourbon county, 
Kentucky, from Washington, Pennsylvania, when a small child, and there 
was reared, coming to Decatur county, Indiana, from Washington county, 
Indiana, December 25, 1833. He died on his farm near Kingston, June i, 
1877. He was married to Prudence Armstrong, January 4, 1831, in Wash- 
ington county. Indiana, where he was a charter member of the Kingston 
Presbyterian church, and at the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of this 
church was the only surviving charter member. 

Alexander and Prudence f . Armstrong) McCoy had nine children, the 
names of whom follow in the order of their birth: William M. McCoy, the 
subject of this sketch, was the eldest child born to his parents and first saw 
the ligkt of day at Salem, in Washington county, Indiana ; Leander Aretas, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 605 

who was born on March 14, 1834, died on August 7, 1900; Sarepta. June 
20, 1836, married W'ilHam Franklin Cox, a soldier in the Civil War, and 
they lived at Montrose, Illinois, both are deceased; Daniel Judson, August 
8, 1839, was killed in the battle of the Wilderness; James Burney, August 
8, 1839, a twin of Daniel Judson. died on October 17 of the same year; 
Philonadus, June 3, 1843, deceased, lived in Indianapolis, Indiana; Orpheus, 
January 8, 1846, died on March 3, 1904; Milissa, March 29, 1849, died on 
July 17, 185 1 ; Cassius C, July 25, 1852, lives at Greensburg, Indiana. Two 
children, therefore, out of this family of nine, are still living. 

Alexander McCoy, who, for the purpose of this sketch, may be desig- 
nated Alexander II., was the son of .Alexander McCoy I., the latter of whom 
was born in Scotland, in 1753, and who married Nancy Campbell, in 1780, 
eight years after coming to this country. He and his wife had six children 
born in Pennsylvania, and five children born in Kentucky. Those born in 
Pennsylvania were John C. William, Daniel, Angus C, Margaret and Alex- 
ander. In 1794, the family remo\ed to Bourbon county, Kentucky, and after 
their removal, there were born, Jane, Mary, George, James and Campbell. 

Alexander McCoy I. was the son of William McCoy, the founder of the 
family in America, who was born in Sutherlandshire, Scotland, in 1730, and 
emigrated to America, settling on the east shore of Maryland in 1772, and 
later removed to Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. His remains are buried at 
Ruddles Mills cemetery in Bourbon county, Kentucky. 

William Martin McCoy, the subject of this sketch, was married on 
November 2, 1871, to Mary Jane Jones, who was born on December 25, 
1844, in Cincinnati, and who is the daughter of Roland and Catherine 
(Hughes) Jones, natives of Wales, who came to this country from Card- 
ingshire before their marriage in 1840. They lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
where the father was a stationary engineer, and where he lived and died. 
He was born in 1820, and died in October, 1875. His wife, who. before her 
marriage, was Catherine Hughes, was born in 1822, and died in 1850. They 
had three children, John, of Bellevue, Kentucky; Mrs. Mary Jane McCoy, 
and Mrs. Elizabeth Evans, of Hyde Park, Cincinnati. 

To Mr. and Mrs. William M. McCoy have been born three children, 
Minnie Prudence, Ralph Evans and Robert. Of these children Minnie was 
born on October 10, 1872, and married Carl Hendrick, who was born on 
November 22, 1870. They had three children, Ralph, who was born on 
November 12, 1899; W^illiam Poland, December 11, 1901, and Rose Eualine, 
October 29, 1904, at Terre Haute, Indiana. They reside in Indianapolis; 
Ralph E\-ans, who was born on June 20, 1878, lives on the home farm east 



6o6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of Greensburg. He married Daisy Barnes and they have one child, William 
Frederick; Robert, who was born on April i6, 1880, was a civil engineer 
until his death, October 30, 1914. 

After his marriage, Mr. McCoy settled at McCoy Station, where he 
rented one hundred and forty acres of land for two years. At the end of 
this period he purchased one hundred and sixty acres near Kingston, and 
lived there for nearly two years, when he moved to another farm one and 
one-half miles southeast of Greensburg, consisting of ninety-six acres of 
well-improved land. In September, 1914, Mr. and Mrs. McCoy removed 
to Greensburg. 

William M. McCoy is a Republican in politics, and Air. and Mrs. McCoy 
are both members of the Presbyterian church, as are the other members of 
their family. They are well known and highly respected not only in Greens- 
burg". but in Decatur county. 



DAN S. PERRY. 



Among the strongest iinancial institutions in the city of Greensburg is 
the Greensburg National Bank, of which Dan S. Perry has been cashier for 
several years, having entered the bank in July, 1900, at its organization, as 
assistant cashier. The Greensburg National Bank began business with a 
capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, but on November 5, 1906, its capital 
was raised to seventy-five thousand dollars, and it now has a surplus of 
twenty-five thousand dollars, undivided profits of seven thousand dollars, 
and average deposits of three hundred thousand dollars. James M. Wood- 
fill has been president since its organization. Mr. Perry, who was the original 
assistant cashier, succeeded J. B. Kitchum as cashier in 1904. The other 
officers are Will H. Robbins, vice-president, and A. J. Lowe, assistant cashier. 
Messrs. Robbins, D. A. Myers, C. P. Miller, Oliver Deem, J. B. Kitchin 
and John H. Deniston constitute the board of directors. The correspondent 
banks are the Fifth-Third National, of Cincinnati; the Indiana National, of 
Indianapolis; the National Bank of Commerce, of New York City, and the 
Federal Reserve Bank, of Chicago, the Greensburg National being a mem- 
ber of the Federal Reserve Associated Banks. 

The popular and efficient cashier of the Greensburg National Bank is 
descended from an old family of this section, his grandfather, Dan S. Perry, 
having settled in Washington township, Decatur county, in 1824. Here 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 607 

he purchased land, and after clearing a small tract, erected a log cabin. Dan 
S. Perry, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, and who had moved from 
the ancestral home in Virginia to the state of Kentucky, was the son of 
Frederick Perry, a member of the personal body-guard of General Wash- 
ington during the Revolutionary War. Dan S. Perry is, therefore, descended 
from Revolutionary ancestry and is himself of militant and patriotic stock. 
Born in July, 1873, on a farm in Decatur county, Dan S. is the son of 
Leonard and Cinderella (Boyce) Perry, the former a native of Kentucky, 
who had come with his father, Dan S. Perry, Sr., from Kentucky to Wash- 
ington township, Decatur county, in 1824, and the latter of whom was a 
native of Indiana, and reared in Decatur county. Leonard Perry, who lived 
on the ancestral farm for si.xty years, was born in 1824, and died in Feb- 
ruary, 1909. His wife, who died in 1873, left a family of nine children, as 
follow: Dina P. Craig, of Greensburg; Will L. and Louisa, of Greensburg; 
Squire D., who lives on a liarm east of Greensburg; George S., who lives 
on the old home place ; Mrs. Chester Edkins, of Greensburg ; Allen M. and 
Pierce, deceased, and Dan S.. the subject of this sketch. 

Dan S. Perry during his youth and early manhood enjoyed the educa- 
tional advantages which the schools of Decatur county afiforded. After hav- 
ing finished the course in the country schools, he attended Greensburg high 
school, and when eighteen years old became a student in one of the leading 
Cincinnati business colleges, After finishing the course in the business col- 
lege, he returned to Greensburg and studied law in the office of D. A. 
Miers for six years. Two years of this period he served as court stenog- 
rapher. Upon the organization of the Greensburg National Bank, in 1900, 
Mr. Perry became assistant cashier, and four years later succeeded to the 
office of cashier, a position which he has held ever since, a period of eleven 
years. 

Mr. Perry was married on November 30, 1893. to Elsie Russell, daugh- 
ter of Richard Russell, of Decatur county. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have had 
one son, Russell Myers, who is now twenty years old, and who is a student 
in the American School of Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri. 

A Republican in politics, Dan S. Perry has never been prominent in 
political work, although he has always maintained a keen interest in good 
government and in the election of capable men in public office. Fraternally, 
he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protec- 
tive Order of Elks. 

As a banker, Dan S. Perry is regarded as a man with few i)eers and no 
superiors in Decatur county. The growth and present prosperous condition- 



6o8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

■of the Greensburg National Bank are due to the wise and efficient manage- 
ment of its board of directors and especially its officers. Mr. Perry has 
never been found wanting in any test which has been imposed upon him. He 
has safe-guarded the interests of the bank, and at the same time his cordial 
relations with the patrons of the bank have brought substantial increases in 
business year by year. Honorable and upright in all of the relations of 
life, private and public, he possesses the confidence of the people and enjoys 
their respect as a pri\'ate citizen. 



1 



JOSEPH W. GARRISON. 

The late Joseph W. Garrison, the son of David and ]\Iary (Fugit) Gar- 
rison, was descended on his mother's side from the very first settlers of 
Decatur county, Indiana. His grandfather. Judge John Fugit, who was born 
in the mountains of Russell county, Virginia, in 1770, came in March, 1819, 
with Guffy Griffiths and Elias Janett from Franklin county to Decatur county. 
Indiana, and settled one mile east of the present site of Clarksburg at the 
forks of the road. John Fugit, after his marriage, had moved to Floyd 
county, Kentucky, from Virginia and from Floyd county, in 1808, to Hamil- 
ton county, Ohio. Two years later the family had moved to Cedar Grove, 
Franklin county, Indiana, where they lived until 18 18, when, owing to the 
hostility of the Indians, they were compelled to seek safety in the old fort 
•eight miles west of Brookville. The next year they came on to Decatur 
•county, Indiana. 

The Fugit family was one of considerable achievements and note in the 
pioneer history of Decatur county, several members of the family having 
held important positions of trust and responsibility. Judge John Fugit, who 
had been a justice of the peace in Franklin county before his removal to 
Decatur county, or what was then called the "New Purchase," brought with 
him his commission and docket and acted as justice of the peace up to the 
time the county was organized, when he was elected one of the first associate 
justices of the circuit court. In 1825, the Fugits moved to Turner's Corner 
in Clay township, where they lived until 1839, when John Fugit mo\-ed to 
Milford, where he died in 1844. 

It was a daughter of John Fugit, Mary (Fugit) Garrison, the mother 
of the late Joseph ^V. Garrison, who was known, during her time, as "the 
washerwoman for all Decatur county," there having been at this time only 




JOSEI'II \V. (JAKKISON. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 609 

three families in the whole county. The Fugits were noted not only for the 
important positions of trust and responsibility which they held in the early 
history of the county, but they were also noted for being the tallest family 
in this county, each member averaging over six feet in height. The children 
of David and Polly (Fugit) Ckirrison were John O. A., Silas W., James L. 
F., Isaac N., Joseph W., Jesse F., Benjamin F. and David G. 

Four children among the six sons and three daughters born to Judge 
John Fugit and wife, are: Mrs. Mary Garrison; Isaac W., of St. Paul, 
Minnesota; ]\Irs. Rachel McCallister, of Windfall; Mrs. Celia Wilson, of 
Boone county, Indiana, and James, of Greensburg. These children are 
deceased as are the remainder of the family. 

The late Joseph W. Garrison, who was born on January 19, 1838, and 
died in December, 1909, served three years in Company H, Thirty-seventh 
Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Among the severe battles in which he was 
engaged, were those of Stone's River, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Peach- 
tree Creek, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Kenesaw 
Mountain and Picket Hill. He was also engaged in the Atlanta campaign 
and in many minor engagements. Becoming sick in the latter part of the 
war, he was assigned to the commissary department and was thus connected 
when he was mustered out of the service. 

On February 16, 1865, just after the close of the Civil War, Mr. Gar- 
rison was married to Martha E. Tanner, who was born on February 15, 
1840, and who recently celebrated her seventy-fifth birthday, the neighbors 
gathering at her home in large numbers. Mrs. Garrison was born in Wash- 
ington township and is the daughter of Simpson and Callie Mattie (McGan- 
non) Tanner, natives of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively, who came to 
Decatur county in 1835. Her father died in Greensburg, Indiana. They 
had several children : James Elza, Lucy Jane, Ira, Mary, Maria and Zach- 
ariali, twins ; xAnnabel and Laura Belle, twins ; Lucius, Achsa, Sara E. 
Simpson Tanner had been twice married. Mrs. Garrison's half-sister, Mrs. 
Sophia Deere, lives at Franklin, Indiana. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Garrison lived for one year on the 
Tanner farm and then on the David Garrison farm for two years, after which 
they rented Mr. Garrison's brother's farm for one year and then purchased 
a farm of their own in Washington township, where they lived for three 
years. Eventually, thev sold their farm and purchased the one where Caleb 
Wright now lives, living here for several years, when they moved to Greens- 
burg, where they lived for twenty-one years. The present farm was pur- 

(39) 



6lO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

chased some time after 1900 and in December of 1902, Mr. and Mrs. Gar- 
rison moved to the farm. It comprises one hundred and twenty acres and is 
a beautiful country home, well-kept with splendid out-buildings and attractive- 
grounds. 

The late Joseph W. Garrison was a Republican in politics. He never 
held office nor was much interested in this phase of political activity. He 
was a member of the Baptist church and assisted in the building of the 
church. Fraternally, he was a member of Pap Thomas Post. Xo. 5, Grand 
Army of the Republic and of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and 
a charter members of the Eastern Star. Mrs. Garrison and daughter are char- 
ter members of the Eastern Star. Mrs. Garrison is a charter member of the 
Greensburg chapter. Women's Relief Corps. She and daughter are also 
members of the Rebekahs at Greensburg. Mr. Garrison was a city council- 
man of Greensburg. E. F. Roszell was married on December 6, 1905, to 
Minnie Garrison, daughter of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Roszell has 
had charge of the farm for nine years. Mr. Rozell is a stand-pat Republican 
and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



EVERETT HA:MILT0N. 

The descendant of a family which was prominent in the state of Ken- 
tucky during the last half of the eighteenth century, Everett Hamilton, a 
retired farmer of Decatur county, who lives in a comfortable home at Greens- 
burg, Indiana, has been for nearly three-quarters of a century a prominent 
citizen of Decatur county. Given educational advantages, surpassing by far 
the privileges of most farmers of his day and generation, he was considered 
a leader in the political and educational life of Fugit township, where he 
owned a tine fann and where he spent practically all his life, until his 
removal to Greensburg. 

Born on October 16, 1 841, on the old homestead farm near Kingston, in 
Decatur county, he is the son of Cyrus and Mary (McCoy) Hamilton, the 
former of whom was born in 1800 in Kentucky and who died in 1879. Com- 
ing to Decatur county, in 1821, with four lirothers, James E., Cyrus, Thomas 
and Robert Marshall, he settled on a fann near Kingston in Decatur county. 
All of the four brothers, after coming to Decatur county from Kentucky, 
and all of whom were the sons of Robert Hamilton, occupied farms between 
Kingston and Greensburg. In time Cyrus Hamilton came to be a large. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 6l I 

landowner in Decatur county, and at one time owned as much as four hun- 
dred acres, which he had cleared and improved. He resided upon the farm 
until his death. His wife, Mary McCoy, who was a native of Kentucky, was 
born in 1799, and died in 1881. They had six children, only three of whom 
are now living: William M. is deceased; Mrs. Melissa Nyce is deceased, and 
Orlando died in the spring of 1914. Mrs. Cordelia Donnell lives near 
Clarksburg; Chester lives on a farm in Decatur county, the old homestead 
farm, and Everett Hamilton is the subject of this sketch. A prominent mem- 
ber of the Whig party and a free-soiler until its disintegration ant! the for- 
mation of the Republican party in 1854, Cyrus Hamilton was a prominent 
Abolitionist also, and one of the leading advocates in this section of the 
state of the Abolitionist cause. He was well known as a debater, especially 
on tlie subject of slavery, and a devout Presbyterian and member of the 
Kingston church, which he helped to build. 

Educated in the common schools of Fugit township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, and in the old Northwestern Christian University, now Butler Col- 
lege, of Indianapolis, where he spent one and one-half years, Everett Hamil- 
ton began farming for himself in 1864, at the age of twenty-three, near 
Kingston, in Decatur township, on eighty acres of land given to him by his 
father. At the same time he purchased eighty acres of land, on which he 
never li\'ed, but which he farmed before his marriage. In 1866, he exchanged 
this farm for one hundred and sixty acres near Clarksburg, to which he 
moved, and which, in time, he increased to four hundred acres. This farm 
he culti\'ated until 191 1, when he removed to Greensburg, after erecting a 
modern residence on East Main street. During his life he was engaged in 
general farming and stock raising, and was considered to have made a 
splendid success of his life's vocation. 

In 1870, Mr. Hamilton was married to Mary Jane Hopkins, who was 
born in 1843, on a farm in Fugit township, who is the daughter of Preston 
E. and Eliza (Donnell) Hopkins, the former of whom, a native of Kentucky, 
came to Decatur county with his father at an early day. To this union three 
children were born: Paul. Edwin S. and Frank. Paul is engineer of track 
and roadway for the Big Four railroad, and has his office in Cincinnati : 
Edwin S. is a farmer on the old homestead, and Frank is an attorney of 
Greensburg, Indiana. 

A Republican in politics, Everett Hamilton served as trustee of Fugit 
township for two terms, and also as a member of the board of county com- 
missioners for one term, from 1886 to 1889. Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. 
Hamilton are members of the Kingston Presbyterian church, in which lie 
served as trustee for many years. 



6l2 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Everett Hamilton is one of the best-known and most highly respected 
citizens of Decatur county. As a farmer and citizen of Fugit township he 
was well known and as a public official he was recognized as capable, earnest 
and scrupulously honest in all his relations. In his declining years he has 
the satisfaction of knowing that his three sons are following the' footsteps 
of their father, and that they themselves are on the way to similarly honest 
and useful lives. 



WILLIAM C. PULSE. 



Any work purporting to give a review of the industrial' and other con- 
ditions of Decatur county must, at the very outset, take into account the 
great plant built up and controlled by the enterprising firm of Pulse & 
Porter, general building contractors at Greensburg and Hope, Indiana. These 
two plants carry a weekly pay-roll that runs as high as six thousand dollars, 
and at times more than five hundred men are employed by the firm, which 
is generally recognized as being the most active and energetic firm of build- 
ing contractors in Indiana, its operations being easily the most extensive of 
any firm thus engaged in southern Indiana. This concern, which was organ- 
ized in the year 1888, by the association of William C. Pulse, William R. 
Porter and Alexander Porter, has grown until it now is not only the largest 
employer of men in the building trades in Indiana, but which maintains the 
heaviest retail stock of lumber and building material in the state of Indiana. 
In a biographical sketch relating to Alexander Porter, one of the members 
of this fiiTU, presented elsewhere in this volume, reference is made to the 
many large building contracts executed by this company, and it will not be 
necessary to enter into that phase of the concerns's operations here, but it 
is fitting to set out here something regarding the general extent of the plant 
maintained by the company. In Greensburg, the company operates an exten- 
sive planing-mill and sash-door factory, manufacturing, so far as possible, all 
material entering into the building trades, with particular reference to special 
work, most of the stock work used in the extensive building operations of 
the concern being bought outside. In addition to operating the factory at 
Greensburg, which utilizes the services of about fifty hands on an average, the 
firm maintains a general supply house at that place, carrying pretty much 
everything required in the building trades. The company has pleasant and 
well-equipped offices in connection with the retail building, the planing-mill 
and lumber yard being situated near the railroad. The Hope plant, which 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 613 

has one of the best-equipped and most modern sheds in Indiana, with a 
capacity of from thirty to forty carloads of building material, employs from 
fifteen to twenty men and has a saw-mill, a ten-ton ice plant and a complete 
double electric lighting system in connection therewith, using exhaust steam 
for heating purposes. This plant is maintained for both public and com- 
mercial uses and carries building material of every description. 

William C. Pulse was born in a farm home in the woods in Salt Creek 
township, Decatur county, Indiana, on September 30, 1859, the son of 
David G. and Rebecca (VanCleave) Pulse, both natives of Hamilton county, 
Ohio, who were born and reared near Cincinnati at a time when the now 
proud Queen City was but a village. The Pulses and the VanCleaves were 
among the prominent families of the Cincinnati neighborhood and were 
associates of the Tyler Davidsons, the Nicholas Longworths and others of 
the leading families of Cincinnati in that day. At that period the country 
around Cincinnati was an unbroken forest and Mr. Pulse's parents often 
recalled in, later years the fact that there were but few houses in the neigh- 
borhood of their childhood homes and the wild deer still frequented the 
"licks" which were so common thereabout. It was customary for the fami- 
lies to go to market in big wagons, camping over night on the way. 

David G. Pulse, who was born in 1819, and who died in this county in 
March, 1889, was the son of a Virginian, of Pennsylvania-Dutch or High 
German extraction. He was united in marriage in Hamilton county, Ohio, 
to Rebecca VanCleave, and in that county the first three children of this union 
were born. About 1847, the Pulses moved to this county, buying a farm of 
about one hundred and twenty acres in Salt Creek township, hill and forest 
land, the forest being gradually cleared and the hills brought under cultiva- 
tion. David G. Pulse was a man of large influence in the community in which 
he made his home and he and his wife were regarded as among the leaders in 
that neighborhood. Both were, persons of excellent education, and it is 
undoubted that their influence had very much to do with bringing about bet- 
ter social and economic conditions in that now well-established farming 
region. Mr. Pulse was a Democrat and his first vote was cast for James 
K. Polk for President. For many years he served the township as justice 
of the peace, and his judgments always were regarded as equitable by his 
neighbors. The Pulses were Methodists and were leaders of the meetings 
which were conducterl by tiie "circuit riders" thereabout in those days. 

To David G. and Rebecca (VanClea\e) Pulse were born five children: 
Olney E., who enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-third 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, for service in behalf of the Union 



•I 



614 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

during tlie Civil War, and was killed in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain in 
June, 1864; John, who died in November, 1900; Oscar L., who now is living 
in Belle City, Missouri, to which place he moved in 1892; James C, who 
died in Paragould, Arkansas, in October. 1901, and William C, the imme- 
diate subject of this biographical sketch. In January, 1889, the Pulses retired 
from the farm and moved into the city of Greensburg, where Mr. Pulse died 
the following March, his widow continuing to make her residence there until 
the time of her death, twenty- four years later, June 17. 1913, she then being 
eighty-nine years, six months and seventeen days old. 

William C. Pulse received his elementary education in the district school 
of his home neighborhood, which he supplemented with a course in Harts- 
ville College and a course in the university at Valparaiso, Indiana, lacking 
but half a year of finishing in the latter institution. In 1883, he resumed his 
studies, taking the regular scientific course. Mr. Pulse earned his way 
through college by teaching school in Decatur county, having taught for 
nine years, in which profession he was very successful, his well-recognized 
qualifications giving him the choice of positions in the county. Between tenns 
of teaching, Mr. Pulse farmed or operated a saw-mill until the year 1888, 
when he engaged in the contracting business. The history of the well-estab- 
lished firm of Pulse & Porter is the story of the success of Mr. Pulse since 
that time. 

On January 10, 1894, William C. Pulse was united in marriage to Ida 
E. Black, of Anderson, Indiana, a daughter of McFarland and Mary (Woodl 
Black, both of whom now are deceased, to which union two children were 
born, William McFarland, on August 17, 1895, died on August 17, 1896, and 
Mary Rebecca, January 17, 1897, died on August 14, 1900. 

Mrs. Pulse is a member of the First Methodist church of Greensburg, 
and is acti\-e in its work. Mr. Pulse is a Republican and for years has 
been a leader in that party throughout this section of the state. In 1910, 
he was the party's candidate for joint senator for the district comprised of 
Bartholomew and Decatur counties, and was defeated in this Democratic 
district by a majority of but sixteen votes, the stress of his personal inisi- 
ness preventing his close application to his campaign. He stands high in 
Masonry, having reached the thirty-second degree, and three times serving 
as the master of the Greensburg lodge of that order, of which lodge he was 
a trustee; a member of the grand lodge of Indiana and grand marshal of the 
Grand Lodge of INIasons of Indiana : a thirty-second degree Mason, and a 
member of the Shriners at Murat Temple in Indianapolis, and has taken 
everything in Masonry, both York and Scottish Rite. He also is a charter 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 615 

member and past exalted ruler of the Greensbtirg Lodge No. 475, Benevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks and past chancellor commander of Greensburg 
Lodge No. 188, Knights of Pythias. Mr. Pulse is one of the directors of 
the Sterling Fire Insurance Company, of Lidianapolis, which has a paid-up 
capital of eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, with assets of one mil- 
lion, six hundred thousand dollars, including surplus and reserves. For si.x 
years he was a member of the directorate of the Indiana Retail Lumber 
Dealers' Association, which association he served for two years as president 
and one year as vice-president. He is active in all movements having to do 
with the development of the best interests of his home community, both in 
material, moral and civic way and he and Mrs. Pulse also take an active inter- 
est in the social affairs of the city, none there being held in higher regard 
than they, where they own a beautiful Iionie. Mr. and Mrs. Pulse li\'e on 
East Washington street. 



WALTER B. CORY. 



How fitting and proper it is that here and there in the pages of this 
history there should be presented memorials to certain aforetime residents of 
this county who performed well their respective parts in the life of the com- 
munity, and then passed on, leaving behind them pleasant memories of work 
well done, duties faithfully performed; having bequeathed to those near and 
dear to them the priceless heritage of a good name. Among all these 
memorial tributes there is none better desen^ed than that which here is paid 
to the memory of the man whose name is noted above, Walter B. Cory, a 
one-time well-known young farmer of Washington township, whose home, 
situated about three miles west of Greensburg, was a great source of pleasure 
to him during his life. 

W'alter B. Cory was born in Washington township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, the son of Joseph and Lenora (Deem) Cory, both natives of this 
county, whose parents were among the earliest settlers thereabout. The 
genealogy of the Cory family, together with an extended biographical sketch 
of Joseph Cory, will be found on another page in this volume. Walter B. 
Cory was reared on the paternal farm, receix'ing such education as the district 
schools offered in the days of his boyhood, and two years in Greensburg 
high school and a business course at Danville, Indiana, and on February 6, 
1894, was united in marriage to Louisa Lynch, daughter of Benjamin and 
Sarah (Bentley) Lynch, the former of whom was born in Franklin county. 



6l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Indiana, in 1825, and died at his home in this county in 1902, the latter of 
whom was born in this county in 1834, and died in 1900. 

Benjamin Lynch came to this county from FrankHn county as a young 
man and here he was married. He opened a store at the hamlet of Letts, 
which he conducted quite successfully for some years. Later he bought a 
farm near the village of Adams, and, in addition to operating the same, 
engaged extensively in the business of stock buying. It was on this farm 
near Adams that Mrs. Cory was born. Benjamin Lynch was the son of 
Pierce Lynch, a native of Pennsylvania, who emigrated to Indiana in an 
early day, locating in Franklin county, where he spent the remainder of his 
life, coming to be one of the most influential residents of the community 
in which he lived. Benjamin Lynch retired from the farm when encroaching 
years made impossible his further active labors, moving into the town of 
Adams, where he died in 1902. His wife had preceded him to the grave by 
two years, her death having occurred in the year 1900. She was the daugh- 
ter of William and Sarah M. (Howe) Bentley, pioneers of this county. For 
additional details of the genealogy of the Bentleys, together with a history 
of that family in this county, the reader is referred to the sketch of Alex- 
ander Bentley, presented elsewhere in this volume. 

To Benjamin and Sarah (Bentley) Lynch four children were born, 
as follow: Mrs. Anna Wooley, who died at Lebanon, Indiana; 01i\'e, who 
married Professor George L. Roberts, a member of the faculty of Purdue 
University, and lives at Lafayette, Indiana ; Perry, who lives in Oklahoma, 
and Louisa, the widow of Mr. Cory. 

For two years after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Cory resided in the 
Lynch home near Adams, after which they engaged in farming on their 
own account, buying a fine tract of land about three miles west of Greens- 
burg. This farm recently was sold by Mrs. Cory, who since then has been 
making her home in Greensburg. In addition to operating his farm, Walter 
B. Cory also operated a threshing outfit and was one of the best known men 
in the county. 

To Walter B. and Louisa (Lynch) Cory two children were born, Cecil 
L. and Ernest J., both of whom are still at home with their mother, and the 
latter of whom is still in school. Mr. Cory was an earnest member of the 
Methodist Fpiscopal church, as is his widow, and these children have been 
reared in the faith of that church. Mr. Cory's death in September, 1909, 
was a grievous blow to his family and was lamented also by his large circle 
of friends and acquaintances throughout the county the fact that he was 



I 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 6 1 7^ 

removed from the scene of earth's acti\ities in the very prime of his vigorous 
manhood making his passing all the more to be regretted. 

]\Ir. Cory was a Republican and took a good citizen's part in the polit- 
ical affairs of the county though not what might be called a particularly 
active worker in politics. He, however, took an earnest interest in good 
government and was deeply interested in all measures designed to improve 
the general conditions of society. He was a good man and the community 
sustained a real loss when he was called awav. 



JOHN NICOLAS WALLINGFORD. 

John Nicholas Wallingford was one of the few men who have had the 
good fortune to step into a business already established. He escaped all 
that anxiety which usually attends the building up of a new enterprise, and 
even after tiring of the life of a merchant, fortune continued to smile upon 
him, holding open for him the door to a continued successful life, from a 
financial standpoint. His sterling qualities were recognized liy the United 
States go\'ernment, as he was rewarded with a very responsible position, the 
duties of which he performed with honest loyalty. 

John Nicholas Wallingford, deceased, a merchant of Grecnsburg, 
Indiana, was born on March 31, 1840, and died on August 13, 1907. He 
was a son of Hiram and Hannah (Morris) Wallingford. He succeeded 
his father in the dry goods business, upon his retirement, and continued the 
business until 1885, from which he also retired later on, and was for eight 
years in the employment of the government, serving four years as deputy 
internal revenue collector, and then storekeeper ganger until his death. 

Hiram Wallingford was a native of Kentucky, and came to Rush county 
directly after the Civil War. He finally located in Greensburg, where he 
conducted a mercantile business, and where he spent the last years of his 
life. His children were: Mary, Alicia, Eliza, John, Kate, Fannie and Will- 
iam. ]\Iary became Mrs. Tully, and is now deceased ; Alicia lives in Decatur 
county; Eliza, deceased; Kate became the wife of a Mr. Grove, and is now 
deceased, as is also Fannie; William lives at Farnham, Nebraska. 

John Nicholas Wallingford was twice married. First, about 1866, to 
Alice Foster, a native of Pennsylvania, who died about 1893, lea\ing three 
children: John Devol, who lives in Des Moines, Iowa; William, who died at 
Des Moines, and Morris, also deceased. His second marriage took place on 



6l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

November 17, 1897, with Mary Louise Snodgrass, who was born in Ripley 
county, and is a daughter of Wilham Harrison and Mary (Wood) Snod- 
grass, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively. Mr. WalHngford 
was a RepubHcan, and a meml3er of the Christian church. Mrs. WalHng- 
ford survives her husband. 

William Harrison Snodgrass, father of Mrs. Wallingford, was born in 
1818, and died in 1900, his wife, Mary, was born in 18^3, and died in 1905. 
Mr. Snodgrass was a son of John Snodgrass, of Kentucky. He lived in 
Ripley county until 1884, and then came to Greensburg, where he retired 
from business, and where his last days were spent. Capt. William Harrison 
Snodgrass, of the Eighty-third Indiana, enlisted in Decatur county, and served 
throughout the Civil War. He was captain of Company A, and enlisted as 
second lieutenant, advanced to first lieutenant, then captain and brevet major. 
His children were: Josephine Callahan, who died in 1900; Emma Hatch, 
now a widow ; Hester Dennison, deceased : \Vorth, deceased : Melissa Den- 
nison now living at Greensburg ; Mary Wallingford, and Dea Jenks, deceased. 
They were all members of the Christian church. 

John Snodgrass, paternal grandfather of Mrs. Wallingford, was a 
native of Kentucky, and located in Indiana, in 1821, where he bought gov- 
ernment land, the deeds to which were signed by John Ouincy Adams. 



LUTHER D. BRADEN. 



Luther D. Braden, the editor and publisher of the Standard, a family 
newspaper established at Greensburg, Indiana, in 1835, by John Thomson, 
is descended on his father's side from Irish ancestry, and one his mother's 
side from English ancestry. 

Mr. Braden was born in Clay township, Decatur county, on November 
5, 1 86 1, the son of Robert and Pamelia (Anderson) Braden. William Braden, 
the paternal grandfather, was a native of County Tyrone, in the north of 
Ireland. He emigrated to the United States in 1795, and after settling tem- 
porarily in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, removed to Scott county, Kentucky, 
and, in 1822, removed to Clarksburg, Decatur county, where he flied in 
1825. He married LTfama Jackson, a native of Ireland, and they had nine 
children. Robert Braden. the father of Luther D., was born on July 11, 
1814, in Scott county, Kentucky, and was eight years old when brought to 
Decatur county, in 1822. In 1839 he located in Clay township, where he 




Ll'THF.i; 1). lUtADEX. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 619 

became an extensive farmer. He was a man of very aggressixe disposition, 
and a leader in the community where he h\-ed. A charter memher of the 
Milford Christian churcli, founded in 1842, and a Repubhcan in politics, he 
died in 1887. In 1838 he had married Pamela Anderson, the daughter of 
Joseph Anderson, who laid out and named the town of Andersonville, 
Franklin county, Indiana. They had four children : Joseph A., a veteran 
of the Ci\il War, a justice of the peace and an insurance and real estate 
dealer at Rossville, Illinois: Jane, the widow of Thomas A. Shirk; Jeremy 
A., a retired farmer, of Greensburg, and Luther D., the subject of this 
sketch. 

Born and reared in Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, Luther D. 
Braden entered Hartsville College in 1878, and after spending four years 
in that institution, began teaching in 1882. In the meantime he studied in the 
Northern Indiana Normal at Valparaiso. From 1889 to 1891, he served as 
county superintendent of Decatur county, and from 1891 to 1893, ^e was 
principal of St. Paul's school. 

In 1893, Mr. Braden came to Greensburg, and for one year was a mem- 
ber of the firm of J. C. Pulse 81 Company, wholesale grocers. In October 
of the following year, Mr. Braden purchased the Standard, the oldest paper 
in Decatur county, and one which was established in 1835 by John Thom- 
son, the grandfather of Mrs. Braden. It is a family newspaper. 

On December 17, 1890, Luther D. Braden was married to Ella Thomson, 
the daughter of Orville Thomson, of Greensburg. To this happy union has 
been born one child, Marie. 

Mr. Braden is a Republican in politics, and a very active worker in the 
Christian church, of which he is an elder. He is a member of the official 
board of the Greensburg congregation and was superintendent of the Sun- 
day school for seven years. Fraternally, he is a member of Greensburg 
Lodge No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons; of Chapter No. 8, Royal Arch 
Masons, and Greensburg Council No. 74, Royal and Select Masters. He is 
also a member of the Knights of Pythias. 

As a man who exerts a silent and unostentatious influence for good, 
Luther D. Braden has no superior in Decatur county. Not only does he 
possess the confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen, but of the people 
wherever he is known. He is an eminently worthy citizen of this great 
county. 

Mr. Braden has taken great interest in collecting early historical data 
of Decatur county, and his paper for the past twenty years has presented 
many valuable facts that otherwise might have been lost to posterity. Since 



620 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the death of Orvihe Thomson, in 191 o, he is generally conceded to be the 
best-informed person in the county on all inatters pertaining to its general 
history. 



WILLIAM F. SMILEY. 



William F. .Smiley, a retired farmer of Decatur county, who, after 
completing an educational course of training as was exceptional for his 
generation, began farming in Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, on a 
farm of eighty acres presented to him by his father, increased the acreage 
from time to time until he now owns two hundred and forty acres and is 
regarded as one of the most successful farmers of the county. The Smiley 
family, which was established in Decatur county early in 1849, was founded 
here by William Smiley, who became, during his career, as a farmer, one of 
the most prosperous and extensive landowners and stockmen in this section 
of the state. 

William F. Smiley, now a resident of Greensburg, Indiana, and a retired 
farmer of Decatur county, was born on November 21, 1848, in Butler 
county, Ohio, the son of William and Mary Ann (Kinney) Smiley, natives 
of Miflin county, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, respecti\'ely, the former of 
whom was born m 1814 and died on June 6, 1893, and the latter of whom 
was born in 1817 and died in 1906. William Smiley was the son of Patrick 
Smiley, a gentleman of Irish descent, who lived in Pennsylvania, from 
whence the son moved to Butler county, Ohio, and, after being married there, 
in 1835, came, when seventeen years old, to Decatur county, arriving in 
February, 1849. Settling in Clay township, he purchased land and became 
a prosperous farmer. Starting with eighty acres of land which was pur- 
chased with a capital of three hundred dollars, inherited by his wife, he 
returned for his family and drove through from Ohio to Decatur county 
with an ox team. From time to time he bought more land and owned, at the 
time of his death, one thousand acres. A large farmer and stockman, he 
was also an ardent Democrat and a member of the Primitive Methodist 
church. He and his wife had nine children, four of whom are deceased. 
The names of the children, in the order of their birth, are as follow: Mrs. 
Parmelia Henry, deceased; Mrs. Caroline Sefton, the wife of Ed. Sefton, 
of Greensburg: George Washington, who died in 1907; Harvey, who died 
on January 8, 1915; Thomas K., a farmer near Hartsville, Indiana; Mary, 
who died on August 16, 1914; William F., the subject of this sketch; Sov- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 621 

ereign P., a hotel proprietor in Texas; and Mrs. Margaret Johnson, of 
Greensburg. 

Educated in Hartsville College, Air. Smiley has always farmed. He 
began with a tract of eighty acres given to him by his father and, after 
locating upon this farm, which is situated in Clay township, he Iniilt a new 
house and, upon his luarriage, settled there, residing on the farm from 1878 
to 1897, after which he movefl to Greensburg for one year and then moved 
to Burney, where he lived until 191 1. He later returned to Greensburg and 
now resides in this city. In the meantime, Mr. Smiley has increased the 
acreage of his farm to two hundred and forty acres and has two sets of 
farm buildings. He is one of the most extensive raisers of cattle and hogs 
in the county. 

On October 29, 1878, William F. Smiley was married to Jennie Ewing, 
who was born on July 20, 1857, in Milford, Decatur county, Indiana, and 
who is the daughter of Joshua and Alice (Russell) Ewing, natives of Decatur 
county, the former of whom was born in 1833 and who died in March, 1891. 
Joshua Ewing, who was the son of Patrick Ewing, a native of Maryland, 
was one of a large family and was also one of triplets, born to hjs parents. 
The other two children born at the same time were Putman and Abraham. 

The Ewing family is of Scotch-Irish extraction, Patrick Ewing, the 
founder of the family in America, having immigrated from Ireland before 
the Revolution, a son, Putnam, being born on the voyage to America. Pat- 
rick Ewing settled at Elkton, Maryland, and became the father of four sons, 
. Samuel, Joshua, Nathan and Putnam. The first three sons settled in Vir- 
ginia. Putnam Ewing married Jennie McClelland, the daughter of a Doctor 
McClelland, of Maryland, and moved to Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1806, 
settling in Bath county, where he died. Eleven children were born to Putnam 
and Jennie Ewing, Robert, Patrick, Joshua, Polly, Samuel, Jennie, James, 
Eliza, George, McClelland and Andrew Jackson. Of this family, Patrick, 
the immediate ancestor of ]Mrs. Smile)^, was born in 1803 in Cecil county, 
Maryland, and was married to Lydia Morgan, September 5, 1827, who was a 
native of Montgomery county, Kentucky. Patrick and his wife, the former 
of whom was the captain of the militia during his residence in Kentucky, 
came to Decatur count v in 1827 and settled in Clay township, where they 
reared a familv of fifteen children, Sarah J., Mary, Eliza. Putnam. Abel. 
Joshua, Robert, Cortez, Samuel H., Lydia, James K., George M.. Martha C, 
Morgan J. and Alice J. Of this family, Sarah J. was first married to John 
G. King, and after her death, he married her sister, Eliza: ^lary married 
Tesse Howard. Of the three sons, Putnam. Abel and Joshua, triplets. Putnam 



622 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

married Alary DeArmond and atter her death married Sarah A. Hackleman; 
Joshua married AHce Russell and they were the parents of Mrs. Smiley; 
Abel married Nancy J. G. Patton ; Robert married Sallie King; Cortez, an 
attorney-at-la\v, married Elizabeth H. Matthews; Samuel H. married Alahala 
Braden ; Lydia married James W. Barclay ; James K. is referred to elsewhere 
in this volume; Martha C is the wife of James C. Davis, and Alice J. is the 
wife of James M. Hiner. 

iMice Russell, who became the wife of Joshua Ewing and the mother 
of Mrs. William F. Smiley, was born in i8'4i, at Milford, the daughter of 
Robert Russell, a pioneer citizen of the county. She died in 1905. Of the 
seven children born to Joshua and Alice (Russell) Ewing, Jennie married 
the subject of this sketch; AJrs. Lydia Russell lives at blat Rock, Indiana: 
Mrs. Hessie Arnold, who lives one-half mile from Burney, is the wife of a 
music dealer, and Mrs. Lucy Alley lives five miles south of Burney on a farm. 

Mr. and Mrs. William F. Smiley have had no children. Mr. Smiley 
is a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Smiley are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church. Mrs. Smiley is a member of the Department Club, the After- 
noon Lecture Course, the Art Circle and the Music Circle. Mr. Smiley is a 
member of Burney Lodge, Knights of Pythias. 



I 



WILLLAM C. WOODEILL. 

As the senior member of the firm of J. M. WoodfiU's Sons, of Greens- 
burg, William C. Woodfill has contributed his (|uota to the progress and 
development of the town. If it were true that the commercial interests of a 
locality form the foundation up(jn which its other civic life rests, and around 
which its activities are Imilt, then, the honest, upright merchant is an import- 
ant factor of that community. He helps largely in th.e formation of public 
sentiment, and his views and opinions are generally looked upon as being 
worthy of respect and consideration. W^illiam C. Woodfill has been, in this 
sense, conspicuous in the commercial ai¥airs of Greensburg. He is a native 
of this town, having been born here on May 8, 1870, and is a son of James 
M. Woodfill, ]iresident of the Greensburg National Bank. 

The store now owned by W. C, C. M. and J. V. Woodfill was estab- 
lished by their grandfather, Gabriel Woodfill, in November, 1830, this being 
carried on in connection with a I^anking inisiness made necessary because, at 
that tiiue, there were no banks. It will thus be seen that the business instinct 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 623 

has been strong in this family for se\'era! generations back, but it has also 
been connected with high moral princi])les and an ethical consciousness, for 
Greensburg's first banker assisted in building the First Methodist Episcopal 
church. We shall have occasion to refer more definitely to Mr. Woodfill's 
ancestry later on in this sketch. 

William C. Woodfill graduated from the Greensburg high school, and 
then took a course in a business school in Cincinnati. Retunnng, he began 
work in his father's store, then known by the firm name of Hittle & Christ- 
ian. As the sons in this family came of age, they were given an interest in 
the store, and William was no exception to the rule. From that time on, he 
has taken a keen interest in the management on good business principles of 
the oldest merchandise store in Greensburg, and as its leading merchant, has 
attained an enviable place in the community. 

On October 4, 1893, ^'^r. Woodfill married Miss Elizabeth Donnell, 
daughter of Seth Donnell, who is deceased. Her mother, Mrs. Donnell, still 
lives in Greensburg. To this union the following children were born : James 
Donnell, a student of Purdue University ; William Stewart, of Bowdoin Col- 
lege, Main; Elizabeth and Margaret, both of whom are attending school at 
home. 

Mr. and Mrs. ^^^3odfill ha\-e taken deep interest in educational matters, 
and the former is at present a member of the city school board. Aside from 
his own business estaljlishment, Mr. Woodfill has identified himself with 
other commercial activities of the town, and is now the president of the 
Greensburg Building and Loan Association. 

Mr. Woodfill is a Republican, and his personal influence has given 
strength to the local party. He is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge, the 
Knights of Pythias, the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks. 

As the merchandise store founded by his ancestors has formed such an 
integral part of his life, a brief sketch of its history will not be inappropriate. 
The store now supplies the pulilic with clothing and men's furnishings. Tt 
succeeded the firm of J. M. Woodfill & Sons in 1897, this having lieen the 
firm name from 1895. It was known as Woodfill & Byers from 1890 until 
i89t, as Christian & Woodfill from 1888 until 1890, which succeeded Hittle 
& Christian, who, in turn, succeeded John P. Hittle, founder of the original 
store. There was a close alliance between business and family relations, as 
J. H. Christian was a nephew of J. M. Woodfill, and son-in-law of John P. 
Hittle. 

Mr. Woodfill's strength of character, as well as his energ}' and marked 



-624 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

business ability, have been of signal value in the history of the community 
in which he and his family have lived for several generations. While build- 
ing up his commercial interests, he has not neglected those personal and 
civic duties which assume the form of obligations in the life of everv man, 
for, like his distinguished ancestors, he has been public-spirited, and has 
placed the good of his town and county next to that of himself and his own 
family. It is such men that form the bone and sinew of any people. 



JOliX HENRY METZ. 



One of the splendid pioneer citizens still living in Decatur county, Indi- 
ana, and one of its wealthiest farmers, is John Henry Metz, of Fugit town- 
ship. His present condition of afliuence is in bold contrast to his financial 
condition, when he arrived in this country more than sixty years ago, after 
a long and tedious voyage on an immigrant ship with nine hundred others, 
when he had only twenty-five cents in his pocket at the time he landed in 
New York city. The story of his rise to fortune and success as a farmer, 
devoid of the romance and hardships which he suffered in pioneer times, 
is the story of the most rigid personal economy and consistent and increasing 
savings. His is a record to make the cheeks of the young men of the present 
generation, whose lives are being spent in wanton living, burn with shame, 
and his life ought to be an example to every young man of worthy and com- 
mendable ambitions, a command to follow, in the fundamentals at least, the 
career of this honorable and distinguished citizen. 

Born on July 10, 1832, at Frankfort-on-the-J\Iaine, in Prussia, John 
Henry Metz came to America in 1854, at the age of twenty-two and, after 
two years in Ohio, in 1856 caiue on to Decatur county. The son of Frederick 
and Elizabeth (Kolb) ]\Ietz, farmers by occupation, John H. Ivletz was reared 
on the farm in his nati\'e land. He left home, family and friends to seek 
his fortune in a new country with a single companion. The voyage to 
America, which required forty-six days, was made on the ship "Milhausen." 

On arriving in Decatur county, Indiana, Mr. Metz was employed by 
James and, later, by William E'onner, for five dollars a month, and out of 
these earnings, he was able to save money and purchase his first land in Salt 
Creek township. Later, he bought forty acres and still another forty and 
began to raise hogs. In fact, this has been the secret of his success and 
fortune. He also made great profits in the early days b}' growing wheat. 




.TOIIX II. MKTZ. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 625 

For many years he has been accustomed to raise one hundred and fifty head 
of hogs a. year, and to sell at least one carload of cattle every year. He now 
•owns six hundred acres of land in P\igit and Salt Creek townships, upon 
which are located three sets of buildings. All of this land is either farmed 
■or managed by members of his family. Nut many years ago he remodeled 
his farm house and now has a handsome and comfortable residence, the equal 
■of any to be found in Fugit township. 

Si.x years after coming to America and four years after arriving in 
Decatur county, John Henry Metz was married. February 14, i860, to Louise 
Huber, who was born in Franklin county, Indiana, July 16, 1836, and who 
was the daughter of Gottfried and Margaret (Zeigler) Huber, natives of 
Germany. After rearing a large family of children, Mrs. Metz passed away 
on July 10, 1895. ^^i"- a'ld Mrs. Metz had eight children: Leona, George 
W., Mary Elizabeth, John H., Jr., Edward L., William G., Charles Frederick 
and Maude Louise, the latter dying in 191 2. Leuna married Chester Iving 
and lives in Clinton township, near Williamstown ; they have six children, 
Mary Elizabeth, the wife of Fred Caldwell; Florence, John H.,' Jr., Stella, 
Eleijdore and Edward. George W. married Catherine Ravenstein, of Cin- 
cinnati and is a merchant at Newpoint, where he was postmaster for sixteen 
years. Of his nine children. Amanda married McClelland Wolfe and has 
two children; Neola Maurine died on March 30, 1915, age two years, and 
Orin Keith, lives in Delaware. Ohio ; Elma Marie married Howard Starks 
and has two children, Bessie Metz and Audrey Louise; Christina, William 
M., Anna L., Margarette, Cora May, George H., Catherine. Mary Elizabeth 
is the housekeeper for her father. John H., Jr., lives at home. Edward L. 
married Louisa Moulton and has two children, Edward Albert and Temper- 
ance Louise. William G. married Luella Dravis, Fugit township. Charles 
Frederick is at home. 

Mr. Metz"s sons are extensive breeders of Aberdeen Angus cattle and 
•ordinarily have from eighty to one hundred head on the farm. A Republican 
in politics, John Henry Metz has never been active in the councils of his 
party, even though he is, and has always been, a leader in his community. 
He is a member of the Kingston Presbyterian church, as was his good wife 
•during her life. John Henry Metz is a fine type of the German gentleman, 
who has attained success from the humble start which he had in this cmmtry. 
He is well-read, intelligent and hospitable and one of the few really old 
settlers left in Decatur county. He has reared a fine family of industrious 
.sons and daughters and his home is decidedly one of the best in the state 
(40) 



626 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of Indiana. That he is a good farmer and that his sons, who have taken 
up his work, are also good farmers, is amply proved by the fact that, in a dry 
year, 1914, they raised from sixty to eiglit}- bushels of corn per acre on their 
land. It is unfortunate that every community cannot have within its bound- 
aries men of the same character, capacity and ability, as John Henry Metz. 



GUY E. KITCHIN. 



We can scarcely think a man thoroughly appreciates his privileges and 
independence, when he arrives at the point of owning a valuable farm of 
three hundred and twenty acres of good farm land, in a well-settled district. 
It becomes such a habit with him, that he loses sight of thp fact that he is 
indeed fortunate in these days of high-priced real estate. If he could but 
read the thoughts of the man bending over the books in a city ofiice, with his 
hands and feet practically chained to a desk, he would know that nothing but 
the acreage price keeps this man from freeing himself from his mental 
drudgery, and going forth, with a glad heart, to where he can get a fresh 
breath of air, and live an independent life. Nor is he alone in his thoughts. 
There are hundreds of thousands of men and women whose views would 
not vary a hair's breadth in this direction. 

Guy Kitchin, farmer, Fugit township, was born on October 7, 1882, 
in Fugit township, on their home farm. He is a son of Frank B. and Clara 
(Robbins) Kitchin. He first attended the public schools at Kingston, and 
when eighteen years of age, entered Purdue University, remaining there 
one year, 1 899-1 900, after which he returned home and farmed for a short 
time, and then went to Kansas and Oklahoma for his health in 1908. He 
remained in Oklahoma four years, and then returned to Decatur county in 
the fall of 1912. In politics, he has always voted the Republican ticket, 
and is a member of the Kingston Presbyterian church. Fraternally, he is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias. The fine farm, of three hundred 
and twenty acres, stands as a witness to his ability, as well as to his thrifty 
habits. 

Frank Benjamin Kitchin, father of our subject, was born and reared 
on the home farm in Decatur county, where he farmed until his removal tO' 
Indianapolis in the spring of 1912. He owns five hundred acres in Fugit 
township, covering three well-improved farms. He does general farming, 
and is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle. To Frank Kitchin and his wife were 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 627 

born six children, as follow : Clyde, Guy, Coza, Grace, Thomas and Frank 
Barnard. Clyde lives in Rush county; Cuza lives in Indianapolis; Grace is 
the wife of Harry Moore, and lives at Alexandria; Frank Barnard lives in 
Indianapolis. 

In December, 1908, Guy Kitchiii was married to Joy Thompson, daugh- 
ter of Edgar Thompson, of Jennings county. They have one child, Edgar, 
born in November, 191 1. 

Guy Kitchin has lived on his present farm since 191 1. The father 
bought this tract of land about 1887, known as the Donnell farm. Guy 
Kitchin buys cattle and feeds on an a\-erage about seventy-five head during 
the year. On his farm he raises diversified crops and feeds all the grain and 
hay he can produce. Aside from this he buys a good deal of grain and feeds 
to carry him through the season. 



WILLIAM SKEEN WOODFILL. 

The ^^'uodfill family ha\-e been prominently identified with the history 
of Decatur county since 1830, when the first members of the family came 
to Greensburg. In everything which goes to make a community better in 
the essentials which ad\'ance civilization, the family have acted well their 
part. Succeeding generations of the Woodfills have been characterized by 
those sterling qualities which marked the members of the family who have 
gone before them. 

The late William S. Woodiill was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, on 
November 16, 1825, the son of Gabriel and Eleanor (Pullman) Woodfill. 
The family trace their ancestry back to Welsh and English progenitors and 
have found that the first members of the family located in Pennsylvania in 
the early colonial days. Reverend Gabriel, the great-grandfather of William 
S. Woodfill, emigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky and settled in Shelby 
county early in the history of that state. He was a pioneer in Methodism 
in Kentucky and upon locating in Jefferson county, Indiana, became one of 
the earliest Methodist ministers of the Hoosier state. He was a man of large 
influence in his community and his labors in the Master's vineyard proved of 
inestimable benefit to his widely scattered neighbors. 

Andrew Woodfill, the son of the good old Methodist circuit rider and 
the grandfather of William S. Woodfill, was born in Pennsylvania, but spent 
most of his life in the vicinity <if Madison, Indiana. He entered go\ernnient 
land in jeft'erson countv, marrieil a Miss Mitchell and reared a fainil_\- of 



628 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

twelve children, eight of whom li\'ed to maturit}'. The last of the children 
to die were Mrs. Ellen Greene, of Seattle, Washington ; ]Mrs. Sarah Alaish, 
of Illinois, and Mrs. James WoodfiU, of Texas. 

Gabriel, one of the sons of Andrew, and the father of William S., was 
born in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1800. Later he moved with his parents 
to Jefferson county, Indiana, but after reaching manhood returned to Ken- 
tucky, where he engaged in farming and merchandising. On November 16, 
1830, he located in Greensburg, Indiana, and immediately began to take a 
prominent part in the commercial and fraternal life of the town. In the 
same year he opened a store and the business which he established in Greens- 
burg, eighty-five years ago, is now in the hands of William W. WoodfiU, at 
the corner of Washington street and Broadway, a grandson of the old pioneer 
merchant. Gabriel also carried on a banking business in connection with his 
store, and was easily the foremost man in the business life of the town. He 
was an ardent Whig and when the Republican party was organized he gave 
it the same hearty support. He was an earnest member of the Methodist 
church and was one of the organizers of the First Methodist church, and 
later of the Centenary church. He was twice married. His first marriage 
was with Eleanor Pullman, and to this union were born three children, 
Andrew ; William S., a life-long merchant of Greensburg, and Mary, who 
became the w-ife of Henry Christian. Upon the death of his first wife, 
Gabriel WoodfiU married Elizabeth Van Pelt, a daughter of Joseph Van Pelt, 
and to tJiis second union were also born three children. John, deceased ; 
James M. and Catherine, the deceased wife of Rev. James Crawford. 

William Skeen WoodfiU was five years of age when the family came to 
Decatur county in 1830 and spent the remainder of his life in Greensburg. 
Receiving a good common-school education, he early in life began to work 
in his father's store, which, by the time he had reached manhood, was the 
leading mercantile establishment of the town. Later his father made him a 
partner, the firm being known as \A^oodfill & Son until January, 1863. On 
that date the father retired from active business cares and the firm was 
changed to WoodfiU Brothers, the three brothers being William, John and 
James. This arrangement continued until February, 1869, when the death 
of John caused the firm to be changed to W. S. WoodfiU & Company. In 
1882 the style of the firm was changed to J. M. WoodfiU & Company, but 
this change lasted less than a year. On January i, 1884, James retired and 
from then until the death of William S., July 25, 1899, the firm was known 
as W. S. WoodfiU & Sons. Since the year 1899 the firm has been known as 
W. W. Woodfill's Sons, although ^\^ W. WoodfiU is now the manager of 
the establishment. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 629 

The Greensburg Gas and Electric Company was organized by William 
S. Woodfill in 1875 ^"d he was president of the company from the time of its 
organization until his death, in 1899. In addition to his extensive commer- 
cial and industrial interests in Greensburg, he owned four valuable farms in 
Decatur county. 

On November 18, 1857, William S. \Voodfill was married to Sarah A. 
Talbott, the daughter of H. H. Talbott, the first clerk of the Decatur county 
circuit court. To this union were l)orn four children, Elizabeth, who became 
the wife of Rev. J. W. Turner, of Decatur county: William Wirt, a merchant 
of Greensburg; Harry Talbott, superintendent of the Greensburg Gas and 
Electric Light Company, and Web, secretary-treasurer of the same company. 

The wife of W. S. Woodfill died on October 31, 1898. She represented 
the highest type of womanhood and her whole life was a benediction to those 
who came in contact with her. Devoted to her husband and children, she 
fulfilled, in the truest sense, the noblest mission of womanhood. 

William S. Woodfill was an earnest Republican, but never an office- 
seeker, his extensive business interests demanding all of his time and atten- 
tion. He was a charter member of Greensburg Lodge No. 102, Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, organized in 185 1, and lived to be the last survivor of 
the charter members of the lodge. He was also a member of the encamp- 
ment at Evansville. Indiana. For twenty years he was a member of the 
Centenary church of Greensburg and took an active part in furthering all 
worthy causes proposed by his church. 

Such, in brief, is the life of one of Greensburg's most influential citizens 
of the past century. His life was always above reproach and he never 
shirked his duty as a citizen of the commonwealth in order to avoid responsi- 
bility. Such men give stability to any community, and such a man, in the 
highest sense of the word, was William S. Woodfill. 



WALTER AND ROBERT SCOTT. 

The founder of the Scott famil\' in Decatur county, Indiana, who was 
William H. Scott, was the son of Robert and Nancy Scott, of Butler county, 
Ohio, who were married in 1824. On the paternal side of the family the 
Scotts of Decatur county are descended from Scottish ancestry. William 
H. Scott came to Indiana before the Civil War and in 1865 was married to 
Emily L. Logan, and to them were born six children, of whom Walter and 
Robert are the subjects of this .sketch. 



630 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Walter Scott, who owns eight}' acres in Fugit township and who is 
also farming one hundred and sixty acres, was born on May 5, 1881, on the 
Scott homestead, located on the Donnell pike. He was educated in the 
Kingston schools and at Tarkio College, but has always been engaged in 
farming. For a number of years he was associated with his brother, Fred, 
in farming the Logan estate and, in the fall of 1907, purchased his present 
farm, which he has greatly improved, especially by the erection of a beautiful 
country house in 1910 and a large barn, forty-four by forty-eight feet. ]Mr. 
Scott was married on October 26, 1910, to Hazel Walker, who was born in 
Adams on June 7, 1887, the daughter of John Lee and Stella Walker, natives 
of Indiana, who reside in Adams. To Mr. and Mrs. \\'alker Scott have been 
born two children. Harold Walker, on May 10, 1912, and Miriam Edith, 
February i, 1915. Politically, Mr. Scott is a Republican and is a member 
of the township advisory board. He and his wife are members of the 
Kingston Presbyterian church. 

Robert Scott is a well-known farmer of Fugit township, who owns 
eighty acres of land and who is farming another eighty acres belonging to 
Margaret J. Logan, was born on March 16, 1884, on the Donnell pike. Mr. 
Scott grew up as a farmer in Decatur county and was married on October 
16, 1908, to Anna Martha McCall, of New Concord, Ohio, a sister of Rev- 
erend McCall, and daughter of ISIarshall and Anna McCall. Mr. and Mrs. 
Scott have had two children, Marshall Logan, born on October 27, 1909. 
and Margaret Jane, December 14, 191 1. 

Of the father of these two successful farmers, it may be said that 
\\'illiam E. Scott was born on ALarch 3, 1839, in Ohio, and died, June 20, 
1885. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Emily L. Logan, was born 
on July 27, 1844, on the Logan homestead and died on the old farm, March 
20, 1913, in the same room where she had been born and where she was 
married. 

The late William H. Scott ^^■as a soldier in the Civil War, having 
served in Company K, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana A'olunteer Infan- 
try, for three years. He was mustered out of service on October 2"/, 1864, 
after having served in many severe engagements, among which were the 
battles of Huntsville, Alabama, Chattanooga, Stone's River, Murfrees- 
borough, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge. Lookout Mountain and all of the 
battles of the Atlanta campaign. 

Of the six children born to ^^'illiam H. and Emily L. (Logan) Scott, 
two are deceased, Edward Thomas, born in 1866, and Edith Margaret, in 
1868, both dying in infancy. The living children are Fred G., born in 1871, 



J 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 63 1 

who is a farmer in Decatur county; Xannie Lillian, in 1878, who is the wife 
of Samuel Goddard, of Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Walter and Robert, the 
subjects of this sketch. 

Emily Logan was the daughter of John E. and Eliza fKerrick) Logan, 
the former of whom was twice married, the first time to Hattie N. Anderson, 
a sister of "Uncle Billy'' Anderson, who was born in 1812, in Kentucky, 
and who bore him three children, George Douglas, who died in infancy ; 
Margaret J., in 1837, who resides with iNIr. and ?\Irs. Robert Scott, and Mary 
Anderson, in 1839, and died in 1872, who was the wife of John \V. Gillespie, 
a well-known merchant of Greensburg, now deceased. 

Margaret J. Logan, who was educated in the Springhill schools, received 
an academic education and taught school for twenty-four years. Her school 
was a famous one on account of the many skilled teachers who presided over 
it. She also taught for seven years at College Corner. Miss Logan, who is 
now "se\'enty-se\en years young," is a bright and capable woman and is well 
known in this community. 

The second wife of John E. Logan, who was born in 1812, and who 
died in 1899, was Eliza Kerrick. She was born in 1816 and died in 1893. 
Born near Lexington, Kentucky, John E. Logan was the son of George 
Logan, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1780 and whose wife, Mar- 
garet Robinson, was also born in Pennsylvania. George Logan and wife 
emigrated to Kentucky and their son, John E., after a time, left Kentucky 
and emigrated to ^^'hite county, Illinois, from whence he came to Decatur 
county, Indiana, purchasing a farm in Fugit township in 1833. He bought 
one hundred and sixty acres of land for six hundred dollars, but eventually 
owned three hundred and twenty acres, which became the Logan homestead. 
By his second marriage, there were born six children, Mrs. Emily Scott, 
the mother of Walter and Robert Scott; Nancy Ann, born in 1847, died in 
1876; James H., in 1849, died in 1851 ; Lillian Esther, in 1852, died in 1889, 
who was the wife of Rev. J. A. Thomson, the president of Tarkio College; 
Charles E., in 1858, died in 1859, and Rev. William W., in i860, who now 
resides in Louisville, Kentucky, where he is pastor of a Presbyterian church. 

Of Robert Scott it may be said further that he was educated in the 
Kingston schools, the ClarksJjurg high school and Tarkio College, where he 
spent one year. He has been farming in this neighborhood since he quit 
school. In 19 1 3 he moved to his present farm and has established in this 
community an excellent reputation of a farmer and business man. Politi- 
cally, he is identified with the Republican party. He and his wife and family 
are members of the Springhill United Presbyterian church. 



632 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JOHN H. ALEXANDER, M. D. 

It is an honor of no mean importance to have become, in point of years 
and service, the oldest physician in Decatur county, a distinction which 
belongs to John H. Alexander, M. D., a veteran of the Civil War, the son of 
a well-known pioneer physician of the Middle West who is descended, on his 
mother's side, from an old and distinguished English family which estab- 
lished itself in America during the early part of the eighteenth century. 
Having come to Indiana some time before the breaking out of the Civil War, 
he has practiced his profession continuously, in this state, at Alilford and 
Greensburg, until within three years ago, when he practically quit the more 
active practice. 

John H. Alexander was born on November 7, 1828, at Palestine, Illinois, 
and is the son of Dr. John C. and Nancy (Wilson) Alexander, natives of 
Kentucky and Virginia, respectixely. The former, who was born in Mont- 
gomery county. Kentucky, on August i, 1797, became a student at Transyl- 
vania University at Lexington, Kentucky, and began the practice of his pro- 
fession with his old preceptor. Doctor Walker, of Mt. Sterling, when twenty 
years of age. Locating in Palestine. Illinois, in 1822, eleven years later he 
was appointed registrar of the land office at Danville, Illinois, and held that 
office until his death, August 7, 1841. A successful stump speaker, during 
General Jackson's two campaigns he traveled throughout the entire state of 
Illinois as a campaign orator and, as a reward for his services to the Demo- 
cratic party, was elected and served three terms as joint representative from 
Crawford, Clark and Lawrence counties in the Illinois General Assembly. 
As a delegate to one of the Illinois state conventions, he introduced Stephen 
A. Douglas, as a speaker, when the convention was being held at Vandalia. 
In fact, Dr. John C. Alexander was a stanch friend of Mr. Douglas. Pro- 
fessionally, he was regarded as a very successful man. His wife, who was 
Nancy Wilson before her marriage, was born in Harding county. Virginia, on 
March 26. 1802, and died, January 24. 1884, at Clifty, Illinois, at the resi- 
dence of her son. Dr. John H. She was the daughter of James Wilson, who 
was born in Hardin county. Virginia, in 1768, and who, on October i, 1815, 
left Virginia for Ohio. At Brownstown, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, 
he bought a flat-boat for one hundred dollars and sent his goods and family 
down the river by boat, he and his wife taking the six horses overland. 
Arriving in Hamilton county, the latter part of the month, where James had 
purchased a farm on a stream known as Dry run, they established a home. 
Mrs. Nancy Alexander's father, James Wilson, was the son of Moses Wilson, 




o 
a 

a 



> 



■*.>;■■ 



\ 




DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 633 

a native of the north of England, liorn near tlie Scottish line, wlio married 
Anna Blackburn. Their children were, Nancy, Mary Ann, Vastine, Benja- 
min, James Harvey, Elizabeth, Isaac Newton, Presley C, Jeretta and Marie. 
Dr. John C. Alexander and Nancy Wilson were married, August 27, 

1822, and were the parents of seven children, Angeline, born on May 10, 

1823, who married Rev. Erastus Thayer; John H., David Wesley, March 4, 
1830, died in September, 1863; James Wilson, Jr., May 12, 1837, died on 
January 2, 1854; Nancy Jane, October 16, 1832, who married Jacob Harness; 
William Fethian and Guy Smith, twins, at Danville, Illinois, December 4, 
1839. William F. died on Octol^er 7, 1847, and Guy Smith became a lawyer 
and, during the Civil War, was second lieutenant in (7oiupany F, Sixty-second 
Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Subse(|uentlv, he was promoted to 
first lieutenant, captain and major and was mustered out of the service as 
inspector-general, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, November 30, 1865. 
At this time he was not twenty-one years old. 

Educated in the country schools of Illinois and at Danville, that state, 
after his father's death. Dr. John H. Alexander moved to Palestine, Illinois, 
where he attended the Parrish Academy and later the Ohio Medical College 
at Cincinnati. In these times the schools were very crude, especially the 
buildings in which they were housed. He crossed the plains to California 
in 1850, by mule team, during the gold fever and spent eight years in the West. 
Locating in Decatur county, July 7, 1858, for the practice of his profession, 
four years later, on September 2"], 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-seventh 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, under Col. Silas Colgrove, and was 
promoted to surgeon, July 15, 1864, having lieen commissioned assistant 
surgeon, September ij, 1862. He was mustered out of service on November 
4, 1864. 

In Deceiuber, i860. Doctor .\lexander was married to Mary Tarking- 
ton, who was born on b""ebruary 23, 1834, in Greensburg, Indiana, a daughter 
of Rev. Joseph Tarkingtcn, a well-known ]jioneer minister of the Methodist 
church. ]Mary Tarkington attended Mrs. Larabee's school for young ladies 
at Greencastle, Indiana, from 1848 to 185 1, in which latter year she gradu- 
ated. i\Irs. Laraliee was the wife of Prof. William Larabee of Asbury Col- 
lege, now DePauw University. She is an aunt of the well-known Infliana 
author. Booth Tarkington. Dr. and Mrs. .Alexander have had two children, 
John T,, who lives in Greensburg, and Joseph H., a traveling drug salesman 
of Springfield, Illinois. John T., who also is a travding salesman, married 
Claudia Hill. Joseph H. married Myrilla .\nderson and they have one child, 
Margaret June. 



•634 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

A ])racticini;- physician in I Jccatnr connty ever since the close of the Civil 
War, Doctor Alexander serxed fonrteen years as secretary of the Injard of 
pension examiners. A Repnblican in politics, he served as secretary of the 
county board of health for o\-er ten years. He was a member of the county 
and state medical societies and also a delegate to the .\nicrican Alcdical 
Association in 1HH2. He was also in charge of the Odd Fellows' home for 
six and one-half years. Fraternally, he is a member of tlie Independent 
Order of Odd F'ellows, having joined that order in 1874. and is a charter 
memljer of Mil ford Lodge. Doctor and ]\lrs. Alexander are prominent 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Greensburg. where the Doctor 
has lived in his ])rcsent fine home since 1892. 



HUGH THOMAS McCRACKEN. 

Hugh Thomas McCracken is one of the well-known, thrifty and suc- 
cessful farmers of historic old FTigit township, Decatur county, Indiana, 
who owns two hundred and forty-five acres of well-cultivated lad, well 
located, fertile and highly productive. He is, in the most exacting interpre- 
tation of the term, a twentieth century farmer, and one who, because he 
knows how to farm, has always ]:)een satisfied to live in the country and to 
enjoy life in the open with his wife and children for his nearest and closest 
companions. Having Ijuilt a comfortable home many }'ears ago, the Mc- 
Cracken family is well situated to enjoy all the comforts and con\-eniences 
of country life, and they are among the most intelligent, up-to-date and 
progressi\'e people of a township, which in pioneer times has furnished the 
bone and sinew that has made Decatur county famous in the Hoosier state. 

Hugh Thomas McCracken was born on November 22, 1843, on the farm 
where he now lives, the son of John James and Sarah Ann McCracken, the 
former of whom was born on Octnber 6, 1S20, and xvho died in 187S. He 
was a son of James and Sallx- (Meek) McCracken, and was brought to 
Decatur county, Indiana, ]>y the parents when three years old. James 
McCracken, who was born on November 6, 1787, in T\entuck_\', who married 
Sally Meek, born in August, 1784, settled nn hmd in the neighborhood of 
his grandson's farm, was a tanner bv trade and learned to write Ijv markine 
on leather. An elder in the .Social Reformed Presbyterian church, he was 
well known during his day and generation. He and bis wifi' had se\-en 
children, Hugh T., born on December IQ, 1810, died in infancx-; Thdinas, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 635 

April 12, 1S12, married Nancy Patton; Elizabeth, March 12, 1814, married 
Samuel L. Anderson; Martha, May 12, 1815, became the wife of John 
Kincaid; Sally Ann, September 26, 1817, married Thomas Meek, October 4, 
1838. John J. was the father of Hugh Thomas McCracken; Adam R., May 
30, 1824. and married Mary J. Rankin, March 13, 1851. 

Reared on the pioneer farm of his father, John J. McCracken event- 
ually settled on the farm and lived where James Maxwell now lives. He was 
widely known, especially as one of the foremost Democrats of Decatur 
county, and as a meniljer of the Social Reformed Presbyterian church. John 
J. and Sarah Ann AicCracken had ten children, William David died in 1913; 
Hugh Thomas is the subject of this sketch ; Martha is the wife of Samuel 
Stewart, of Rushville, Indiana; Mary died in youth; Benjamin B. lives in 
Rush county ; James, who was twice married, by his second marriage to 
Mary Spillman, had four children ; Newton Jasper lives in Shelbyville ; John 
Wilson and Gilbert Gordon live in Alabama; Mrs. Myrta Ann Foley lives in 
•Greensburg. 

Educational facilities were considerably limited during the boyhood 
and youth of Hugh Thomas McCracken, and his education was confined to a 
limited attendance at Springhill and Mt. Carmel schools. As soon as he was 
old enough, he assisted his father with the farm work on the old homestead 
farm and when he was married moved into the old house standing on his 
farm. By purchasing his sister's interest, he received eighty acres of his 
father's land, which by diligence and careful management and long and 
arduous toil, he has increased to two hundred and fort}--seven acres. He 
now owns practically all of the old home place. 

On October 27, 1864, Mr. McCracken was married to Martha L. Kin- 
caid, who was born on May 24, 1841, in Fugit township, and who is the 
daughter of John and Priscilla (Alexander) Kincaid, natives of Kentucky. 
The latter, who w'as reared in Rush county, Indiana, was the daughter of 
John Alexander, who was borii in 1813, and who died in April, 1895. It 
was a son of John Kincaid who entered the Kincaid land in 1821, and 
established a home in 1829. By his first marriage, John Kincaid had two 
children, Mrs. Martha L. McCracken, and ]\Iary, deceased, the wife of 
David Martin, deceased; another child, John Alexander, born to this first 
marriage, had died in infancy. The mother dying in 1844. John Kincaid 
was married, a second time, to Nancy Alexander, sister of his first wife, who 
bore him seven children, John Andrew, deceased ; Mrs. Priscilla Jane iNIcCoy, 
•of Fugit township; Rhoda Margaret, deceased; John i\.ndrew, who died at 



636 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the age of twenty-one; William Jasper, of near Springhill ; Gilbert Gordon, 
who H\'es on the liome place, and Cyrus, deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Hugh McCracken four children have been born, 
Cynthia Ann, the wife of Rufus Moore, who has four children, Lillian Ellen, 
Walter Thomas, Mary Ann ; Ellen ?\Ioore married Thomas Kitchin, of 
Fugit township, and thev ha\'e one son, John Robert; Sarah Helen married 
the Rev. Fred Schmunk. of Moorefield ; Mary E. married Fern Power, who 
is now deceased, and who left one child, Ruth; Wilma Orta married James 
Maxwell, and lives on the old homestead in Fugit township ; they have one 
son, William Thomas. 

Politically, Mr. McCracken is a ])rominent leader in the councils of the 
Democratic party in Decatur county, and especially in Fugit township, where 
he lives. Mr. and Mrs. McCracken and family are members of the United 
Presbyterian church at Springhill. 

The career of Hugh T. McCracken. it must be conceded, measures up 
well with the services of his distinguishetl ancestors, who were pioneers in 
this county, since he has. with somewhat better opportunities than were 
enjoyed by his forefathers, established a comfortable home, and reared a 
family of children to equally honorable and useful lives. From the stand- 
point of service the enterprising thrift}- cultivation of his farm in Fugit town- 
ship is sufficient to entitle him to honorable mention as a citizen of this great 
county. 



SAMUEL L. JACKSON. 



One of the most picturesque farms and one oi the most magnificent 
country homes to be found anywhere in Decatur county, is located in \Vash- 
ington township, and comprises four hundred and eighty acres of fertile 
land, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Samuel L. Jackson, well-known citizens of this 
countv. With a thoroughly modern home and beautiful, well-kept grounds, 
shaded by giant trees, especially neat and attractive driveways, this attractive 
farm bespeaks the intelligence, industry and fine appreciation of country 
life by its owners and proprietors. Descended from two of the very oldest 
families of Decatur county, they not only are among the most prosperous 
and inlluential people to be found anywhere in the county, but the family is 
living up to the ideals of the worthy progenitors, who during their day and 
generation were also leading citizens of the county. 

Samuel L. Jackson, who was born on February 2, 1846, at Cincinnati, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 637 

Ohio, is the son of William and Amelia (Hillman) Jackson, natives of Vir- 
ginia and Maryland, respectively, the former of whom was born on October 
13, 1797, and who died in 1869, and the latter of whom was born on January 
31, 1805, and who died, March 6, 1882. They were married, July 19, 1823. 
Left an orijhan at a tender age, William Jackson left his southern home, and 
made his way to Cincinnati, where he arrived in 1831. Here for a time as a 
protege of Nicholas Longworth I, he worked at the tailor trade and also 
engaged in teaming. While living in Cincinnati, he met with an accident in 
which he lost his left leg below the knee. One of his boyhood ambitions 
having been to own a fann, in 1846 he settled on a tract of land in Fugit 
township, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres, and two years 
later sold it and moved to a farm near Milford. Here he prospered beyond 
any expectations of his boyhood, and beyond any dreams or fancies of his 
early life, reaching a position of influence in the community, and passing 
away, June, 1869, at the age of seventy-two, rich in experience and rich in 
possessions of this world's goods. Of the thirteen children born to William 
and Amelia (Hillman) Jackson, only one, Samuel L., the subject of this 
sketch, and the youngest child of the family, is now living. The children, in 
the order of their birth, are as follow: Mrs. Sarah Ann (Porter) Alden, 
born on February 20, 1825; James Henry, April 26, 1827; William Thomas, 
October 3, 1828; Rebecca Frances, April 9, 1830; Henry Jackson, February 
II, 1832: Mary Elizabeth, October 3, 1832; Mrs. Christe Ann Woodward, 
June 30, 1S35; Mrs. Amelia Priscilla Marlow, March 14, 1837; Mrs. Louisa 
Layton Clark, October 28, 1838: John White, April 7, 1840; Mrs. Mary 
Hester Porter, March 24, 1842: Henrietta, May 21, 1844, and Samuel Latta, 
February 2, 1846. 

That Samuel L. Jackson's progress and prosperity as a farmer are just 
rewards of his generous and unselfish kindness to a mother and children of a 
deceased sister, cannot be denied. Educated in the country schools, he lived 
with his mother until forty years old, and in 1886, the same year his sister, 
Mrs. Porter, died, he brought his mother and three sons of his departed 
sister to the farm, two miles west of Greensburg. 

Later on in the same year, September 9, 1886, Mr. Jackson was married 
to Mary Hamilton, the daughter of Robert Marshall and Mary (Morgan) 
Hamilton, who was born on October 8, 1848, and who at the time of their 
marriage was two years her Imsl.iand's junior. After his marriage. Mr. 
Jackson moved to the farm owned by Robert Marshall Hamilton, tlie old 
home place. 

Robert Marshall Hamilton was born on November 17. 1811, and died 



638 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

on August 6. 1901. His wife, wlio, before her marriage, was Alary ]\Iorgan, 
was born in January, 1811, and ilied, February 3, i8'84. They were married, 
September 26, 1834. He was the son of Robert Hamilton, who, in turn, 
was the son of Wilham Hamilton. Robert Marshall Hamilton, who was 
born in Kentucky, came to Decatur county, Indiana, when twelve years old 
and lived in Washington township all his life. During his life he erected a 
large brick house on the Clarksburg turnpike in Washington township, and it 
is this house which has since been remodeled, until it is now one of the most 
beautiful and attractive farm homes in Decatur county. Of the five children 
born to Robert Marshall and ]\Iary (Morgan) Hamilton only three are now 
living, Charles C. and Gerard are deceased : Thomas Woodson, the eldest 
child, lives in Greensburg; ]\Irs. Sarah Rankin lives in Washington town- 
ship; ]\Irs. Samuel L. Jackson is the other living child. A very energetic 
man, Robert Marshall Hamilton provided well for his family, educated his 
children and amassed a fortune, owning at the time of his death, thirteen 
hundred acres of land. First an Al)olitionist, then a Republican and still 
later a Prohiliitionist, he was a man of pronounced views. It is an interesting 
fact that his home was an important station of the underground railway, and 
that he sheltered many runaway slaves during his life, narrowly escaping 
trouble and damages on several occasions. A member of the Presbyterian 
church, in the latter part of his life he gave freely of his wealth to various 
educational institutions, and during his day and generation had. perhaps, 
more to do with the educational progress of this county than any other man. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel L. Jackson have been born three children, all 
of whom are living at hnme with their parents, Robert Hamilton, on January 
29, 1889: Louise, November 29, 1892, and Amelia, February 12, 1894. 
These children attended the district schools and finished their school work in- 
Purdue University and Oberlin College. 

All the members of the Jackson family are identified with the Kingston 
Presbyterian church. Mrs. Jackson is a member of the Independent Club, 
and her daughters of the Department Chili and of the Kingston Progress 
Clul). Robert Hamilton, the only SC'U, is a nicmlier of the Knights of Pythias. 
Mr. Jackson joined the Greensburg Lodge of Odd Fellows No. 103, when 
twenty-one years of age, and has been a member all his life. Formerly a 
Republican in politics, he identified himself with the new Progressive party 
at its formation and has been active in its councils in Decatur county. All 
the members of the Jackson family are well known and prominent socially 
in Greensburg and Decatur county. They are among the most hospitable 
citizens to be found anywhere in the county and well deserve the high social 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 6^^- 

regard and esteem bestowed upon tliem by the people of this county. Highly 
educatctl, cultured and refined, the Jackson family has added much to the 
wholesome communit\- spirit and life of Washington township. 



THOMAS J. KITCHIN. 



Like his brother, Guy Kitchin, whose sketch is found elsewhere in this 
volume, Thomas J. Kitchin is one of the highly respected and influential 
citizens of l'\igit township, and is deserving of all the good things that come 
to him in this life. He is a man who attends strictly to his own affairs, and 
believes in letting others have the same privileges that he recjuires for him- 
self. He is broad-minded, full of sympathy for those in distress, and is 
generous in doing his part, when charity calls upon him. 

Thomas J. Kitchin, of I-'ugit township, was born on September ii, 
1890, on the home place, and is a son of Frank Benjamin Kitchin. Thomas 
J. is a farmer, and is proud of his vocation, in which he takes the utmost 
interest. His education was obtained, first at the public schools of Kingston, 
after which he spent two years at the Greensburg high school, and later 
attended the Central Business College, at Indianapolis. He began farming 
on August I, 1912, on the one hundred and sixty acres of land belonging to 
his father, which he has improved with a new dwelling house, and a fine 
barn. He is a Republican, and a member of the United Presbyterian church 
at Springhill. 

Frank Benjamin Kitchin, father of subject, was a native of Decatur 
county, and lived there all his life, until his removal to Indianapolis. His 
present address is Indianapolis, where he is in the stock business. 

Thomas J. Kitchin was married on June 19, 1912, to Miss Lillian Ellen 
Moore, who was born in Fugit township. She is a daughter of Rufus and 
Anna (McCracken) Moore. Rufus Moore was born in Covington, Ken- 
tucky. He now lives in Fugit township. Mrs. Kitchin graduated from the 
Greenslmrg high schools in 191 1, and attended Monmouth College at Mon- 
moutli, Illinois, for one year, at the end of which time she was married. Mr. 
and Mrs. Kitchin are members of the LTnited Presbyterian church, where 
twelve families meet once a month for the purpose of discussing matters of 
general interest in the community in which they live. They have one son, 
John Robert Kitchin, born on April 30, 1913. 

Rufus San ford Moore was born on January 24, 1866, at Covington,. 



640 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Kentucky, and is a son of Joseph \V. and Mary Ann (Stevens) Moore. He 
was employed, when quite young, in a tin shop at Clarksburg, and later in a 
bank at Delphi, Indiana. After his marriage, he farmed for fifteen years in 
Rush county, and then came to Decatur county, and now resides on the 
McCracken farm. His wife is a daughter of Hugh McCracken, an old resi- 
dent of Fugit township. They were the parents of the following children: 
Lillian Ellen (Kitchin), born on February 11, 1891 ; Walter, who is now 
farming, and Mary Ann, who is at home. 



JASPER COBB. 



One of the well-known retired farmers of Decatur county, Indiana, and 
one of the veterans of our great Ci\il War, is Jasper Cobb, who was born 
on August 5, 1847, in Washington township on a pioneer farm, and who 
is the son of Dyar and Elmira (Tremain) Cobb, the former of whom was 
born on August 6, 1807, died in 1900, and the latter of whom was born in 
1810, and who died in 1885. Dyar Cobb was a native of Greensburg, 
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and the son of Joshua Cobb, of Colonial 
ancestry and of Welsh descent. 

In 1818 Joshua Cobb and family came down the Ohio river by boat, 
and, after remaining for two years in Dearborn county, on account of the 
dry seasons, came on to Decatur county, where only two houses could be 
seen from the farm he entered, to which place, in the spring of 1821, he 
brought his family. Here on the Michigan trail, in Marion township, Joshua 
Cobb pre-empted land, blazing his way through the forest from Napoleon 
in Ripley county. He put up a brick shack against a huge poplar log for his 
first home, and then felled logs and built a cabin. A large and vigorous 
man, he died in i8f3o. His wife, who was a Miss Crawford before her mar- 
riage, died in 1864. His eight children, Willard, Dyar, John, Percy, Elke- 
nah, Mrs. Maria Christy, Helen and Mrs. Martha Terhune, are all deceased, 
the last named dying in Illinois. 

When Dyar Cobb attained his majority he cleared a farm on the Alichi- 
gan road, and there reared his family. The owner of three hundred acres 
■of land, he was prominent during his day and generation, but declined offi- 
cial preferment. He was a member of the Universalist church and a Repub- 
lican in politics, casting his first vote, however, for the Whig candidates in 
1828. Early in life he had learned the brick-ljurning trade, and followed 




Mil. AND MKS. .TASriOi; COIiH. 



UKCATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 64I 

this trade occasionally. Of the twelve children born to Dyar and Elmira 
(Tremain) Cobb, all but four died in youth or infancy. Mrs. Nancy Hazel- 
rigg, the eldest, died in 1905. Ainong the other children were : Mrs. O. C. 
Elder; Mrs. Martha Stewart, of Illinois; John, Nancy, Joshua, Harvey, 
Mary, Newton and Jasper. 

At the age of sixteen years, Jasper Cobb enlisted in Company A, One 
Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in 1864, 
under Captain Joseph Drake and under Colonel Gavin, serving one hundred 
and twenty days. He enlisted, however, for only one hundred days. Mr. 
Cobb eventually came into possession of the old Cobb homestead of three 
hundred acres, but disposed of two hundred acres of the farm in 1906. He 
still has one hundred acres left. Until February 14, 1898, he was actively 
engaged in farming, and then removed to Greensburg. 

In ]\Iarch, 1873, Jasper Cobb was married to Ann Eliza Montgomery. 
They had one child, Robert, who died at the age of four and one-half years. 
Mrs. Cobb, the daughter of John G. H. and Sarah (Shadrick) Montgom- 
ery, the former of whom was born on August 14, 1819, in Kentucky, a 
farrrier by occupation, and one who was well educated and a natural genius. 
Mrs. Montgomery was born on May 8, 1813. In 1849 John G. H. Mont- 
gomery purchased a small farm, one and one-half miles southeast of Greens- 
burg, and there established a home, increasing his acreage until he owned 
live farms. He is now deceased, having passed from this life in 1894. He 
and his wife reared a family of eight children. Of these children, Nancy 
Jane was born on November i, 1840, married N. S. Potter, and died on 
April 8, 1870: Sarah E., January 25, 1842, who married Leonard McCune, 
died on March 5, 1874; Mary F., in 1844, married J. C. St. John, of Greens- 
burg: Henry H., in 1846, was a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirty- 
fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He lives in Zirich, Mon- 
tana; Robert W., in 1848, died in Oregon on October i, 1911; Ann Eliza 
married Mr. Cobb and is a talented and gracious woman; John Q., Septem- 
ber 26, 1853, lives in Grants Pass, Oregon; George, in 1854, owns and 
operates a garage in Greensburg. 

Of Mrs. Cobb's remote ancestry, it may be said that her great-grand- 
father, Hugh Montgomery, was born in 1760, in Ireland, and settled in 
Pennsylvania, and that he and his brother William were soldiers in the Revo- 
lutionary War. William was lost. A half-brother, George, also disappeared. 
Hugh Montgomery married Eva Hartman in 1784, a native of Germany. 
They had thirteen children, among whom were Mary, the wife of Alexan- 
(41) 



642 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

der Ganst; Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson; Thomas; Henry; iMargaret; WilHam; 
Sallie, and Hugh, Jr.. the grandfather of Mrs. Gobi), who was born on 
August 29, 1797. While on a visit to Kentucky, he fell in love with a dis- 
tant cousin, Elizabeth Montgomery, and married her, October 14, 1818. 
They resided in Shelby county, Kentucky, until 1830, wlicn they came to 
Indiana, settling two miles north of Greensburg. Here they purchased a 
farm one mile southeast of Greensburg. The wife died, Decemljer 4, 1859. 
When Hugh Montgnmery was sixty-six years old he enlisted in the One 
Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, but was 
refused admission in the army on account of his age. He died. April 22, 
1872. His son, John G. H. Montgomery, the father of Mrs. Cobb, who 
married Sarah Shadrick, died in 1898. 

Of Mrs. Cobb it may be said that she is a talented woman, and one 
who is well known in this section for her beautiful poem, the "Old Home- 
stead." She also is the author of that portion of the Montgomery genealogy 
which deals especially with the Montgomerys of Decatur county, Indiana. 
Mr. Cobb is a Republican, a member of the Baptist church and of the_ Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of Pap Thomas Post 
No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic, at Greensburg, Indiana. Mrs. Cobb is 
a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Lone Tree Chapter, 
of which she has been active as a charter memljer and she was the second 
treasurer of the chapter. 



THOMAS DUFFEY. 



Not very far from the city of Greensburg, Decatur county, Indiana, 
and located in Washington township, is a beautiful farm of two hundred and 
four acres, known as the Prairie VMew farm, and where the passerby may 
see, sitting well back from the much-traveled thoroughfare, a large frame- 
barn, of modem construction, and an old-time brick house. Since February 
18, ic)io, this has been the home of Mrs. .\nna ( Koors) Duffey and children. 
The buildings are set well within a wide and spacious lawn with numerous 
trees to break the monotony of the landscape and to furnish abundant shade 
during the hot days of an Indiana summer. 

This farm was purchased by the late Thomas Duffey three years before 
his death. During his life, Thomas Duffey was one of the best-known 
farmers and stockmen of Decatur county. He was born on Octol)er 10, 
1857, and died, September 2;^, 1907, having almost reached the half century 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 643 

mark. His parents, Patrick and Bridget Duffey, natives of Ireland, emi- 
grated to Decatur county, and settled on a farm, their son being reared here 
and educated in the schools of Decatur county, especially in the Milhausen 
neighborhood. At one time Patrick Duffey kept a grocery in Cincinnati, but 
later removed from Cincinnati to the Milhausen neighborhood, two miles 
from Milhausen, where the late Thomas Duffey was reared and where he 
was married. 

During his lifetime, Thomas Duffey owned several farms. He first 
purchased a farm of eighty acres in the Milhausen neighborhood, and after 
living there for eight years, removed to Milhausen and engaged in the live 
stock business for two years, when he moved to the McCoy farm, where he 
lived for eight years, finally purchasing the farm. He then bought the Hazel- 
rigg property, near Greensburg, and lived there from 1898 until 1907, the 
time of his death. In cultivating his various farms and from the live stock 
business he was able to save considerable money and was regarded as a very 
successful man. 

At the time of his death, the late Thomas Duffey left a widow and 
six children. His wife, Mrs. Anna (Koors) Duffey, to whom he was mar- 
ried, February 12, 1884, was born in Cincinnati on March 28, 1862, the 
daughter of Barney and Anna (Fernerding) Koors, natives of Germany. 
Mrs. Duffey's father, a coo])er and mill-wright by trade, removed to Decatur 
county and settled in the Milhausen neighborhood in 1865, farming there for 
eight years. The mother dfed in 1873, and after her death, her husband 
operated a mill and a mercantile store in Milhausen, until the mill burned. 
He kept the store, however, until his death, December 20, 1907, when he 
was seventy-eight years old. 

Of the six children left by Thomas Duffey at the time of his death, 
the Rev. Charles Duffey is the assistant pastor of St. Anthony's parish, at 
Indianapolis; Bernard, who was born on April 2, 1888, is managing the 
Prairie View farm; Alfred, October 25, 1890; Hilda, December 6, 1893, '^ 
at home with her mother; Clarence, Feliruary 12, 1896. died on June 18. 
1909; Robert, the youngest child, January 2, igoo. 

After removing to the Washington township farm in 1910, Mrs. Duffey 
and her sons erected a magnificent fine barn in 1911, and in 1914 they erected 
a modern silo. The Prairie View farm is one of the best to be found in 
Decatur county — the best, not only from the standpoint of its general appear- 
ance, but from the standpoint of the fertility of the soil. In 1914 the forty 
acres of corn raised on the farm produced two thousand bushels. Mrs. 
Duffey and her sons feed and sell seventy to one hundred and fiftv head of 
hogs every year, and about a carload of cattle. Every bushel of grain raised 



644 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

on the farm is fed to live stock, and last year it was necessary to buy one 
thousand bushels to feed out the stock. One might search the length and 
breadth of Decatur county and still fail to find young men who are more 
progressive in their notions and methods of agriculture and more enterprising 
and thrifty than the sons of the late Thomas Duffey. At the time of his 
death, he was a member of the St. Mary's Catholic church, and Greensburg 
Council No. 1652, Knights of Columbus. In fact, the Duffey family are all 
members of the Catholic church, and loyal and devout in this faith. 

With earnest purpose and a sense of the responsibility, Mrs. Duffey and 
her children have taken up and carried forward the work of the deceased 
husband and father, a man who, by his industry, energy and good manage- 
ment, was able to provide well for his widow and children. A man of most 
loving disposition, his memory is revered not only by the members of his 
immediate family, but by those who knew him as a successful farmer and 
stockman, and by those who had any relations with him in a business or 
social way. His passing was a distinct loss to the citizenship of this county. 



THOMAS H. STEVENSON. 

The late Thomas H. Stevenson, who was well known as a business man 
in Decatur county, Indiana, and who was a leader in the political circles of 
this county, was a man who, as far as he was able to do so, lived by the 
Golden Rule. 

The late Thomas H. Stevenson was born on August 11, 1854, the son 
of Thomas and Eliza (Abrams) Stevenson, and died on December 16, 1914. 
His father, the son of Scottish parents, lived and died in Dearborn county. 
In 1871 Thomas H. came to Greensburg as deputy internal revenue col- 
lector under the late Will Cumback, and held this position for eleven years, 
or until 1882, when he resigned to enter the produce commission business 
in Cincinnati with Gilette Stevenson, who was a former revenue collector. 
After being in Cincinnati for three years, he returned to Greensburg in 
1885 and took charge of the Emmert Flouring Mill, relieving his father- 
in-law, the late John Emmert, whosej health had failed. After being in 
charge of this mill until it changed owners, he engaged in the brokerage 
business, his own health having failed. In this latter business he was very 
successful and at this time his widow and son own the old W'ooley farm in 
Decatur county, a farm which consists of one hundred and sixty acres of 
well-improved and highly producti-\'e land. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 645 

On January 13, 1879, Thomas H. Stevenson was married to Elizabeth 
Emmert, who was born on July 10, 1855, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and 
who is the daughter of John and Catherine (Seitz) Emmert, natives of 
Mannheim, Germany, and Alsace-Lorraine, respectively. 

There were three eventful years in the career of John Emmert. In 
1845 he came to America with his parents and located at Trenton, New 
Jersey, and eight years later, in 1853, he located in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 
where he married Catherine Seitz and thirteen years later, in 1866, he 
moved to Greensburg, Indiana, where most of his fortune was acquired. 
During his life at Greensburg, he built and operated the Garland mills. He 
was an excellent miller and understood not only the business phase of mill- 
ing, but the technical and manufacturing end as well. A Democrat in poli- 
tics and for some time a councilman in Greensburg, John Emmert was an 
influential man in Decatur county, public-spirited', progressive, industrious 
and, in his later life, very wealthy. He was also prominent as a member of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Catherine Seitz had come to 
America with her parents when four years old in 1838, when they first 
located at Hamilton, Ohio, but her father, Christopher Seitz, later moved 
to Dearborn county, where he became a farmer. John Emmert died in 
1882, his wife surviving him many years and passing away in 1909. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Stevenson was born one son, Emmert 
C, who was born on May 21, 1891, and who was educated in the Greens- 
burg public schools, the Greensburg high school and Purdue University at 
Lafayette. After graduating from the electrical engineering department of 
Purdue University, he returned to his home in Decatur county and is now 
manager of the home farm. 

During his entire life, Mr. Stevenson was more or less actively identified 
with Republican politics in Decatur county and the fourth congressional dis- 
trict. During very late years, however, he was inclined toward the new 
Progressive party. In this section of the state, he was known as a far- 
seeing political leader and manager, although he personally never sought 
ofiice, but he looked after the interest of his party in this section of the state 
and it was well known by state leaders that his pledges of support and 
promises of services could be depended upon absolutely. A member of the 
Greensburg lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, he was very 
prominent in this organization, and if any man who has lived in Decatur 
county within recent years has followed the Golden Rule as a model for 
the relationship of life, it was the late Thomas H. Stevenson. 



646 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JAMES A. MYERS. 

Of the many magnificent farms to be found on the widely traveled 
highway, a few miles southwest of Greensburg, is one of eighty acres owned 
by James A. Myers, one of the well-known farmers of Washington township. 

James A. Myers, who was born on July 22, 1847, o" Sand creek, in a 
log cabin in the wilderness, is the son of William H. and Elizabeth M. 
(Annie) Myers, the former of whom was born on August 6, 1824, and who 
died, August 8, 1904, and the latter of whom was born on June 29, 1827, 
died May i, 1900. Born in Kentucky, the late William H. Myers was a son 
of George and Margaret (Harmon) Myers, also natives of Kentucky, the 
former, who came to Decatur county about 1832, took up a tract of timber 
land on Sand Creek, and there cleared a place for a house and established a 
home. He died at the age of eighty-nine years. Reared in a pioneer settle- 
ment, the late William H. Myers lived with his father for many years after 
his marriage. In 1857 he sold the farm situated on Sand Creek and pur- 
chased the farm now known as the Davis homestead, near Horace, where 
he lived for several years, eventually selling out and removing to Kansas, 
where he lived for fifteen years. At the end of this period he returned to 
Decatur county and there died. 

William H. and Elizabeth (Annis) Myers had ten children, two of 
whom are deceased. Of their children, James A. is the subject of this sketch; 
George M. lives in Sand Creek township; John Thomas, born on October 21, 
1851, lives in Clay township, Decatur county; William R., July 24, 1854, 
died in infancy; Mrs. Alice B. Sanderson, July 21, 1857, died on September 
II, 1897, near Forest Hill; Eliza L., February 21, 1859, lives in W^ebb City, 
Missouri: Harvey M., October 18, 1861 ; Merritt E., November 25, 1864, lives 
in Oklahoma; Mrs. Ida M. Johnson, September 11, 1867, lives in Indianapo- 
lis, as does her sister, Mrs. Nancy N. Berry, born on September 26, 1871. 

Starting out in life for himself at the age of twenty-one, James A. 
Myers was married, October 21, 1868, to Martha E. Wynkoop, daughter of 
James and Barbara (Hedrick) Wynkoop, of Sand Creek township. Mrs. 
Myers was born on July 24, 1848, near Laurel, in Franklin county, Indiana. 
Mr. and Mrs. Myers" have had two children, Jennie F., who was born on 
November 3, 1869, married William N. Gartin, the son of Zack Gartin, 
October 22, 1899, and Eftie B., October 31, 1877, married Nomian Eubanks, 
of Greensburg, and they have one child, Gilbert Dale, aged nineteen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Myers owned thirty-five acres of land in Clay township, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 647 

where they hved until April, 1869 (after their marriage), when they removed 
to Sand Creek township and there lived until 1903. At that time they sold 
out and purchased a farm near Greensburg, comprising eighty acres of land, 
where they have now lived for twelve years. 

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Myers comes from a long line of ancestors 
who have been prominent Democrats in the respective communities where 
they have lived. Although a Democrat in national and perhaps state politics, 
Mr. Myers is not a hide-bound partisan and votes independently in local 
affairs. He served two terms as justice of the peace of Sand Creek town- 
ship. Mr. and Mrs. Myers are members of the Baptist church at Liberty. 
They are active workers in church affairs. Here in the neighborhood where 
they have lived these many years, they are highly respected citizens, honored 
for their quiet and unassuming manners, for their native intelligence and 
sympathic interest in the welfare of the community as a whole. Mr. Myers 
is a man of stei-ling integerity, scrupulous in all the dealings of life, and well 
known in different parts of Decatur county. 



FRANK C. STOUT. 



In selecting his life work, Frank C. Stout chose something that would 
give pleasure to his friends, as well as to himself. He might have had in 
mind, also, the fact that music, more than any other factor in life, has a 
charm, toned with sweetness, harmony and rhythm to a degree understood 
by everyone, an'd to a great measure helpful and uplifting not only to the 
toiler but to the artist as well. While the traditional writer has said that 
"music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," it might have added, "and 
draw all men together in a state of peace and happiness." However, the 
success with which Mr. Stout has met, is sufficient proof of his efficiency as 
a piano tuner, and his ability as a musician, a combination which has brought 
him in good returns. 

Frank C. Stout, piano dealer and tuner, of Greensburg, Indiana, was 
born in that city, in June, 1878, the son of Wiley J. Stout. Subject was 
reared and educated in the public schools of Greensburg. In young manhood 
he studied medicine, thinking to follow that profession, but his artistic nature 
outweighed this desire and, about 1905, he began tuning pianos, and later 
opened salesrooms in Greensburg, where he handles a fine line of the French 
& Sons and Busch & Geits pianos, in which he does a thriving business. His 
store is one of the most attractive of its kind in the city. 



II 



648 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Wiley J. Stout was born in Decatur county and died about 1895. He 
was a son of Harvey P. Stout (see Stout genealogy in the sketch of John F. 
Robbins, elsewhere in this volume). At an early age, Wiley J. Stout learned 
the carpenter trade, in which he became very skillful, and at which he worked 
all his life. He was united in marriage to Octavia Lloyd, who is also deceased. 
Frank C. Stout is their only child now living. He is a strong advocate of the 
principles of the Progressive party, is an exceptional musician, and is especially 
proficient on the piano. His host of admiring friends, who have done their 
part in aiding him to build up his business, speaks well for his popularity. 



JAMES CARTER McLAUGHLIN. 

The offspring of a pioneer family of Decatur county, Indiana, the late 
James Carter McLaughlin, a veteran of the Civil War and a well-known 
farmer and stockman of this county during his life, gained almost national 
fame as a breeder of trotting horses which were especially well known 
throughout the state of Indiana. Not only was he a successful farmer and 
stockman, but he was well known as a citizen and puljlic-spirited man of 
affairs. He lived to rear a large family of children, who were given the very 
best educational advantages and who, now that he is gone, revere the memory 
of a loving and kind father. 

The late James Carter McLaughlin, proprietor of Ash Grove stock 
farm in Washington township, Decatur county, Indiana, and later of the old 
homestead farm of three hundred acres, was born on January 27, 183 1, in 
Decatur county, and passed away, January 4, 1894, the son of George and 
Sarah (Carter) McLaughlin, who were born and married in Mason county, 
Kentucky, and who, after their marriage, in 1827, came the same year to 
Decatur county, where they entered government land. 

George and Sarah (Carter) McLaughlin, the former of whom was an 
intelligent and highly respected citizen, progressive in spirit and successful 
in business, were the parents of eight children, only four of whom grew to 
maturity. Of these children, James C. is the subject of this sketch; Mary 
Frances, deceased, was born on February i, 1829, and married Zachariah T. 
Riley, April 13, 1853; Elizabeth Ann was the wife of Thomas M. Hamilton, 
deceased, who now lives on North East street, Greensburg, Indiana, and 
Casper Wooster died in the state of California. 

The father of these children was an ardent Republican during his life. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 649 

He spent his declining years at the home of his son, the late J. C. McLaugh- 
lin. The father was born on Septemljer 24, 1802, and died, October 29, 
1885. His wife, Sarah (Carter) McLaughlin, was born on August 18, 1804, 
and died July 20, 1873. They were married, April 10, 1827. 

After living at home on his father's farm and performing the work 
ordinarily falling to the lot of the average country boy during the earlier 
years of the history of this count)^ James Carter McLaughlin enlisted in 
1861 in the Wilder battery, later the Independent battery, and served four 
years as a soldier in the Civil War. At the siege of Knoxville he was taken 
seriously ill and was unable to serve for some time. He was in many battles 
arid sieges, including those at Somerset, Kentucky, and Harpers Ferry, 
where the battery was captured. James C. was later exchanged at India- 
napolis. Afterward the battery saw active service in Kentucky and Tennes- 
see, and was on the firing line until the close of the war. 

'Immediately after the close of the Civil War, Mr. McLaughlin was 
married, March 14, 1866, to Louisa Davidson, who was born on December 
25, 1839, in Decatur county, Indiana, and who is the daughter of Isaac and 
Jennie (Miller) Davidson, natives of Nicholas county, Kentucky, and Mon- 
roe county, Virginia, respectively. Isaac Davidson, who was born in 1802, 
and who died in July, 1855, came to Decatur county, Indiana, when a young 
man, and worked for seven and one-half dollars a month. Coming here in 
1827, he eventually owned a fine farm in Clinton township. Mrs. Jennie 
(Miller) Davidson, who was born in 1809, and who died in 1905, at the age 
of ninety-six years, was the daughter of John Miller, who came to Decatur 
county in 1814, and after settling near Clarksburg, was engaged in burning 
brick. He had come down the river on a flat-boat, and at the time he passed 
Cincinnati, it was a mere hamlet. His nearest neighbors at the time were 
seven miles away. Indians were very numerous in the country. At this 
time his daughter, Jennie Miller, was only five years old, and she had accom- 
panied him to this county. 

Isaac and Jennie (^Miller) Davidson had eight children, Mary, who 
married Sol Sharp, died in i860; John, in 1833, resides on a farm near 
Hartville, Kansas: Elizabeth, who was born in 1835, became the wife of 
Henry Bird, deceased, and resides on Hendricks street, Greensburg ; Mar- 
garet, in 1837, married Thomas Draper, wlio died in 1910, in Kansas; 
Louise, the widow of the late James Carter McLaughlin ; Jane, February 2, 
1841, always lived with her mother on Walnut street: Rhoda died at the age 
of twelve years, and Taylor died in his youth. 

To Mr. and I\Irs. Tames Carter McLaughlin six children were born, all 



■650 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of whom are living, except one, Mary, who died at the age of thirty-eight 
years. The names of the children are as follow: Blanche, Orion D., Mary, 
Delia, James Barton and Frances. Of these children, Blanche, a graduate of 
Indiana State University, lives on Lincoln street, Greensburg, Indiana ; Orion 
D., a farmer, resides on East street. He owns three hundred and twenty 
acres of land; Delia, a graduate of Purdue University, is the wife of W. H. 
Silver. They live at West Newton ; James Barton, who lives on the old 
homestead, is a graduate of Purdue University, and married Margaret Mil- 
ler. Thev have two children, James C. and William Graham ; and F" ranees, 
a graduate of Purdue University, is the wife of S. W. Shirk, a well-known 
farmer of this county. 

James Carter McLaughlin was a Republican, although he never took 
much interest in political affairs, while his good wife during her actix'e life, 
was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

As an enterprising man of business, a fanner and breeder, James 
Carter McLaughlin contributed materially to the progress and prosperity of 
Decatur county. He was a man necessarily of large vision, who could 
foresee large opportunities,' and he possessed the executive skill, the capacity 
for details to carry out preconceived plans. He was the very soul of honor, 
loving and kind in the home, cordial and genial in all the relations of life, 
private or public. 



WILLIAM SMILEY. 



Among the early settlers of pioneer days, in the second decade of the 
nineteenth century, with but few ad\-antages, a sturdy native of the Key- 
stone state, whose ambition was to cut out of the concrete of life something 
more than a mere pittance and who, like many another lad, had but a few 
hundred dollars with which to make a start, drinking at the fountain of 
perspective, was William Smiley, a man of unusual thrift, whose unflagging 
courage and persistence led him through the many vicissitudes of life to a 
field of prosperity and plenty. With an ambition to see that his posterity 
were well provided for, he was a man of keen perception, wrought out of 
the fact, no doubt, that he was self-educated, broad-minded and a man of 
sound judgment. It is pleasing, indeed, under all conditions in life to see 
any of the younger generations forge to the front, and even more so when 
the freshness of youth knows no failure and recognizes no defeat. As 
:such an one, it is a pleasure to point to the life-work of William Smiley 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 65 1 

with a sense of pride, as a man having utihzed the opportunities as they 
came to him, molding them into a great success. 

Wilham Smiley, was born in February, 1814, and migrated with his 
parents from Penns3'lvania to Butler county, Ohio, where they settled on 
a farm on which he grew to manhood. He was married in Butler county 
and, in the year 1849, came to this county, locating on a farm in Clay town- 
ship. He became very prosperous, in time coming to own hundreds of 
acres of choice land in this county. Beginning life in Decatur county with 
a few hundred dollars as his capital, he managed his affairs so wisely and 
so prudently that he became one of the wealthiest men in tne county. To 
each of his children he gave farms, in addition to which his daughters 
received nice sums of money upon reaching eighteen years of age. Despite 
the fact that he continued giving away his property, he left an estate of 
about sixty thousand dollars, an evidence of his ability as a financier. Mr. 
Smiley had few advantages in his youth and was a self-educated man, ac- 
quiring, by close observation and the constant exercise of his remarjvable 
native talents, a fine general knowledge. He was an uncompromising Demo- 
crat and ever took an interest in the county's political affairs, long Ijeing 
recognized as one of the most active workers in his party in this county, 
a veritable "wheel-horse," in fact; his sound judgment and keen common 
sense giving large weight to his counsels in the deliberations of the party 
managers in Decatur county. He was a splendid horseman and it is still 
recalled that, on gala occasions, it was his wont to turn out, driving ten or 
a dozen horses in a team. In his later years he left the farm and moved to 
Greensburg, where his last days were passed in comfortable retirement, his 
death occurring on June 30, 1893, his widow surviving until July 8, 1896. 

To William and Mary A. (Kenny) Smiley were born ten children, as 
follow: Mrs. Permelia Henry, deceased; Mrs. Caroline Sefton, widow of 
Edward B. Sefton, of Greensburg; George W. and James M. (twins), the 
former of whom died in 1907, and the latter of whom died in infancy; Har- 
vey K., who died in January, 191 5; Thomas K., a well-known farmer of 
Clay township, this county; William F.. who resided in Greensburg; Mary, 
who died on August 17, 1914; S. P., who lives at El Campo (Texas) Hotel, 
and Margaret, widow of William A. Johnston. 

Mrs. Margaret L. Johnston was born on a farm in Clay township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, on January 18, 1857, the daughter of William and 
Mary A. (Kennedy) Smiley, pioneers of this county, the former of whom 
was a native of Pennsvlvania and the latter a native of New Tersev. 



652 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



Upon her marriage to William A. Johnston in 1877, ^Mrs. Johnston 
moved from the paternal farm to Greensburg, where she ever since has made 
her home. Mr. Johnston was born in the town of Franklin, Johnson county, 
Indiana, on February i, 1854, and died in February, 1907. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Johnston three children were born, Cora S., at home; Walter married 
Elizabeth Bates in 1910 and lives at Greensburg; and Raymond K., ste- 
nographer with the Big Four Railroad Company at Indianapolis. 

Mrs. Johnston is held in the highest esteem in the social circles of 
Greensburg and is deeply interested in the general welfare of the entire 
community. She formerly was an active member of several local clubs. 



NELSON M. TEMPLETON. 

Nelson M. Templeton, a retired citizen of Greensburg, Indiana, and 
one ti the prominent and well-known men of Decatur county, was born on 
October 22, 1845, on a farm in Franklin county, the son of John and Eliza- 
beth (Barnard) Templeton, natives of Pennsylvania, the former of whom 
died in September, 1899, and the latter of whom the daughter of David 
Barnard, of Pennsylvania, died on August 20, 1896. John Templeton was 
an early resident of Franklin county, the son of David Templeton, a pio- 
neer settler of southeastern Indiana. The Templetons built a cabin on the 
east fork of the White Water, in Franklin county, or on Templeton's creek. 
In 1865 the family settled in Washington township, Decatur county, and here 
owned a good farm, comprising three hundred acres of well-improved land, 
located two miles south of Greensburg, which is known to this day as the 
Templeton farm, where both parents died. John Templeton was a Re- 
puljlican and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of the 
eight children born to John and Elizabeth (Barnard) Templeton, two are 
now deceased; Catherine is the wife of George Fiscus and resides one and 
one-half miles south of Greensburg, Decatur county ; Nelson M. is the sub- 
ject of this sketch; James W^., who was born on December 22, 1847, died 
on May i, 1901, at the age of fifty-two years, and had married Frances 
Stout, daughter of Joab and Rebecca Stout, who bore him the following chil- 
dren. Flora, Ella, Grace, Harry and Elizabeth ; Robert and Edward were 
twins, the former of whom is deceased, and the latter resides south of 
Greensburg; Laura is the widow of Griffith Gartin, deceased; John lives 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. '653 

west of Greensburg in the Emington neighborhood, and OHver married 
Ida Taylor, and is the proprietor of a machine shop. 

Upon leaving home at the age of twenty-seven years, Nelson M. Tem- 
pleton farmed near Adams for three years, and in 1875 moved to Letts 
Corner and purchased a farm, where he lived for ten years. Not liking this 
place, however, in 1885 he moved to Lebanon in Boone county, and pur- 
chased a partnership in a planing mill and builders' supply firm. In Sep- 
tember of the next year, he returned to St. Paul and from there moved 
to Clifty, or Mil ford, and from Clifty to Franklin, Johnson county, where 
he remained for six years, during which time he was engaged in the car- 
penter trade. After his mother's death he removed to the old place, where 
he lived for three years, and rented a farm east of Greensburg for three 
years, subsequently removing to that city. During one and one-half years' 
residence in Greensburg, he purchased a part of the home estate of eighty-one 
acres, erected a house and barn, and moved his family to the farm. In 
1909 he sold out and moved back to Greensburg. 

On November 21, 1873, Nelson M. Templeton was married to Rachel 
Stark, who was born on November 4, 1S52, in Decatur county. Indiana, and 
who is the daughter of Aden Boone and Eliza (Wallace) Stark, natives 
of Oldenburg, Kentucky, and Rockbridge county, Virginia, respectively. The 
former was the son of Caleb Stark, who married Anna Boone, a cousin 
of Daniel Boone. Caleb Stark, in fact, was a follower of Daniel Boone, 
and the son of Capt. John Stark, a soldier in the Revolutionary army. Caleb 
Stark was a member of the Decatur county board of commissioners when 
the court house was built. A number of the famous characters in the 
"Hoosier Schoolmaster" were modeled on members of Caleb Stark's family. 

Aden Boone Stark, who was born on October 21, 181 5, in Olden 
county, Kentucky, moved with his father to Decatur county in 1825. He 
was married to Eliza Wallace, September 7, 1837, and by her had nine chil- 
dren, among whom are the following: Percis Jane, deceased, who was the 
wife of Joseph Braden; John Caleb, of Clifty, Decatur county; Mary Ann, 
the wife of Cyrus Moore, of Clifty; Hannah Elizabeth, deceased; Charles, 
deceased; Mrs. Rachel Templeton; William, a farmer in Bartholomew 
county; and two children who died in infancy. Aden Boone Stark died 
on April 19, 1890. In this connection it is worth while to mention the fact 
that five of the eleven children born to Caleb Stark were natives of Ken- 
tucky, their names being Aden. George, Willett, Percis and Lovina. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson I\I. Templeton are members of the Baptist church. 
He is identified with the Republican party. A man well known in this sec- 



654 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tion, he is highly honored and respected by all who have come in contact 
with him, and especially his fellow townsmen in the city of Greensburg. 
Nelson M. Templeton and wife have two children, Nellie, at home; 
and Perry William, a decorator at Indianapolis, who married Alargaret 
Erharclt, and they have two children, Howard and Elizabeth. 



i 



JAMES PORTER. 

Not many families in Uecatur cuunty ha\e created a more distinct 
impression upon its affairs than has the well-known Porter family. This 
family has been represented in Decatur county since the early days of the 
settlement of this section of the state and where\-er its members have been 
found, there they have been doing well those things toward which their 
energies were being directed. In the agricultural life, the industrial life, 
the religious life and the professional life of the community they have been 
active, the family having produced several notable leaders in these several 
departments of human endeavor. Prc.nninent in good works, faithful in 
whatever serxice they were called upon to perform, either in public or 
private stations, the Porters ha\e accjuitted themselves in such fashion as 
to merit the continued confidence and esteem of the entire community, and 
it is a pleasure on the part of the biographer to bring to the attention of 
the reader at this point something regarding the l^eginnings of this family 
in Decatur county. Eor further, details relatmg to the family, the reader is 
respectively referred to brief biographical sketches of the careers of Ale.x- 
ander Porter, the well-known contractor, and Dr. Edward A. Porter, broth- 
ers of the subject of this sketch, presented elsewhere in this volume. 

James Porter was born on the farm on which he still is li\ing, three 
and one-half miles southwest of the citv of Greensburg, in Washington 
township, Decatur county, Indiana, on ^larch 7, 1871, a son of Matthew 
E. and Clarissa (McKinney) Porter, both members of pioneer families of 
this county. Matthew E. Porter was born in the year 1836, his birth 
occurring in a log cabin which still is standing on the east half of the farm 
now owned I)y James Porter. He was the only son of Alexander and 
Elizabeth (Elder) Porter, the latter of whom was a daughter of the venerated 
Rev. Nathan Elder, a pioneer minister of the P>aptist faith who e.xerted so 
strong an influence for good in pioneer days in this section of the state. 
Rev. Nathan Elder, a nati\e of Kentucky, was a "circuit rider" of the old 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 655 

school and his ministrations were extended far and near tliroughout this 
section of Indiana. He built the first church in Union county, Indiana, and 
for many years preached the gospel with a devotion that made his name and 
his works widely known. 

Alexander Porter was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1799, the 
son of a Virginian, who, with his wife, penetrated the wilderness of Indiana 
Territory in an early day in the settlement of this section of the same. Upon 
reaching manhood's estate, Alexander Porter married Elizabeth Elder, who 
was born in Kentucky in 1813, and the pioneer couple went to housekeeping 
in the log cabin in which Alexander Porter was born, moving to this county 
in the year 1830 and establising a new home in the then wilderness of 
Washington township. To this couple but two children were born, Matthew 
E. and a girl child, the latter of whom died at the tender age of four years. 
i\Iatthew E. Porter succeeded to the home farm and lived there all his life, 
durmg which time he made but one change in residence, that being when he 
moved from the original eighty acres entered by his father to the west half 
of what now constitutes the fine Porter farm of two hundred and fifty- 
seven acres, owned jointly by James, Alexander -and William R., grandsons 
of the original entrant. This move was made in 1892 and Matthew Porter 
died in 1908. Matthew Porter was an industrious and progressive farmer 
and was quite successful in his operations, at his death lea\'ing a fine estate, 
wholly unencumbered. He and his wife were the parents of the following 
children : Martha A., who married John McConnell and lives six miles 
smith of Greensburg: Alexander, of Greensliurg, member of the well-known 
firm of Pulse & Porter, building contractors, further mention of whom is 
made in this volume; John, deceased; William R., of the firm of Pulse & 
Porter, who has charge of that firm's extensi\'e plant at Hope, Indiana; 
Elizabeth, deceased; James, the immediate subject of this sketch; Andrew, 
who is li\ing retired in the city of Greensliurg, this county; Barton, who 
died just as he was entering upon what gave promise of being a singularly 
successful career as a lawyer, and Dr. Edward A., the well-known and 
popular physician, of Bumey, this county, a biographical sketch of whom is 
presented elsewhere in this volume. 

James Porter was reared on the home farm and has made the same his 
home all his life. He is a progressive farmer, having early discovered the 
value of adopting up-to-date methods in the operation of his extensive farm- 
ing interests, and has prospered; now being recognized as one of the most 
substantial farmers in the cnuntv. His farm, which formerlv was covered 



656 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

with liard timber, walnut and maple predominating, is gently rolling and 
is under excellent cultivation. Mr. Porter gives much attention to the rais- 
ing of fine hogs and in this branch of agriculture has been quite successful, 
his hogs ever bringing "the top of the market." 

On Jul}' 20. 1899, James Porter was united in marriage to Mary L. 
Woodward, daughter of Isaac L. and Christina (Jackson) W'oodward, mem- 
bers of prominent pioneer families of this county, and to this union two 
children have been born, Raymond G., who was born in 1903, and James 
I\x'r, who died in infancy. 

Mr. Porter is a Democrat and takes such part in the political affairs 
of the county as is becoming in all good citizens, but never has been included 
in the ofifice-seeking class, preferring to devote his time and his talents to 
his own extensive farming interests, rather than to the public service. He 
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is warmly inter- 
ested in the affairs of his home lodge. He and Mrs. Porter are prominent 
in the good works of their neighborhood and are held in the highest regard 
bv all who know them. 



FRANK HAMILTON. 



For nearly a century the Hamilton family have been prominent in the 
civic and political life of Decatur county. The founder of the family in this 
county was Cyrus Hamilton, who was bom in Kentucky, July 4, 1800, and 
who was married, February 22, 1822, to Mary McCoy, having come to this 
county immediately after his marriage, and in this early day having become 
one of the prominent advocates of temperance and an opponent of slavery. 
Cyrus Hamilton was a prominent man in his day. Long before the issue of 
slaver}' was fought out on the bloody battlefields of the Civil War, he main- 
tained a station of the "underground railroad" at his Decatur county home, 
and assisted scores of slaves to escape north from their southern masters. 
Of Scotch-Irish descent, he inherited all the sturdy traits of this racial com- 
bination, and, 'although he never held office, he was prominent as a debater 
of public questions, well read and well informed, as well as being very popu- 
lar. During his lite he was a member of the Sand Creek Presbyterian 
church and influential in that organization. 

Frank Hamilton, a well-known attorney of Greensburg, Indiana, and 
member of the firm of Osborn & Hamilton, who was born on April 2, 1883, 
in Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, is the grandson of the well- 





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FRANK HAMILTON. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 657 

known Cyrus Hamilton and the son of Everett Hamilton, the youngest son 
of Cyrus Hamilton's family. Everett, who was born on October i6, 1841, 
and who received an excellent education in the Hartville (Indiana) schools 
and in Butler College at Indianapolis, at one time owned a fine farm of three 
hundred and sixty acres in Decatur county. He sold it some years ago and 
is now living retired in Greensburg. On November 10, 1870, he was mar- 
ried to Mary J. Hopkins, daughter of Preston E. Hopkins, of Fugit town- 
ship, by which marriage there were three sons born. Paul, the eldest son, 
was born on October 5, 1871, and is engineer of track and roadway for the 
Big Four railroad system and is stationed at Cincinnati; Edwin S., the sec- 
ond son, who was born on August 23, 1873, lives on the home farm in 
Fugit township ; Frank is the youngest member of the family. Everett Ham- 
ilton, the father of these children, has also been prominent as a citizen and 
farmer in Decatur county, having served as trustee of Fugit township at one 
time and having for many years been a prominent and influential member of 
the Kingston Presbyterian church. 

Reared on the Fugit township fann and educated in its common schools 
and later in the Clarksburg high school, where he spent three years, Frank 
Hamilton no doubt inherited from his father and his grandfather his strong 
tendency for a professional career. Although neither the father nor the 
grandfather may be said to have been professional men, yet in their rela- 
tions of life they exhibited a marked tendency in this direction. Having left 
the Clarksburg high school after spending three years there, Mr. Hamilton 
pursued his education in Butler College at Indianapolis, where his father had 
attended school, and later spent three years in Indiana University in Bloom- 
ington, Indiana. During the first year he was a student in the literary 
department of the university, and during the succeeding two years was a 
student in the law department. Later, however, he was graduated from the 
Indiana Law School at Indianapolis, with the class of 1905, and immediately 
began the practice of his profession in Greensburg. 

Lfpon receiving his degree from the Indiana Law School, Mr. Hamil- 
ton spent a year in the law office of Tackett & Wilson, and from 1907 to 
1912 was engaged in the practice of law with Judge James K. Ewing, the 
senior member of the firm of Ewing & Hamilton. In 1912 he became a 
member of the firm of Osborn, Hamilton & Harding. Later, however, Mr. 
Harding withdrew from the firm and for two years Mr. Hamilton has been 
associated with Mr. Osborn under the firm name of Osborn & Hamilton. 
Having been appointed deputy prosecuting attorney under the administra- 
(42) 



658 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tion of Prosecutor Albert W. Phillips, of Columbus, Indiana, in 1907, for 
two years he had charge of all of the work of the prosecutor's office in 
Decatur county. In 191 2 he became county attorney. 

Within a short time after establishing himself at Greensburg in the 
practice of law, Mr. Hamilton was married to Mary F. Isgrigg, of Greens- 
burg, daughter of W. H. Isgrigg. The marriage took place, December 14, 
1907. One son, William Everett, who was born on January 24, 1909, is the 
fruit of this marriage. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Hamilton has been prominent in the coun- 
cils of the party in Decatur county for many years. During 1910 and 1912 
he was secretary of the Decatur County Republican Central Committee. Fra- 
ternally, he is a member of Clarksburg Lodge No. 124, Free and Accepted 
Masons, and is past chancellor commander of Greensburg Lodge No. 148, 
Knights of Pythias. He is also a member of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, 
deputy grand chancellor, for the fifteenth district, during 1913 and 1914: 
past exalted ruler of Greensburg Lodge No. 475, Benevolent and Protective 
Order of Elks, and a member of the Grand Lodge of Elks. 

It must be remembered that Frank Hamilton is a comparatively young 
man, that he has no more than just begun his career as an attorney in 
Decatur county. Nevertheless, he is today well established in his profession 
and his firm enjoys a lucrative practice in this county, a condition for which 
Mr. Hamilton himself is in no small way responsible. He is not only learned 
in the law, a wise counselor and a successful practitioner in court, but he is 
a man of engaging personality and extremely popular in this county. 



1 



I 



ADAM MEEK. 



While an investment in land does not pay the largest returns upon the 
money invested, it is, however, the safest investment which any man can 
make, and while few of the great fortunes have been made from farming, 
when one considers the risk entailed in speculative financial adventures, the 
soil remains as the ever present inducement to those who are satisfied with 
reasonable profit. Industrial and financial stocks may rise or fall in value, 
but the price of land in this country, generally speaking, has fluctuated in 
only one direction. Its value has constantly increased from the time our 
forefathers digged out the first stump and plowed the first furrow to the 
present period with no appreciable exception. It is refreshing to know that 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 659 

a considerable number of our citizens are willing to give the weight of their 
genius to the cultivation of the land and to accept the normal and steady 
profits which the ownership insures. Adam Meek, who began life with a 
tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land, started in life by making 
fanning his vocation, and has ever since been engaged in it. He now owns 
a magnificent farm of three hundred and seventy-five acres, all in one tract, 
and has devoted his life energy toward increasing its production to the maxi- 
mum point. He is not only one of the most capable farmers of Decatur 
county, but he is one of its best citizens. 

Adam Meek was born on August 30, 1850, in Clinton township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, the son of John and Jane (Montgomery) Meek. 
John Meek, a well-known farmer and capitalist of Decatur county, of a 
past generation, was born in 1826, and passed away in 1908, at the age of 
eighty-two, after having lived in this county practically all his life. His 
wife, who before her marriage was Jane Montgomery, was boni in 1827 
in Decatur county, and died in 1892. They had ten children, one of whom, 
the youngest, Lola Frances, is now deceased. In the order of their birth 
the children are as follow: Robert S., of Greensburg; Margaret, the wife 
of J. B. Robinson, of Greensburg; John T., of Greensburg; Martha Louise, 
the wife of Capt. John A. Meek, of Kansas; Adam, the subject of this 
sketch; Jethro C., of Greensburg; Mary, the wife of A. C. Brown, of Rush- 
ville; Theresa Lavina, the widow of Robert Tunis, deceased, lived in Rush 
county, Indiana, and Mrs. Anna Pleak, of Greensburg. John T. Meek and 
wife spent a considerable part of their life in Rush county. 

Reared on a farm in Clinton township, the first recollection of Adam 
Meek dates back to the time when he was twelve years old and when he was 
engaged with his father in breaking up and plowing a new clearing. He 
was taken to the clearing by his father and shown by him how to hold the 
handles of the plow. In the meantime he was attending school at the old 
Foster subscription school about six months in every year. At the age of 
twenty-seven years he removed to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in 
Clinton township, which his father had given to him and which was already 
improved. Additional improvements, however, were made, including the 
erection of a house, barn and other outbuildings. Here Adam Meek resided 
for fifteen years, and in 1892 removed to Greensburg, where he has since 
lived, and from which place he has liieen engaged in directing the cultiva- 
tion of the farm. Mr. Meek has always raised a large amount of live 
stock, including about one hundred head of hogs every year. 

On November 2-j, 1878, Adam Meek was married to Adelaide Patton, 



66o DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the daughter of Nathaniel and EHzabeth (Duncan) Patten, and who was 
born on December 21, 1849, in Washington township, Decatur county, Indi- 
ana. To this marriage has been born one child, Clifford Patton Meek, 
May I, 1882. He was married, October 18, 1904, to Ethel Braden, daugh- 
ter of Jeremy Braden, and she has been the mother of two children, Harold, 
born on July 8, 1906, and Majorie, on February 11, 1909. Clifford Patton 
was educated in Greensburg high school. He was in the hardware business 
for about ten years in Greensburg, but is now a traveling salesman. 

Mrs. Adam Meek's father, Nathaniel P'atton H, was born on April 9, 
1810, in Adams county, Ohio, and was married, j\lay 21, 1835, to Eliza- 
beth W. Duncan, who was born on April 2, 1813, and who died, January 
10, 1894. Nathaniel Patton H, died, November 24, 1888. He and his wife 
had nine children, William C, whose life history is recounted elsewhere in 
this volume; John S., who was born on October 23, 1838, died on Septem- 
ber 29, 1840; Mary E., September 18, 1840, was married, September 18, 
i860, to Alexander M. Stuart; he died on July 2, 1866, and Mrs. Stuart 
now lives in Greensburg; Eska J., April 5, 1842, married, January 26, 1864, 
to Robert S. Meek, who died on February 16, 1879; Melissa Ann, July 26, 
1844, married, June 18, 1895, to Robert S. Meek, after the death of her 
sister, Mr. Meek's first wife; Martha E., August 8, 1846, married, Septem- 
ber I, 1868, to Chalmers McDill, who died on July 16, 1879; Mrs. McDill 
lives in Indianapolis; Adelaide, December 21, 1849, the wife of Adam 
Meek, the subject of this sketch. 

Nathaniel Patton II, the father of Mrs. Adam Meek, was the son of 
Nathaniel Patton I, who was born on February 22, 1776. and who was mar- 
ried, August 3, 1797, to Polly Robinson, of Rockbridge county, Virginia. 
She was born on March 10, 1775, and died on January 5, 1847. He died 
on July 3, 1844, and both are buried at Springhill, in Decatur county. The 
other members of the family of Nathaniel Patton I, and Polly (Robinson) 
Patton, were John S., Peggy, James R., Patsy, William, Polly, Nancy, J., 
Eliza, Samuel W., Rebecca B. and Mary A. 

The father of Nathaniel Patton I was John Patton, an emigrant from 
the north of Ireland. He married Martha Sharp (or Steele), the daughter 
of a Presbyterian minister from Glasgow, Scotland. Nathaniel Patton I, 
left Virginia in 1806, and emigrated to Adams county, Ohio, settling there 
in the early twenties. About 18 14 he removed to Rush county, Indiana, 
not far from Springhill, and died in 1844. The founder of the Patton 
family in America, John Patton, is believed to have been born about 1754. 
He had eight brothers. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 66l 

Mr. and Mrs. Adam Meek are a genial and companionable couple, who 
have always enjoyed life in the fullest measure. He is affiliated with the 
Progressive party and he and his wife are members of the United Presby- 
terian church at Springhill. Liberal, enterprising and broad-minded, Adam 
Meek shows every evidence of tlie distinguished stock from which he is 
sprung. This may also be said of his good wife. 



WILLIAM GODDARD. 



Among the worthy farmers and good citizens of the last generation 
was William Goddard, who was born in 1820 in Kentucky and who died 
in April, 1897, a son of Thomas Goddard, a native of Kentucky, whose 
parents came from Virginia, originally. 

Reared in Kentucky and educated in the pioneer schools of that day, 
the late William Goddard was first married in Kentucky to Emily Hazel- 
wood, who died after his removal to Decatur county, Indiana. They had 
five children, of whom only one, Joseph, a carpenter in Indianapolis, is 
living. The deceased children are Thomas, who was a soldier in the Civil 
War ; James Wesley, John and Mary. 

Before coming to Decatur county, Indiana, the late William Goddard 
taught school for many years in his native state, and was considered, for 
a man of his generation, to be well educated and well informed. His 
breadth of information naturally made him a leader, not only in his native 
community in Kentucky, but also in Decatur county. 

After the death of the first Mrs. Goddard on December 6, 1866, William 
Goddard married as his second wife Mary Elizabeth McKinney. who was 
born in 1832 in Washington county, Indiana, the daughter of John and 
Margaret (VanCleve) McKinney, natives of Kentucky, who were early set- 
tlers in Washington county, and who, in 1837, removed to Decatur 
county, Indiana, settling in Washington township, where they owned a large 
farm, and became prosperous and well-to-do citizens. Altogether John and 
Margaret (VanCleave) McKinney had a family of eight children. James 
Alexander, who died at the age of seventy-seven ; Mrs. Sarah Porter, Will- 
iam Rankin and Mary Jane, all deceased; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Goddard; 
Martha Lovina; Mrs. Rebecca Porter, and Mrs. Emma Pulse, the last three 
of wIkjui are deceased. Mrs. Goddard, who also survives her husband, is 
the only memlDcr of her parents" family who is still living. 



662 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

By his second marriage to Mary Elizabeth AIcKimiey. the late William 
Goddard was the father of five children, all of whom are living. Of these 
children, Samuel, who is an automobile salesman in Boston, Massachusetts, 
married Lillian Scott, and they have one child, Blanche; William R., who 
lives on the home farm, married Margaret Talbott, and they have three 
children. Miles, John \Villiam and Dorothy; Margaret lives at home with 
her mother; Mrs. Lou Lmmert, the wife of Leonard Emmert, lives four 
miles southeast of Greensburg, and they have three children, Louis, Mil- 
dred and Mary Catherine, and Mrs. Bertha Dowden li\es in Greensburg 
and has one child, IMargaret Ellen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Goddard lived on the farm of a hundred and sixty acres, 
located about two miles from the Greensburg corporation limits, until Mr. 
Goddard's death, when Mrs. Goddard removed to Greensburg. William R., 
the second born of the family, lives on the home farm. A Republican 
in politics, the late William Goddard served for many years as a justice 
of the peace. Although Mrs. Goddard and the family are members of the 
Presbyterian church, Mr. Goddard was a member of the Methodist church, 
and for many years was prominently identified with the Odd Fellows lodge. 
Mr. Goddard, whose memorj- is revered by his loving widow, his children 
and the host of friends he left behind, was a hard-working, painstaking and 
successful farmer, who at the time of his death left his family well pro- 
vided for. He was highly respected in the communit}- where he lived. 



II 



GILBERT GORDON KINCAID. 

Gilbert Gordon Kincaid is among the best known farmers of Fugit 
township,- and he is also one of its most extensive farmers, owning three 
hundred and seventy-five acres of good land which is in an excellent state 
of cultivation. He has a splendid country home, beautifully set in elaborate 
and well-kept grounds; the large white barn appearing in the background is 
the most striking evidence of Mr. Kincaid's thrift and prosperity. 

Born on November 6, 1857, on the farm where he now lives, Gilbert 
Gordon Kincaid is the son of John and Nancy Helen (Alexander) Kincaid, 
the former of whom was born in Kentucky in November, 1813, and who 
died in May, 1894. He was the son of John W. Kincaid, a native of 
Tennessee, who emigrated to Kentucky and who brought his family to 
Decatur countv in i8;i, shorth' after the settlement of this countv began. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 663 

He was preceded to Indiana, however, by his two sons, Josepli and Andrew, 
to Decatur county where he entered government land and eventuahy came 
to own a large tract of land in Fugit township. John W. Kincaid had mar- 
ried a Miss English. 

Gilbert Gordon Kincaid is the son of his father by the third marriage. 
The father was first married to Martha McCracken, no children having been 
born to this marriage. Later he married a Miss Alexander, a sister of his 
third wife. By this marriage there were two daughters, Mrs. Martha Helen 
McCracken and Mrs. Mary A. Martin. He then married Nancy Helen 
Alexander, to which third union there were six children, three of whom 
are deceased. The names of the children in the order of their birth, are as 
follow: Priscilla, who married Sutherland McCoy; Rhoda M., deceased; 
John, who died at the age of twenty; William, of Decatur county; Gilbert 
Gordon of this sketch, and Cyrus, deceased. 

It was the good fortune of John Kincaid, whose home was northwest 
of his son's place and who also owned a house north of his son's farm, that 
he prospered as a farmer and became the owner of several farms and 
extremely wealthy. A Democrat in politics, he always took an active interest 
in the councils of his party and was regarded as one of its leaders in Decatur 
county. The family were always active in the Springhill Presbyterian 
church. 

Educated in the Clarksburg schools and the New Neighborhood school, 
Gilbert Gordon Kincaid farmed at home with his father for many years, 
residing with him and caring for him until his death. At different times his 
father gave him land, and he also purchased at various times tracts of land 
in the neighborhood where he lived, until now he owns, as heretofore stated, 
three hundred and seventy-five acres of land in Fugit township. Mr. Kin- 
caid has come to be an extensive breeder of mules, and ordinarily has from 
forty-five to fifty head on the farm where he also raises a great number of 
horses and cattle, and keeps only the ver}- best grade of live stock. 

On November 9, 1898, some years after the death of his father, Gilbert 
Gordon Kincaid was married to Grace McWilliams, daughter of Ephraim 
Mc\\'illiams. The marriage ceremony was solemnized at Mrs. Kincaid's 
grandmother's home, near Greensburg, the grandmother being Mrs. Sarah 
Meek. Four children have been born to this marriage, one of whom, the 
eldest, Mary Helen, died at the age of ten years. Of the others, Helen 
Mildred, who was born on February 9, 1904, is now eleven years old; John 
Alexander was bom on r^Iay jo. 1909; William Gordon, Jr., was born on 
May 18, 19 14. 



664 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

As a Democrat, Mr. Kincaid has always been interested in politics to 
some extent, but has never been a candidate for any office. Mr. and ]Mrs. 
Kincaid and family are members of the Springhill Presbyterian church. 
From any standpoint it must be admitted that he is a worthy son of one of 
the pioneer farmers of Decatur county, a worthy son of his noble mother, 
Nancy Helen (Alexander) Kincaid. As a farmer and citizen, he is living 
up to the worthy example set by his grandfather, John W. Kincaid, and his 
grandfather, John Alexander, who came from other states to found pioneer 
homes in the Hoosier wilderness. Any man who is industrious, economical 
and thrifty, good to his family and interested in public exterprises, deserves 
to be considered as a good citizen. Gilbert Kincaid is such a man. 



GLANTON G. WELSH. 



In the annals of Decatur county, no name stands out more prominently 
than that of the late Col. Merit C. Welsh, a veteran of two wars, a lawyer 
of ability, a faithful officer of the county in which nearly his whole life had 
been spent, and a man who had been found faithful to every trust. A fluent 
and eloquent speaker. Colonel Welsh was a powerful factor in the civic life 
of this county for many years, and the memory of his exceptional services 
to the public long will be fondly cherished. Colonel Welsh was a cuusin of 
Edward Eggleston, through the Lowry connection, his mother having been 
a Lowry, and it is undoubted that the high character of the Colonel had much 
influence in shaping the lofty ideals of the genial and \vcll-!ii\-ed author of 
"The Hoosier Schoolmaster," "The Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood," and 
other works which have made so strong an impression upon American let- 
ters. It is related that Edward Eggleston was most devotedlx* attached to 
Colonel Welsh, holding the latter as his ideal of a man and a hero, and this 
aft'ection found reflection in Eggleston's great story, "The Hoosier School- 
master," in the pages of which book the colonel is fondly mentioned. In 
attempting a biographical sketch of the gentleman whose name forms the 
caption of this sketch, Glanton G. Welsh, son of the late Colonel Welsh runl 
for years the well-knnwn assistant cashier of the Citizens National Bank of 
Greensburg, this county, the biographer is mindful of the obligation under 
which this community rests with relation to the memory of Colonel ^Vel.■sh, 
and a brief summary of the salient points in the active life of that dis- 
tinguished soldier and Iirilliant lawyer will be incorporated in the same. 




COL. MKKTT ('. WELSH. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 665 

Glanton G. Welsli was born near the village of JMilford, in Clay town- 
ship, this county, on July lo, 1867, son of Col. Merit C. and Elizabeth 
(Hanks) Welsh, the former of whom was born in Ripley county, this state, 
on May 22, 1825, a son of Oliver and Lucy H. (Lowry) Welsh, and the 
latter of whom was born in Owen count}', Kentucky, on July 19, 1831, a 
daughter of Sydney D. and Mary (Graves) Hanks, natives of Kentucky and 
pioneer settlers in this county. Sydney D. Hanks was born in Kentucky in 
1793, son of Benjamin Hanks, a Virginian, who married a Dale in the lat- 
ter state and emigrated to Kentucky, where he became prominent in pioneer 
affairs. His family is the same as that from which Nancy Hanks, the 
mother of Aljraham Lincoln, sprang. Sydney D. Hanks married Mary 
Graves, who was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, in 1796, her mother 
having been a Cave, and came to Decatur county in the early days of the 
settlement of this region, his death occurring at Mil ford, this county, in the 
year 1855, her death occurring on November 28, 1886, in Greensburg. 

Oliver Welsh was Ijorn in the state of Maryland in 1794, his father a 
native of Ireland and his nmther a native of Scotland. He married Lucy 
H. Lowry, who was born in Scott county, Kentucky, in 1800, the daughter 
of Samuel Lowry. a native of Scotland, her mother having been a native 
of Ireland, who came to Indiana, locating first in Switzerland county, at a 
place near Vevay. the home of the Eggleston family. Shortly before the 
birth of Merit C, the Welshes moved to Ripley county, where they remained 
until 1828. in which year they came to Decatur county, locating in the Mil- 
ford neighborhood, where they spent the rest of their lives, the death of 
01i\er Welsh occurring on June 16, 1840, his widow dying on June 6, 1832. 

Merit C. Welsh was born on a fami two and one-half miles east of the 
village of Napoleon, in Ripley county, on May 22, 1825, a son of Oliver 
and Lucy H. (Lowry) Welsh, and when three years of age came with his 
parents to this county, locating in the Milford vicinity, where he grew to 
manhood. His father died when he was fifteen years of age, and, having 
lost his mother when he was seven years old, he was left an or])han, indeed. 
While his op])ortunities for recei\-ing an early education were limited to six 
months of actual schooling, jNIerit C. Welsh possessed an extraordinary 
mind : was a clear and direct thinker, far-seeing and broad-minded, and by 
the time he had attained his majority was a \'ery well-informed man. He 
sedulously cultiwated his remarkal)le native ability to rec(ignize opportunities 
which men of lesser caliber would not have seen at all and earlv came t(T l)e 
recognized as a coming power for good in the community. 

At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Merit C. Welsh vcjiunteered for 



666 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

service and was attached to the regiment led by Col. Jim Lane. He served 
through that war, having been present at the battle of Buena Vista and other 
notable engagements of the campaign, in which Lane's regiment was engaged. 
At the close of the war, Merit C. returned to Milford, where he engaged in 
the grocery business, in which he was ciuite successful, becoming a very 
influential citizen and a leading factor in the early development of the com- 
munity in "which he lived. After three years spent in operating a grocery 
store at Milford, Mr. Welsh sold the store and engaged in the live-stock 
business, in which, for fifteen years, he was very successfully employed. 
When Lincoln's first call was issued for volunteers to put down the rebellion 
in the Southern states, Merit C. Welsh was one of the first to tender his 
services, being attached to the Second Regiment, Lidiana Volunteer Infan- 
try, for the first ninety days' service. Before this regiment could be reor- 
ganized for the three years' service, Mr. Welsh was made captain of a com- 
pany which had been recruited in this county, most of the members of 
which had enlisted from the Milford neighborhood. This company was 
assigned to the Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, being desig- 
nated D company, and it was with this regiment that this distinguished sol- 
dier served for three thrilling and perilous years. At the Battle of the Wil- 
derness, Captain Welsh was made major of the Seventh Regiment, by pro- 
motion on the field. At a later moment in this same battle, Col. Ira G. 
Grover, commanding the Seventh Regiment, was put out of commission by 
reason of a serious wound received on the field, and Major Welsh, as the 
ranking officer, assumed command of the regiment, being thereafter recog- 
nized as colonel of the same. On September 20, 1864, the Seventh Regi- 
ment was mustered out of the service, its three years having expired, and 
Colonel Welsh, in March, 1865, was appointed colonel of the One Hundred 
and Forty-sixth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served until the 
close of the war in command of that regiment. It is a notable and singular 
fact that, although Colonel \\'elsh performed valorous service in both the 
Mexican and the Civil ^Vars, being in the very thick of many of the blood- 
iest engagements of those two wars, he never received a scratch on the field 
of battle. He was a fearless soldier and capable officer and was greatly loved 
and respected by the men under his command, all of whom were devotedly 
attached to him. For several years before his death, Colonel Welsh was the 
sole survi\-ing field officer of the Se\'entli Regiment. 

Colonel Welsh was a lawyer of force and ability and was admitted to 
the bar of the Decatur circuit court about the year 1875. He was a pleasing 
and eloquent speaker and was known as a powerful pleader before the court. 



1 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 66/ 

In 1884 he was elected sheriff of Decatur county, and in that year moved to 
Greensburg, where he spent the rest of his hfe. Before the organization of 
the Repubhcan party, Colonel Welsh was an ardent Whig, but upon the for- 
mation of the former party, gave his undivided and unswerving allegiance 
thereto, and for many years was one of the leaders of the party in this 
county and throughout this section of the state. 

On October 19, 1848, Merit C. Welsh was united in marriage to Eliza- 
beth Hanks, of the family from which descended Nancy Hanks, mother of 
Abraham Lincoln, as set out above, and to this union there were born four 
children, namely : Ardry, who lives at Anderson, Indiana ; Glanton G., 
assistant cashier of the Citizens National Bank of Greensburg, the immediate 
subject of this biographical sketch: S. Dale, of Greensburg, and Mrs. Clara 
Martin, of Lawton, Oklahoma. The mother of these children died on 
December 15, 1910, after which time Colonel Welsh made his home with his 
son, Glanton G. Welsh, in Greensburg, until his death, February 17, 1913. 

Glanton G. Welsh was reared in Adams, receiving his elementary edu- 
cation in the schools of that town, supplementing the same by a course in 
the Greensburg high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 
1889. Following his graduation, he taught school for ten years, at the end 
of which valuable term of public service he entered the Citizens National 
Bank at Greensburg and has been continuously connected with that sound 
old financial institution since 1899, during the past nine 3'ears of which time 
he has occupied the responsible position of assistant cashier. 

On December 28, 1892, Glanton G. Welsh was united in marriage to 
Alice McConnell, daughter of James M. and Elizabeth (Hardy) McCon- 
nell, both members of old families in this county, and to this union one child 
has been born, a daughter, Mabel Elizabeth, born on IMarch 19, 1894. 

Mr. and Mrs. Welsh are members of the Baptist church and take an 
active part in all good works in Greensburg, being regarded as among the 
leaders in all movements designed to elevate the social and cultural life of 
the community. Mr. Welsh is a Republican, one of the local leaders in that 
party. In 1892 he was elected city clerk of Greensburg and served in that 
important capacity until 1899, giving the city most excellent service. He is 
a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of these two popular fra- 
ternal societies. Mr. Welsh is known as a progressive business man of sound 
judgment in financial and commercial matters and he is held in the highest 
regard in business circles in Greensburg and throughout the county. He and 
Mrs. Welsh take an interested part in the social affairs of the city and are 
very popular in their large circle of friends. 



668 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

WILLIAM G. SMILEY. 

To have inspired sufficient confidence in tlie breast of shrewd men of 
affairs, who constitute directorates of banks, to insure one's election to the 
dignified and responsible position of president of a bank at the age of thirty- 
six years, is no small distinction. When, upon turning to the formal statis- 
tics covering banking affairs, one finds that there are but two other men in 
the United States who have been elected to a Ijank presidency at an earlier 
age, this distinction seems all the more notable. L^pon the organization of the 
Burney State Bank, at Burney, in Clay township, this county, in the year 
191 3, the directors of that now well-established and substantial financial 
institution, in their search for a president who would inspire the confidence 
of all, turned, as by common consent, to William G. Smiley, whose suc- 
cessful management of his nwn extensive personal aliairs in that neigh- 
borhood had excited the admiration of older men in the community, and 
Mr. Smiley was unanimously elevated to that position ; a singularly happy 
choice on the part of the bank's directorate, which neither that Ijody nor the 
citizens at large ever have had occasion to regret. Mr. Smiley is one of 
the large landowners of Decatur county a'nd the enterprise and energy which 
he had displayed in the operation of his extensive farming interests gave 
assurrance that the same wise judgment and energy would be brought to 
Ijear upon the management of the affairs of the bank, and this conclusion 
on the part of the directors of the Burney State Bank has been amply veri- 
fied by time, the bank having been unusually successful for an institution 
so recently organized, there being now more than four hundred depositors 
]>atronizing the same, a list of pleased ctistomers that is constantlv growing. 

\Villiam G. Smiley was born on the old Smiley homestead in Clay town- 
ship, Decatur county, Indiana, on January 20, 1877, son of George W. and 
Eliza fBlackmore) Smiley, both members of old and prominent families 
in this county. George W. Smiley, who died in 1907. was the son of William 
and Mary Ann ( Kenny 1 Smiley, the former of whom was born in Pennsyl- 
vania on IMarch 14, 1814, the son of Irish parents. Upon arriving at man- 
hood, William Smiley moved to Butler county, Ohio, where he married 
]\Iary Ann Kenny, about the year 1836, and on January 7, 1849, came to 
Decatur cotmty, locating in Clay township, on what is now known as the 
Smiley homestead, and by the exercise of energy and a display of enter- 
prise that made him one of the foremost men in his community, presently 
became one of the most extensive landowners in the county, he being at one 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 669 

time the owner of nearly one thousand acres of land. As they advanced in 
years and as their children arrived at manhood and womanhood, William 
Smiley and his wife divided the home acres among the children and moved 
to Greensburg, where for nearly twenty years they lived in quiet retire- 
ment, his death occurring in 1893, she surviving him by three years, both 
dying at the age of seventy-nine. In a biographical sketch relating to Will- 
iam G. Smiley's uncle, T. K. Smiley, presented elsewhere in this volume, 
there are additional details regarding the genealogy of this interesting fam- 
ily, to which the reader is respectfully referred for further information. 

William G. Smiley was reared on the paternal farm, his father always 
having remained on the old Smiley homestead, and received his early school- 
ing in the excellent local schools. This he supplemented by a course in the 
Hartsxille Normal College, which he further supplemented by a comprehen- 
sive course in a business college at Hope, this state. He entered upon the 
life of a farmer amply equipped to give to his vocation the most thoughtful 
attention and from the start he brought to bear upon his extensive opera- 
tions the most approved methods of modern agricultural schools. Mr. 
Smiley is the owner of seven hundred acres of fine land, three hundred 
acres of which lies east of the village of Burney and four hundred acres of 
which lies south of that town. He gives much attention to the raising of 
thoroughbred stock, horses, mules and hogs being his specialties, he paying 
little attention to the breeding of cattle. He annually ships about one 
hundred head of mules to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Southern market and 
usually ships from five to six hundred hogs each year. "Fred S.," bred on 
his farm, was the first horse bred in Decatur county to step a mile in 2 107^. 
"Burney Patch," also bred on Mr. Smiley's farm, has a record of 2:1234- 
Mr. Smiley also is an enthusiastic corn grower, giving particular attention 
to the raising of Yellow Dent and Volger's White corn and is locally noted 
for his fine crops. Since being elected to the presidency of the Burney 
State Bank, Mr. Smiley has given much attention to that rapidly growing 
institution and is now recognized as one of the foremost bankers of the 
county, his sound judgment and excellent executive ability giving to his 
conclusions regarding questions of conservative investment much weight 
among his business associates. 

At the age of thirty years, William G. Smiley was united in marriage 
to Martha Inez Ardery, daughter of William Ardery, who died on March 
II, 1913, leaving one child, a son seven months of age. since which time Mr. 
Smiley has made his home with his widowed mother in Burne}-. It is not 
too much to say that in the thirty-eight years of his life, Mr. Smiley has 



670 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

accomplished remarkaljle things in the way of successfuHy conducting the 
attairs under his immediate direction, and his associates very properly rank 
him among the leading men of affairs in Decatur county. He is a member 
of the Methodist church at Burney and is devoted to all good works alifecting 
that neighl)orhood as well as to the best interests of the county at large and is 
held in the highest esteem in his large circle of friends and acquaintances. 



LINTON W. SANDS. 



Almost without exception the world is willing to do honor to those to- 
whom honor is due. Men who have lived long and useful lives in a com- 
munity, who have borne their share of the public duties and who have, dis- 
charged worthily their obligations as citizens in a free country, seldom go 
without their reward. The Republican party of Decatur county was not 
slow to recognize the superior merit and large personal worth of its present 
county auditor, Linton W. Sands, who during a long term as deputy auditor 
discharged capably the duties of that important office. Appointed deputy 
in 1904, he remained in this responsible position for eight years, and in 
1912 he was elected auditor for a term of four years. 

Linton W. Sands was born in Fugit township, Decatur county, Intli- 
ana, and is the son of James P. and Eliza Ann (Williams) Sands,' the for- 
mer of whom was one of the early settlers of Decatur county, having come 
here from Ripley county where he was a wagon maker. He settled at St. 
Maurice in Fugit township, and later removed to Springhill, and the latter 
was a native of Ohio, who came to Indiana in pioneer times, living here with 
her aunt, her mother having died when she was a small child. 

In 1 86 1 James P. Sands enlisted in Wilder's Battery, and served 
throughout the war. Three weeks from the day, however, when he left 
home, he was taken prisoner at Harpers Ferry, but was soon paroled and, 
after a short furlough home, returned to his regiment with which he 
remained until the close of the war, when he was mustered out of service. 
He saw a great deal of hard service, but fortune seemed to smile upon him, 
and during the long war he was neither wounded nor in the hospital. His 
first duty was to carry ammunition for the cannon, but afterward he was 
promoted to the position of artificer. He was an intense patriot at heart, 
loyal to his country and loyal to his flag. At the close of the war he came 
home to Decatur county and resumed his trade as a wagon maker. He was 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 671 

a well-known and highly respected citizen in this community. Shortly after 
coming back from the front, he moved his family to Fugit township, settling 
in Springhill, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days. He 
was an ardent Republican, and he was also a member of the United Presby- 
terian church. Early in her life she was a school teacher and was engaged 
in teaching school while her husband was a soldier in the Civil War. She 
taught for twenty-five or thirty years altogether, and was a cultured and 
highly educated woman. Her father was a dairyman in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
during his prime, and owned the largest herd of dairy cattle in the state of 
Ohio. He was one of the wealthiest and most substantial citizens of Hamil- 
ton county, Ohio. Few men of his day and generation living in Hamilton- 
county, Ohio, surpassed him in capacity for business or in business accom- 
plishments. To James P. and Eliza Ann Sands were l)orn one daughter and 
one son, Mrs. Clara C. (Sands) Henry, the wife of James Henry, is a resi- 
dent of Fair Haven, Ohio, and Linton W. Sands, a resident of Greensburg, 
Indiana. 

Educated both in the common and high schools of Springhill, Linton 
W. Sands, after leaving the latter, became a telegraph operator at New Point 
in Decatur county, and when he had mastered telegraphy, took a position at 
that place in the railroad office there 'and remained for twenty-three years. 

Mr. Sands' wife before her marriage was Mrs. Anna E. (Wise), whose 
father was a soldier in the Civil War and was killed in the service. 

After quitting service in the railroad office in 1904, Mr. Sands came 
to Greensburg as deputy auditor and served eight years, or until 1912, when 
he was himself elected county auditor. He is still holding this office. Mr. 
Sands has been a stanch Republican all his life, and each campaign he has 
been on the firing line, and his personal efforts have had much to do with 
the success of the Republican party in Decatur county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sands have two children, Mrs. Cora M. Clouds and Mrs. 
Grace M. Gray, the former of whom lives in Indianapolis, and the latter of 
whom lives on a farm in Decatur county. 

Linton W. Sands is a member of the United Presbyterian church at 
Springhill, while Mrs. Sands is a member of the Baptist church at Rossburg. 
Mr. Sands is a liberal contributor to the support of religious enterprises, as 
well as all other public movements. His election to the important office he 
now holds is a forcible testimonial to his popularity as a citizen and his 
standing as an honorable, upright and conscientious man. He is a very 
worthy citizen of this great county. 



^'J2 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ABRAM HENDRICKS TALBOTT. 

The histor}' of the Talbott and Hendricks families is closely inter- 
twined with the political, social, agricultural and commercial development of 
Decatur county, Henry H. Talbott, the father of Abram Hendrick Talbott, 
having, as deputy clerk of Jefferson county, Indiana, come to Decatur county 
as one of the organizers. It was his wife, Eliza Hendricks, who was the 
daughter of Thomas Hendricks and the cousin of Governor Thomas A. Hen- 
dricks, whose father. Major John Hendricks, was a brother of Governor 
William Hendricks, the second governor of Indiana. Thus is the promi- 
nence of the two families, from which Abram Hendricks Talbott is descended, 
apparent. Himself a merchant for many years of Greensburg and Decatur 
county, he is one of the best known men in this section of the state. Although 
now retired, he was engaged in the drug business at Greensburg for a period 
from 1869 to 191 2, during all this time being actively interested in the farm- 
ing development of Decatur county, in which county he purchased his first 
land in the year 1885, owning at the present time a splendid farm of two 
hundred and nineteen acres, two miles east of Greensburg. 

Abram H. Talbott was born on May 26, 1837, in the old home on the 
north side of the public square at Greensburg, and is the son of Henry H. 
and Eliza (Hendricks) Talbott, the former of whom was born on ]\Iarch 
25, 1800, in Kentucky and who died in 1872. 

The son of Richard C. and Drusilla (Grover) Talbott, who moved 
from Kentucky to Indiana and settled in Ripley county early in the nine- 
teenth century, Henry H. Talbott was reared by a relati\'e and served as 
deputy clerk at Madison, Jefferson county, Indiana, for some time, acting 
in this capacity when he helped organize Decatur county, of which he was 
the first county clerk, serving for a period of thirty-seven years and eight 
months. He was also recorder of Decatur county for a period of twenty- 
eight years, or until the Legislature enacted a law prohibiting one man from 
holding two offices. Previous to the act of the Legislature he held both the 
office of county clerk and county recorder at the same time. For many 
years engaged in business as a partner with his father-in-kiw, Thomas Hen- 
dricks, he became well-to-do, and esijecially a large landowner. A Whig 
and a Republican in jiolitics, he was also a member of the Centenary Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. During his life he was a prominent member of the 
Masonic fraternity. His wife, who before her marriage was Eliza Hendricks, 
was born on September 4, 1802, at Greensburg, Pennsylvania, the daughter 
•of Thomas Hendricks, who was an uncle of Governor and Vice-president 




AP.ItAM ir. TAI.BOTT. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 673 

Thomas A. Hendricks. They were the sons of Major John Hendricks and 
grandsons of Abram Hendricks, a descendant of the Huguenots, who immi- 
grated to New Jersey and thence to Pennsylvania before the Revohitionary 
War. Abram Hendricks served four terms in the Pennsylvania General 
Assembly, first in 1792, and the last in 1798. Abram Hendricks was not 
only the father of Major John Hendricks, but he also was the father of Will- 
iam Hendricks, the second governor of Indiana, who preceded his brother 
in removal from Ohio to this state. Major John Hendricks, prior to 1829, 
resided with his family at Zanesville, Ohio. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Jane Thompson, and a niece were the only members of the Thompson 
family who came West. Shortly after their marriage, Major John Hen- 
dricks and wife moved to Muskingum, Ohio, where thej' lived for some time 
in a rude house, in which were born two sons, Abram and Thomas A. The 
next year, 1830, Major John Hendricks moved with his little family to 
Madison, Indiana. 

The first wife of Thomas Hendricks, the father of Mrs. Eliza Talbott, 
was a Miss Trimball, who died young. After her death, he married a Miss 
Paul. Thomas Hendricks was born in 1774 and died on March 31, 1835. 
He came down the Ohio river by flat-boat to Madison, and from there to 
Greensburg, bringing with him a load of iron and casting for trade and bar- 
ter. A successful merchant in the early days, he purchased and shipped live 
stock in great quantities, driving hogs and cattle to Madison, Cincinnati and 
Lawrenceburg and shipping from these points by boat. By his first marriage, 
Thomas Hendricks had four children : Mrs. Silas Stuart, INIrs. Jacob Stuart, 
Mrs. H. H. Talbott and Rachel. By the second marriage, there were two 
children, Eunice and Elizabeth, both deceased. 

To Henry H. and Eliza (Hendricks) Talbott were born eight children: 
Rachel, deceased ; Sarah Ann, who married W. S. Woodfill, both now 
deceased; Drusilla G., who is now eighty-six years old and the mother of 
Cortez E. Moss and six other living sons, resides with her son on the farm; 
Abram H., the subject of this sketch; Richard C, in 1831 and now deceased; 
Thomas H., January 13, 1835, died on May 26, 1836; Henry H., retired, 
who lives in Greensburg, and Mrs. Mary Eliza King, of Indianapolis. 

Reared in Greensburg, Indiana, Abram H. Talbott attended the local 
schools. For many years he assisted his father in the county clerk's office, 
and in 1861 engaged in the hardware business with his brothers, his father 
having set him up in this business, which was conducted under the firm name 
of Talbott & Sons. During a part of this time he also operated a dry goods 
store in this citv. Selling out both stores in 1867, he clerked for several 
(43) 



674 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

years in a drug store, and after saving enough money to purchase an inter- 
est in his uncle Abram Hendricks' store, he formed a partnership with his 
son Thomas, and three years after the partnership was formed bought out 
Thomas Hendricks and remained in business for thirty years. This store 
is now owned by Joe Moss. In 19 12 he retired from Inisiness after a long 
and busy career, a career which had been crowned with unusual success. 

In 1880 Mr. Talbott was married to Clara Armington, the daughter of 
Dr. William Armington, an early physician of this county, who practiced 
here for many years, but who was a native of New York state. He died 
during the early part of the Civil War, at the age of fifty-two. Mrs. Tal- 
bott was born on June 13, 1847, ^^'^^^ ^^^^^^ on February 15, 1914. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Talbott has never been active in the coun- 
cils of any party. He recalls that the first courthouse built in Greensburg 
was a double log stnicture with a driveway in the middle. It was built by 
Thomas Hendricks, his grandfather, during the early part of the nineteenth 
century. Abram H. Talbott has been a generous man during his entire life. 
He has always entertained great respect for the opinions of others, and if 
one differed from him in any subject he has always been kind, courteous and 
considerate, and has never engaged in needless debate nor fruitless contro- 
versies with those who held contrary opinions. Generous to a fault, he has 
never souglit to deprive those with whom he has come in contact from act- 
ing and thinking" along their own lines and in their own way. He has been 
a just man and has never exacted in friendship or business more than he was 
willing to grant or allow. He has believed that the weakest arm is strong 
enough when it strikes with the sword of justice. 



EDWARD C. LOWE. 



Among the early settlers of Decatur county, Indiana, were James and 
Cyrus Hamilton, who came in 1822. The Donnells, McCoys, and Hojikms 
came in 1823. William Custer, who lived about a mile south of the old 
Lowe homestead at Kingston, Indiana, is supposed to have preceded Seth 
and Rebecca LoWe, the founders of the Lowe family in Decatur county, 
and from whom is sprung Edward C. Lowe, a prominent manufacturer of 
Greensburg, and the grandson of Seth and Rebecca Lowe. It may be said 
truly that this worthy representative of the third generation in Decatur 
county from the standpoint of industry, intelligence and citizenship is Jiving 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 675 

up worthily to the example of his progenitors, who blazed the trail into this 
county, ar.d here established the ancestral home. 

Edward C. Lowe, who was born on May 6, 1866, at Kingston, is the 
son of Alfred and Isabelle (Ouigley) Lowe, the former of whom was born 
on May 7, 1826, and who died on September 5, 1887, and the latter of 
whom was born on May 9, 1835, and who died on December 22, 1910. 
The latter was the daughter of Thomas and Catherine Quigley, who was 
left an orphan when a small child. Alfred Lowe was the son of Seth and 
Rebecca Lowe, the former of whom was born in Glenwood, Wilkes county, 
North Carolina, on December 22, 1787, and who died in Mills county, 
Iowa, in May, 1871, in his eighty-fourth year. In 1879 he had moved with 
his father's family to Favette county, Kentucky, not far from Lexington, 
and after living there for some years, had moved to Montgomery county, 
where, in 1810, he married Rebecca Ryan, who was born in Virginia, October 
22, 1790, and who died on Fel^ruary 5, 1865, in her seventy-fifth year. They 
had seven children, Polly, Matilda, Jackson, George, Eliza, Franklin and 
Alfred. Eliza, born in 1819, died in her second year, and Franklin, the 
only survivor of this family, who was born in 1816, is now living in Carson, 
Iowa. 

Seth and Rebecca Lowe, having come to Indiana, and settled in Dear- 
born county, in 18 19, two years later removed to Kingston, Decatur county, 
and there entered land. On his trip to Decatur county, Seth Lowe was 
accomjjanied by two of his children, who after he had done some deaden- 
ing, went back to Dearborn county for the remainder of the family, leaving 
the children in the care of two men who were assisting him in the work. 

Among the first pioneers of this county to plant an orchard, was Seth 
Lowe and people came great distances to get apples from his orchard. He 
was truly a temperance man and never used tobacco or intoxicating bever- 
ages, and never used profane language. A public-spirited man, he was 
ardently favorable to public improvements, such as pikes and railroads, and 
gave his land upon which to build churches and schools. He was among 
the first citizens of the county to introduce improved breeds of stock, 
importing choice animals from other states. His worthy wife was remem- 
bered long after her death. The Lowe house became known far and 
near for the generous hospitality accorded strangers and men weary after a 
long day's ride in a wagon or on horseback found shelter from storm and 
darkness in the Lowe home. Although they were not members of any 
church, they believed in the kind of Christianity as set forth and practiced 



676 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

by the lowly Nazarene, and the Reverend Mr. Stogdel is said to have preached 
in the Lowe home. 

In an unbroken forest was performed the arduous toil upon which 
the family fortune was builded. Alfred Lowe was a farmer upon the old 
homestead until his father's death. He was crippled when twenty-one years 
old, while assisting in the construction of the Kingston church, while work- 
ing on the frame of the church, he fell and broke a leg. Later he spent one 
year in the West after the homestead was sold, accompanying Seth and 
Jackson, who were pioneers in the state of Iowa. He, however, w'ent to 
Kansas, and after a time returned to Indiana, and lived in the village of 
Kingston until his death. Alfred and Isabelle (Ouigley) Lowe had eight 
children, as follow : Theresa Jarte Ardery, wife of David A. Ardery, of 
Washington township: Seth Samuel, of Greensburg; Charles, of Kansas, 
William Walter, deceased; Edward C, the subject of this sketch; Cather- 
ine Ella, wife of Thomas M. Hamilton, of Kingston; Marsh, of Greens- 
burg, and Arthur J., the assistant cashier of the Greensburg National Bank. 

Bom and reared in Decatur county, Indiana, and educated in the King- 
ston schools, Edward C. Lowe has had a most interesting career. After 
learning the blacksmith's trade early in life, he worked at the trade for one 
year in Greensburg, and then worked for the National Fireproofing Com- 
pany, of Jersey City, New Jersey, for one year, after which he worked six 
months in the Philadelphia car shops, and was engaged for four years in 
the restaurant business at Brooklyn, New York. Returning to Greensburg 
in 1907, he engaged in the shoe business for five years, and then established 
the Rex salt business, the product of which is now manufactured by the 
Styers jVIercantile Company, organized in 19 12, with a capital of ten thou- 
sand dollars. This company manufactures and sells stock and poultry 
remedies, as well as One Minute Brand insect powder. The company presi- 
dent is Lemuel P. Dobyns, and the secretary and manager is Edward C. 
Lowe, Fred St\'ers, who was originally a member of the firm, retired, the 
interest having been purchased by Mr. Lowe. The firm does a business of 
more than i\\e tlnjusand dollars annually, and has its own brick building. 

On May 18, 1902, Edward C. Lowe was married to Florence Heis- 
lier, of Philadelphia, the daughter of Mrs. Mary Heislier. To this happy 
marriage have been born two daughters and one son, Edna, Irma and Will- 
,iam Alfred. 

Mr. Lowe is a Republican, as was his father before him. He is also 
a Presbyterian, which was the faith of his father, the latter having been, 
during practically all his life, a member of the Kingston church. Edward 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 677 

C. Lowe is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Greensburg, and 
also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 

When Edward C. Lowe's grandfather blazed his way through Decatur 
county over Flat Rock with two hired men, the country was all under water, 
and when he reached the high knoll in Fugit township, the present site of 
Kingston, the Indian camp-fires could be seen in the distance. Instead of 
the great trees and unbroken forest, there are now green pastures and fields 
of grain that feed the people in the uttermost parts of the earth. The 
wilderness of this pioneer country has been made to blossom as the rose. 
If the pioneers could have had the forward vision to see what nature has 
hidden iit the air and earth, if Seth and Rebecca Lowe could have forseen 
the comfort and convenience of their children and grandchildren, it would 
have been to them like an Oriental dream. The life career of Edward C. 
Lowe is a worldly realization of the aims and ideals of his pioneer grand- 
parents in this county. 



CLIFFORD F. JONES. 



One of the enterprising younger industries of Greensburg, Indiana, 
is the Jones Lumber Company, which has built up a large trade in lumber, 
building material of all kinds and coal. This firm was organized by Clitford 
S. and Clifford F. Jones on February i, 19 lo, at which time it succeeded 
the Greensburg Lumber Company. Following the death of Clifford S. 
Jones, H. C. Kofoid became a partner in the enterprise. Mr. Kofoid sold 
out his interests on March 29, 19 15, to the Jones Lumber Company, who 
have a well-equipped plant which covers one and one-half acres and does 
an excellent business in Greensburg and Decatur county. 

Clifford F. Jones, the present head of the firm, who was born on Sep- 
tember 30, 1886, in Chicago, Illinois, is the son of Clifford S. and Delia 
(Flageole) Jones, natives of Canada and Illinois, respectively. The former 
was born in 1865 and died, August 18, 1912. Until 1897 he was engaged 
in the lumber business at Chicago, and in that year located at Stanford, 
Illinois, where he was engaged in the lumber business until February i, 
1910. At that time he located in Greensburg and engaged in the lumber 
business, first under the firm name of C. S. Jones Lumber Company, but 
upon his death, the change in the firm, heretofore referred to, was made. 
A very successful business man and highly respected in the various com- 
munities where he was engaged in business, he was a member of the Demo- 



6/8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

cratic party, the Christian church, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevo- 
lent and Protective Order of Elks. His wife, who before her marriage was 
Delia Flageole. was born in Illinois in 1864, and was of French descent. 
Clifford F. Jones was the onh' child born to this union. 

Educated in the public schools of Chicago and Stanford, Illinois, and 
especially in the Stanford high school and the Eureka College at Eureka, 
Illinois, Clifford F. Jones enjoyed exceptionally fine preparation for a busi- 
ness career. With the exception of two years, 1907-1909, during which 
he was located in Colorado, and there engaged in o]3erating a lumber yard, 
he was with his father cnntinuously from the time he arrix'ed at maturity 
until the father's death. 

Mr. Jones was married, July 10, 1910, to Litta Woodson, a native and 
resident of Phillips. Nebraska. To this union have been born two children, 
Forbes and Gail. 

Clifford F. Jones is a member of the Christian church. He is a Demo- 
crat and is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Pro- 
tective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. 

Popular in Decatur county, Clifford F. Jones has made many friends, 
since moving to Greensburg with his father in 1910. Not only has he 
established a reputation as one of the enterprising yotmg business men of 
the cit}', Init he is a man of so agreeable a personality that he has naturally 
attracted to himself friends in large numbers. 



GEORGE N. REED. 



Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Decatur 
county within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured in the growth 
and development of the county and whose interests are identified with its 
progress. Hundreds of persons have contributed to the well-being of its 
various communities and among them should be mentioned George N. Reed, 
a successful farmer of Washington township. 

George N. Reed was born in St. Paul, Decatur county, Indiana, on 
November 9, 1873. the son of E. R. and Mary E. (Neff) Reed, the former 
of whom was born near North Vernon, Indiana, and who is now sixty-seven 
years old and living retired in Adams. His father. Reasonable E. Reed, was 
an early settler of Indiana and a brick-mason by trade. Reasonable E. 
Reed was also one of the successful contractors of pioneer times in Decatur 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 679 

■county and built several of the best Ijrick houses now standing in Greens- 
burg. He was a member of the Methodist church and a stanch Democrat 
throughout Hfe. His son, E. R., the father of George N., also was a Demo- 
crat and a member of the Methodist church. Mary E. Nefif was a native 
of Decatur county, born in old St. Omer, and died twenty-six years ago on 
a farm near her birthplace. Her father, William . Neff, was a native of 
Pennsylvania, and of German extraction. Her mother was of Irish extrac- 
tion and a devout Christian woman and noble character. At the time of his 
mother's death, George N. Reed was only fourteen years old, and one of a 
family of seven children. His mother was a woman of gentle disposition 
and a firm believer in principles of right living. Her memory has been long 
cherished by the family of children she left and she is honored today for the 
noble part she bore in the early trials of married life. 

George N. Reed lived in St. Paul until seven years of age when the 
family moved to a farm north of St. Paul, where they remained until he was 
thirteen, when the family mo\ed back to St. Paul and, after remaining two 
or three years, moved to a farm north of St. Omer, living there until George 
N. Reed was nineteen years old. At this time he purchased a livery stable 
at Adams in partnership with his uncle, George T. Reed, and continued in 
this business for about two years, when he sold oiit his interest to his uncle 
and began working for C. E. Shields, buying grain and selling implements 
for three or four years. After this time Mr. Reed rented a farm near 
Adams known as the Griff Adkins farm and cultivated this for ten years. 

In 1909 Mr. Reed went to Oklahoma, where he purchased two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land in what was known as Comanche, but what is 
now known as Tillman county. He owned eighty acres of this tract two 
and one-half years and the remainder three and a half years. As a result 
of his speculation in Oklahoma real estate, he made a great deal of money 
and upon coming to Decatur county in 1909 purchased a farm east of 
Greensburg, known as the Henry Duncan farm of ninety-four acres. Later 
he sold this farm at a profit and bought the land where he now lives, about 
three-quarters of a mile from Adams, situated in Washington township. 

Before Mr. Reed rented the Adkins farm, he was married to Nora 
Wright, who was born in August, 1872, in Bartholomew county, and who is 
a memlier of the famous Wright family, the genealogy of which is given in 
the sketch of Caleb Stark W'right, found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. and 
Mrs. Reed were married on Septemljer 12, 1896. Mrs. Reed's father, John 
Wright, has been deceased for fifteen years and was seventy-five years old 
at the time of his death. He was born in Virginia and came to Decatur 



i 



680 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

county, Indiana, when twenty-five years old and engaged in farming, at 
which occupation he was very successful. He was a shrewd, capable busi- 
ness man and a student of public affairs and politics, a man who loved to 
read the Bible and who took a great interest in public movements. 

Mr. and Mrs. Reed have had four children, as follow : Florence, 
Francis William, Orliff,' who died in infancy, and Arthur. Besides rearing 
their own children, Mr. and Mrs. Reed have reared Mr. Reed's sister's son 
from the age of four to the age of fourteen. This nephew was Henry C. 
Lowe, who died in Oklahoma. 

Mr. Reed for several years has made a specialty of raising hogs, corn 
and clover. His farm consists of level land. There is not a foot of waste 
in the entire tract. 

George N. Reed is a Republican. Fie has never aspired to office and 
has never been especially prominent in political affairs. He is a man, how- 
ever, who is well-respected by the people of his neighborhood. 



ANDREW S. WILLEY. 



One of the "top-notch" farms of Decatur county is that of the late 
Louis Willey, pleasantly situated on the Michigan road, about two and one- 
half miles northwest of Greensburg, in Washington township. This farm 
of two hundred and thirty-five acres, all in one tract, was purchased by 
Louis Willey about half a century ago and is now being very successfully 
operated by his son, Andrew S. Willey, who remains on the old home place 
with his widowed mother, Mrs. Mary S. Willey. 

Louis Willey, who was born on February 25, 1826, died at his home 
in Washington township, this county, on July 2;^, 191 1, was born in Hamil- 
ton county, Ohio, the son of Horace and Anna (Tate) Willey, the former 
of whom was bom in Massachusetts on February 13, 1792, emigrated to 
Ohio as a young man, locating in Hamilton county, where he spent the 
remainder of his life. Horace and Anna ( Tate) \\'il!ey were married, March 
7, 1822. His wife, who was Anna Tate, was born in Pennsylvania on June 
16, 1792. Horace Willey, a very substantial citizen of Hamilton ci>unty, 
Ohio, died on March 3, 1880. Louis Willey was a Whig until the organiza- 
tion of the Republican party in 1856, in which year he allied himself with 
the latter party and remained stanchly loyal to the principles of the same the 
rest of his life. During the last year of the Civil War he enlisted in behalf 



DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. 68 1 

of the cause of the Union and servetl in the ranks of the One Hundred and 
Thirty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, until that regiment was 
mustered out of service at the close of the war. 

Louis Willey was reared on the paternal farm in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, and \\hen a young man came to Decatur county. For a year he re- 
mained in the city of Greensburg, at the end of which time he settled on a 
tract of land in Washington township, which his family still owns and occu- 
pies. That was about fifty years ago, since which time the farm has been 
brought to a high state. of cultivation, being one of the most productive and 
valuable farms, according to its acreage, in the county. It is unusually well 
improved, the farm house and outlying buildings being of a rich and sub- 
stantial character, everything about the place indicating thrift, industry and 
good management. The Willeys have their own gas well on the place and 
the fuel and light question is thus quite easily disposed of by them. Louis 
Willey was an excellent farmer and a successful stock raiser and became 
known as one of the most substantial and enterprising farmers of the county. 
His methods were progressive and were consequently attended by good 
results, the Willey farm being regarded as a model throughout that section 
of the community. The methods so successfully adopted by his father have 
been followed by Andrew S. Willey, who is now managing the place, every- 
thing about the farm being kept up in first-class condition. 

On April 26, 1863, Louis Willey was united in marriage to Mary Sefton, 
who was born on April 19, 1840, the daughter of William and Catherine 
(Shuck) Sefton, prominent residents of this county, the former of whom 
was born in 1805 and died on October 29, 1868, and the latter of whom was 
born on May 15, 1806, and died on October 15, 1869. William Sefton, who 
for years was familiarly known in this county as "Ohio Billie" Sefton, was 
born in Butler county, Ohio, his father having been a native of Ireland. 
William Sefton married Catherine Shuck, also a native of Butler county, 
and came to Decatur county, settling on a farm in Clinton township, the 
farm now' owned by Samuel Shirk, where he and his wife spent the reiuain- 
der of their lives, becoming recognized as among the most influential of the 
pioneer residents of that neighborhood. They were the parents of nine 
children, namely: Henry T., who went to Colorado some years ago and 
died in 1914; Eliza Ellen, deceased; Elizabeth, deceased; Michael, deceased; 
Isaac, a well-known resident of Greensburg, this county; Edward, deceased; 
Mary, who married Louis Willey, still living on the Willey farm ; Sarah, 
who lives in Greensburg, and William W., retired, who lives in Kokomo, 
Indiana. 



■682 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

To Louis and Alary (Sefton) Wille_v were born three ehildren, as fol- 
low: William Henry, who died in infancy; Andrew S., born on September 
12, 1865, lives on the home place with his mother, and Frank \\'., born on 
June 30, 1869, who is a cement contractor, doing business in the city of 
Greensburg, this county, where he has achieved a pronounced success in 
business. He married Bert Douglas, October 15, 1903, to whom was born 
one daughter, Pauline, on January 21, 1905. 

Mrs. Willey is a member of the Methodist church and for many years 
has been regarded as among the leaders in all good works in the community 
in which she lives, being held in the highest regard by all within the circle of 
her acquaintance. She and her son have a very pleasant home, which is the 
center of much genial hospitality, and they enjoy the highest esteem of all. 
As noted above, Andrew S. Willey is a progressive and enterprising farmer 
and is looked upon as one of the substantial citizens of the county, being 
held in the highest repute by all who know him. Mr. Willey's farm is called 
the Forest farm, owing to the great forest trees wdiich still remain upon it. 



ERNEST D. POWER. 



No more attractive farm can be found in all Decatur county than the 
tract of one hundred and ninety acres in Fugit township, owned by Ernest 
D. Power, an enterprising young farmer and regarded as one of the 
most successful in that county. Not only efficient, industrious and progres- 
sive in agricultural methods, but the same things may be said of him as a 
■citizen, and this is not at all strange when we remember that personal habits 
and personal methods apply quite as much to one's rank and value as a 
citizen as they do to one's rank and value as a farmer, lawyer or business 
man. Of course, his father before him, who is now living retired, was a 
successful farmer, the son learning the fundamentals of correct farming 
from the father. His success in agriculture is due partially to the fact that 
he has been able to combine stock raising with crop raising and as a mule, 
hog and cattle raiser has no superior in this county. 

Ernest D. Power, farmer and stockman of Fugit township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, was born on November i, 1871, in Milroy, Rush county, 
Indiana, and is the son of George and Lurissa (Crawford) Power, natives 
of Rush county, and now living retired. The father was the son of the 
late John Power, a native of Kentuckv and an early settler in Rush countv. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 683 

George and Lurissa (Crawford) Power have had three children. May, who 
hves at home; Ray C, who is a farmer near Alilroy, and Ernest D., the 
subject of this sketch. 

Immediately after finishing his education in the schools of Milroy, 
Indiana, Mr. Power purchased a farm in Rush county, in 1894, consisting 
of two hundred and five acres, and thirteen years later, in October, 1907, 
removed to Fugit township, Decatur county, purchasing his present farm at 
that time. He has been living in Decatur county, therefore, for about eight 
years, and has come to be well known in Fugit township, and in fact 
throughout all Decatur county, being related by marriage and otherwise to 
some of the oldest families in Decatur county. 

Mr. Power was first married, in 1895, to Mary McCracken, the daugh- 
ter of H. T. McCracken, an old settler of Fugit township. By this marriage 
he had one child, Ruth, aged fifteen years, who is a student in the Clarks- 
burg high school. Mrs. Power died in October, 1910, and in October, 191 1, 
Mr. Power was married again to Leila Logan, the daughter of Nathan M. 
and Rebecca (Martin) Logan, the former of whom was born on September 
27, 1857, in Decatur county, and the latter of whom was born on Decem- 
ber 29, i860, in Decatur county. 

]\Irs. Power, who is the eldest child of her parents, was born on May 
31, 1882, and graduated from Monmouth College in 1908. She has been 
the mother of one daughter. Carmen Georgia, born on August 13, 1913. 

Of Mrs. Power's ancestry it may be said that her father, who owns a 
beautiful home of ninety acres of land in Fugit township, and one hundred 
and sixty acres of land in Jackson county, Oklahoma, was born in a brick 
house erected by his father, Joseph A. Logan, in 1855. Joseph A., who was 
born on January 9, 1821, and who was brought to Indiana, on horseback, 
at the age of six months, by his father and mother, Martin and ]Mary 
(Rankin) Logan, was married in 1842 to Mary Jane Strane\-, a native of 
Lexington, Kentucky, born on May 12, 1824. She died on May 26, 1888. 
They had eight children, of whom all are deceased, except Nathan M., the 
father of Mrs. Power. The deceased children were as follow: Mrs. Nancy 
M. May, born on March 9, 1844, died in 1909; Mrs. Mary A. Cork, October 
14, 1845, 'lied in 191 1 ; Mrs. IMargaret F. Manlove, August 13, 1847, died 
on August 5, 1S89; John H., November 8, 1849, 's deceased; Leander, 
February 9, 1853, died in 191 1 ; William R., August 20, 1855, died in 1857; 
Luna A., October 23, 1865. died on January 3, 1891. 

A hard worker and an industrious citizen, Joseph A. Logan resided on 
the farm, in the house he built in 1855, the greater part of his life, the only 



684 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

exceptions Ijeing short residences in Oxford and Rushville. In the latter 
years of his life he lived with his children. He died in 1913 at the age of 
ninety-four years. His father, Martin, who was born in 1800, and who 
died on December 18, 1870, and his mother, who before her marriage was 
Mary Rankin, who was born in 1799, and who is now deceased, lived on the 
farm, now included in the limits of Lexington, Kentucky, on the site now 
occupied by the college. In 1821 Martin Logan journeyed to Decatur 
county, Indiana, and settled on a government tract of one hundred and sixty 
acres at a time when wolves and panthers were plentiful. This farm is now 
occupied by Ezra Kirby. Martin Logan was one of the founders of the 
Richland United Presbyterian church. He had four children, Joseph A. ; 
Mrs. Jane INIcClurkin, deceased, of Iowa; Carrie, who married Hugh Logan 
and who is the mother of Mrs. C. M. Beale, the wife of Dr. C. M. Beale, 
and Dr. John Beale, a graduate of Oxfcwd University, and for some time 
a student with Doctor Johnson at Clarksburg, and now residing in Kansas. 
Martin Logan at one time walked from his home in Decatur county to 
College Corner, Ohio, in one day. It was an interesting fact that the com- 
ing of the Martins, Kincaids and Logans to Decatur county was occasioned 
by the reports given by Uncle Billy Anderson, who returned from the battle 
of Tippecanoe to his home in Kentucky through Decatur county, and here 
saw the fine land, and told these Kentucky families about what he saw. 

Nathan M. Logan's wife, to whom he was married on May 24, 1881, 
and who before her marriage was Rebecca Martin, is the daughter of David 
and Mary (Kincaid) Martin, the former of whom was born in 1833, and 
who died in 1896, in Decatur county. David Martin was the son of David 
Martin, St., of Kentucky, who came to Fugit township in 1821. Mrs. 
Ernest D. Power, who, as heretofore stated, was the eldest child born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Nathan M. Logan, is one of three children. The others are 
Luther Martin, born in 18S7, and who died on January 29, 1902; the third 
child, Mary, who was born on August 18, 1893, was graduated from Mon- 
mouth College in 191 5, the same institution as that attended by her sister. 

Both the Power family and the Logan family are members of the 
United Presliyterian church at Springhill. Nathan M. Logan, who has been 
a Republican and Prohibitionist is now identified with the Progressive party, 
and votes for the best man at the polls. Ernest D. Power is independent 
politically. No prettier nor more attractive spot can be found in Decatur 
county than the Fugit township farm of Ernest D. Power. Mr. Power is 
proud of this farm, as he has every right to be, and the people of Fugit 
township are also proud of it, as they also have a right to be. Not only do- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 685 

they point with pride to the beauty of this farm, but the people of this town- 
ship admire the rugged honesty, well-rounded efficiency and genial person- 
ality of its owner and one of their foremost citizens. 



JOHN .C. POWNER. 



John C. Powner is entitled to rank among the conservative and hon- 
orable farmers of Washington township, Decatur county, Indiana, and owns 
a farm consisting of fifty-two acres, two miles southwest of Greensburg. 

Born in 1855 in Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, John C. 
Powner is a son of John H. and Jane (Wynkoop) Powner, the former of 
whom was born in Franklin county, Indiana, in 1824, the son of John C. 
Powner, Jr., who was born in 1788, probably in Pennsylvania, and who 
came from sturdy Pennsylvania-Dutcii stock. The grandfather came to 
Franklin county, Indiana, in an early day, and in the early fifties came from 
Franklin to Decatur county, Indiana, with his son, John H. Powner. They 
settled in Jackson township, and engaged in the mercantile business in Sar- 
dinia for about two years. In 1853 they sold this store and rented a farm 
near Sardinia, but lived there only one year, after which they purchased one 
hundred and twenty acres north of Forest Hill, in Clay township, and here 
the elder Powner lived until his death, in May, 1905. 

John H.- Powner, the father of John C, was one of the substantial 
citizens of Clay township, and a man who took great interest in his church. 
He was very successful in his business, liberal and broad-minded in his views, 
and a keen student of public affairs. He was a stanch and true Democrat, 
and not only was a Democrat politically, but was a Democrat in his per- 
sonal manners and habits, and known far and near for his generous hospi- 
tality. His wife, who before her marriage, was Jane Wynkoop, was born 
in Franklin count3^ Indiana, about 1834, and died in February, 1905. John 
H. Powner and wife were the parents of four children, Mrs. Mary (Black) 
Helde, a resident of Alabama; John C, the immediate subject of this 
review; Dewitt Clinton, of Greensburg, and Mrs. Jennie M. \^^ilson. deceased. 

John C. Powner was born in 1855 in Jackson township, and lived at 
home with his parents until his marriage to Frances Eubanks in 1875. Mrs. 
Powner is a daughter of George and Catherine (Wright) Eubanks, who 
were natives of A'irginia. George Eubanks first moved to Decatur county 
and afterward became a farmer in Clay county, Indiana, where he died in 



686 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1876. Mr. Eubanks died in Washington township at the home of a daughter, 
Nancy C. Templeton. Mr. and Mrs. Eubanks were members of tlie Liberty 
Baptist church. They were the parents of four children. 

After his marriage, Mr. Powner hved on his father's farm until 1877, 
when he purchasetl fifty-two acres of land near the Liberty church, where 
he and his wife lived for four or five years, tilling the land at a profit, 
and purchasing what was known as the David Ward farm of eighty acres. 
After remaining on the latter farm for a period of five or six years, Mr. 
Powner moved to a farm north of GreensLurg, renting land for a short 
time, afterward moving to Greensburg, where he purchased property at 
Forest Hill. Still later the family moved to a farm owned by Mr. Powner's 
father, and in 1902 purchased the land where he is now living. 

John C. Powner is one of Decatur county's representative farmers and 
citizens. He is practically retired from farm life at the present time, but 
still takes an active interest in the operation of his farm, which he rents 
to others. He is a Democrat. 1jut is more thoroughly a patriot than a parti- 
san, and is liberal and broad-minded in his views of men and things. He is a 
good farmer, a good neighbor and a good citizen. Mrs. Powner is a mem- 
ber of Liberty Baptist church. 



AARON L. LOGAN. 



The name of Aaron Logan stands out conspicuously among the resi- 
dents of Decatur county as that of a successful farmer and a valuable citizen. 
All of his undertakings have lieen actuated by noble motives and high 
resolves and are characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individual- 
ity. His success represents only the result of utilizing his native talents. At 
the present time he owns a productive farm of two hundred and fourteen 
acres, three-quarters of a mile west of Greensburg, on Columbus pike. 

Aaron Logan was born in 1841, on the old Logan homestead, about one 
mile from Greensburg, west, and is the son of Samuel and Susannah 
(Howard) Logan, the former of whom was born in Greensburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1795, and who came to Decatur county with Colonel Ireland from 
Ireland and Colonel Hendricks, and entered land one mile from Greensburg, 
now known as the Logan farm. Susannah Howard was born on Paddies 
run in Ohio in 1805. Samuel Logan first came to Decatur county and 
entered land and then returned to Pennsylvania. On his way back to Indiana 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 68/ 

from Pennsylvania he stopped in Ohio and was married, and then finished 
his trip with his young hvkle. Here they hved the remainder of their hves, 
he dying in 1879. They were members of the Presbyterian church and he 
was a Hfe-long Democrat, a man of strong character and high-minded con- 
viction. Accustomed to hunt bears in the region around Greensburg, Samuel 
Logan and Colonel Hendricks killed a bear on the spot where the Greens- 
burg waterworks is now situated. He and his wife started in life very poor, 
but Samuel Logan was a money-maker. He accumulated a considerable 
fortune. On his way across the Alleghany mountains from Pennsyh'ania, 
having started with a wagon and one horse, he traded with various people 
along the way until, upon his arrival, he owned six horses. 

Samuel and Susannah (Howard) Logan had nine children, James, 
John. Mrs. Martha ,Vnne Hitt, I\Irs. Jane Deen and Mrs. Rachel Holjbs, are 
deceased; the latter was the wife of Alvin L Hobbs, of Des Moines, Iowa; 
Mrs. Mary Hamilton, the wife of Morgan Hamilton, is also deceased. 
Those living are Samuel Logan, Jr., who lives at Letts in Clay township; 
Aaron, the subject of this sketch, and Frank, of Topeka, Kansas. 

Aaron Logan began life for himself after having reached his majority, 
and for about three years was engaged in cultivating the old home place. 
After this he purchased ninety-two acres of land out of what was known as 
the old Hillis farm, which is now owned by William Holcher. Later, how- 
ever, Mr. Logan sold that farm and purchased the land where he now lives. 
He has always made a good living for himself and family and has always 
enjoyed the best things of life. In fact, there are few people living in Wash- 
ington township who enjoy life more than Aaron Logan. He himself says 
that he gets more enjoyment out of what he can buy with a dollar than in 
keeping the dollar itself and for its own sake. 

I\Ir. Logan was married early in life to Susannah Simmons, who lived 
near Greensburg, and who is the daughter of Edward and Polly (Howard) 
Simmons, both natives of Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. 
Logan have had two children, Walter Scott Logan, who died at the age of 
thirty-eight, was an engineer on the Big Four railroad for fifteen years, and 
Sherman married Cora Patten, who is deceased, and by her had one child, 
Clyde L.. liorn in igoi, who lives with his father. 

The Logan family have been Democrats for the most part for several 
generations, and Aaron Logan is no exception to the rule. He is in fact a 
loyal and faithful Democrat, interested in the welfare of his party. Mr. 
Logan is well kmnvn in Washington township, and has always enjoyed the 
confidence of his neighbors and fellow citizens. Mrs. Logan is a member of 
the Christian church. 



•688 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

CHARLES I. AIXSWORTH. 

Decatur county has few institutions of which it is prouder than the Odd 
Fellows Home at Greensburg, Indiana. It happens that it was one of 
Greensburg's well-known citizens who had a coinmendable and active part in 
the erection of this splendid home, and who for seven years was on the man- 
aging board of the home during the period of its construction. Charles I. 
Ainsworth, who is a member of Decatur Lodge No. 103, Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and who has passed all the chairs in this fraternity, per- 
sonally superintended the erection of all but the first building, and it was 
his genius, coupled with his keen and abiding interest in the fraternity as a 
whole, that has resulted in the erection of the buildings which make up this 
splendid institution. In most every large community there are, in fact, men 
who are willing to devote their, time and energy and genius to such worthy 
public enterprises, and these are the men who leave the mark of their indi- 
viduality upon the community where they have lived and labored. Mr. Ains- 
worth is a man of this type. 

Charles I. Ainsworth, whose paternal ancestry, three generations back, 
came from England, a veteran of our greatest war, a man who, as a school 
teacher and farmer, has had many interesting experiences in life, is a native 
of Kentucky. He was born in Nicholas county on August 5, 1843, the son 
of Tillman and Nancy (West) Ainsworth, the former of whom was born 
in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1815, came to Decatur county in 1855 and died 
in 1887. Upon coming to Washington township he rented land and engaged 
in operating a stone quarry two miles south of Greensburg, in which con- 
nection he also operated a grist-mill, and after being engaged in this busi- 
ness for fifteen years, in the fall of 1863 he moved to Illinois and engaged 
in the mercantile business at St. Elmo, where he died. He was the son of 
Charles Ainsworth, a native of England. His wife, Nancy West, who was 
also born in Kentucky, in 1817, died two years before her. husband, in 1885. 
They had three children: Charles I., the subject of this sketch; Mary A., 
deceased, and Andrew M., who lives at Yuma, Arizona. 

It is to be remembered that Charles I. Ainsworth was only twenty years 
old at the time of his removal from Decatur county with his parents to St. 
Elmo, Illinois. In the meantime he had received such education as the schools 
of Washington township, Decatur county, afforded at that time. During 
this period the Civil War was being fought between the Northern and South- 
ern states, and two years after going to Illinois, in February, 1865, Mr. 




CHARLES I. AINSWOKTH. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 689 

Ainsvvorth enlisted in Company F, Seventh Illinois Cavalry, at St. Elmo, in 
that state. After sen'ing three months, he was discharged, the war having 
come to a close. During the period of his enlistment he was on detached 
service and sutfered from illness a considerable portion of the time. Return- 
ing from the seat of war, he located at Springfield, Illinois. 

After teaching in the Illinois public schools for some time, Mr. Ains- 
worth worked in a store in Vandalia for one year and then engaged in fann- 
ing one hundred and eighty acres for two years. He moved back to Decatur 
county and settled in Jackson township in the spring of 1867, where he pur- 
chased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres with the money he had received 
from the sale of his one-hundred-and-eighty farm in Illinois. After liv- 
ing two years in Jackson township, he purchased a farm two miles south of 
Greensburg in Washington township and resided on this farm of one hun- 
dred and seventy-six acres from 1870 to 1911, a period of forty-one years. 
In 191 1 Mr. Ainsworth moved to Greensburg and purchased splendid resi- 
dence property on North Michigan avenue, where he now lives. 

On September 13, 1865, after the close of the Civil War, Mr. Ains- 
worth was married to Rachel M. Kitchin, who was born on October 15, 1843, 
in Decatur county and who is the daughter of Thomas and Sarah L. (Boone) 
Kitchin, natives of Ohio and Kentucky, respectively. The former was a son 
of Joseph Kitchin, a native of Pennsylvania, who migrated to Ohio, coming 
thence to this county in an early day. Joseph Kitchin was a farmer and 
blacksmith and also a pioneer minister in the Methodist church. He was 
born in 1770 and died in Decatur county in 1858. His children were: 
Thomas, John, Bryce, Sarah and Maria. Thomas Kitchin, who was born 
in Ohio in 1818, immigrated to Decatur county with his brothers in 1839. 
He spent a part of his life in that county and a part in Boone county, dying 
in 1904. His wife, who before her marriage was Sarah Luffborough Boone, 
was a daughter of Brumfield Boone, a native of Kentucky and a son of 
Thomas Boone, a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The children of 
Thomas and Sarah L. Kitchin were Mrs. Charles I. Ainsworth, Joseph B. 
and Frank B. On her mother's side Mrs. Ainsworth is a relative of Daniel 
Boone. 

Mr. and Mrs. Charles I. Ainsworth have had eight children: Dr. 
Charles Bruce, a veterinary surgeon of Greensljurg : Ira M., a rural mail 
carrier of Greensburg: Clara Ellen, who married Watson Gilmour and lives 
two miles east of Greensburg on a farm; Hattie Antoinette, the wife of Dr. 
C .B. Weaver, of Henry county; Jessie Pearl, the wife of Jacob Sherer, who 
(44) 



690 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

lives two miles east of Greensburg on a farm ; Frank K., who lives on the 
home fami; Mrs. Grace Edkins, who lives one-half mile south of Greens- 
burg, and Wayne T., who lives on the home farm. 

An independent Republican in politics, Charles I. Ainsworth has never 
been an office-seeker, and has served only in minor positions, having been 
a member of the township advisory board at one time. Mr. and Mrs. Ains- 
worth and family are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church at 
Greensburg, in which he is a tmstee. Fraternally, he is, as heretofore men- 
tioned, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in this 
order, largely because the Odd Fellows Home was erected at Greensburg, 
and because of the large part he had in its construction, he has devoted most 
of his interest and attention during recent years to this home. Mr. Ains- 
worth is also a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Lodge No. 36, 
and of Pap Tliomas Post, Grand Anny of the Republic, No. 75. Mr. and 
Mrs. Charles I. Ainsworth are held in high regard and esteem by the peo- 
ple of Greensburg and Decatur county. They have reared a large family to 
honorable and useful lives, but, more than this, Mr. Ainsworth has never 
found the cares of his private business so great that he could not take a 
worthy interest in commendable public enterprises. His greatest public 
work, perhaps, is the Greensburg Odd Fellows Home, which will stand as a 
monument to his memory long after he has departed this life. 



MILLARD A. HUDSON. 

Among the citizens of Washington township, Decatur county, Indiana, 
who have built up comfortable homes and surrounded themselves with val- 
uable personal and real property, few have attained a higher degree of suc- 
cess than Millard A. Hudson, who is the owner of one hundred and forty- 
one acres of land, two and one-half miles from Greensburg. on the old 
Michigan road, and in that section of Decatur county noted for the fertility 
of its soil. With few opportunities except what his own efforts were capable 
of mastering, and with many discouragements to overcome, he has made 
an exceptional success in life, and also has the gratification of knowing that 
the community where he resides has benefited by his presence and his coun- 
sels. 

IMillard A. Hudson, who was born at Napoleon, Decatur county, In- 
diana, in 1858, is a son of Charles W. and Nancy (Bccraft) Hudson, the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 69 1 

former of whom was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, in 1833, and who 
came to Decatur county in 1853, where he married, settHng on a farm near 
A'apoleon, and remained for five or six years, and then moved to Greens- 
burg, where he engaged in the shoemaker trade until about three or four 
years prior to his death, when he removed to a farm which he had purchased 
from his savings, and where he Hved with his son until his death in 1878. 
The grandfather of Mr. Hudson was born during the War of 1812, in 
Virginia, and died at the age of seventy-five years in Decatur county. Charles 
W. Hudson was a soldier in the Civil War, serving during the latter part 
of that great struggle as a member of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth 
Regiment, Indiana \''olunteer Infantry. He was a stanch Republican in 
politics after the formation of that party, while before that time he was 
an ardent Whig and later in life a Democrat. He was a great student of 
philosophy. Mr. Hudson attended the Christian church, and few men in 
his neighborhood knew as much about the Bible as he. Nevertheless, he 
was liberal in his \'iews, broad-minded and charitable. 

At the beginning of his career, Millard A. Hudson was engaged in 
farming for five years for Zell Kirliy, and afterward engaged in the busi- 
ness of photography in Greensburg, owning the leading gallery in the city. 
After conducting a successful business in this line for a number of years, 
his health failed, when on this account he was compelled to return to the 
farm. He then farmed on shares for Miss Kirby until her death, when 
he purchased the farm of one hundred and forty-one acres, where he is now 
living and where he makes a specialty of raising corn, cattle and hogs. He 
has on the farm a splendid vitrified tile silo, which, as much as anything, 
proves the progressive spirit with which he farms. When Mr. Hudson pur- 
chased the farm he paid eighty-seven dollars an acre for the land, incurring 
an indebtedness of ten thousand dollars, for which he was compelled to pay 
five and one-half per cent, interest. In less than ten years he has suc- 
ceeded in entirely discharging this indeJjtedness. So thoroughly did Mr. 
Hudson enjoy the esteem and confidence of the people of his community 
that he was able to borrow money on his own note without security. Now 
that the farm is paid for, Mr. Hudson intends to build a modern home, 
thoroughly equipped with every modern device and for every modern pro- 
cess in farming. 

Millard A. Hudson has never married. His sister Alice supervises the 
home and they are now living in happiness and comfort on the farm. Mr. 
Hudson is a fine type of citizen, and has made good in the face of adversity, 
as men who start with nothing and who, by their industry, economy and 



692 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

good management, gather up fortunes, deser\-e far more credit than those 
who are favored with inheritance or other aid. Millard A. Hudson deserves 
the very highest credit for his accomplishments and his achievements. He 
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Greensburg, is a 
strong Prohibitionist and attends the Christian church at Greensburg. 



ISAAC VV. WHITE. 



Isaac W. White, a retired citizen and property owner who has li\-ed 
in Greensburg for more than half a century, is one of the highly respected 
citizens of Decatur county. A veteran of the Civil War, he performed valiant 
service in behalf of the American Union. While he was successful in busi- 
ness, he perhaps did not accumulate as much property as some other men. 

Isaac W. White, who was born in Delaware county in 1S42, is the 
son of John D. and Louisa (Earls) White, the former of whom was a 
native of Dearborn county, born in April, 1818, and the son of John White, a 
nati\e of \'irginia, whose father was born in Ireland, and who came to 
America some time before the American Revolution. John D. \\liite was 
a prosperous farmer of Delaware county, to which he moved in about 1867, 
and where he lived until his death in 1895. He accumulated considerable 
property and was a respected citizen. He was identified with the Demo- 
cratic party but, being a strong Union man. voted for Abraham Lincoln. 
After the war, however, he returned to his former party allegiance, and 
remained loyal until his death. He was a member of the Baptist church and a 
liberal-minded man. His wife, who before her marriage was Louisa Earls, 
was born in Kentucky, the daughter of a shipbuilder, who lived at Falmouth, 
thirty miles above Cincinnati. He died of cholera at his home in 1832. 
The Earls were an old and prominent family of Kentucky, probably of 
English origin. It is said of Grandmother White that she molded bullets 
while the men shot the Indians. 

In May, 1862, Isaac W. White joined the Fifty-fourth Regiment, In- 
diana Volunteer Infantry, and served three months. After his discharge, he 
joined the Fifty-fourth again and, after a year's service, joined the One 
Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, recruited 
at Greensburg and commanded by Colonel Gavin. He served until the end 
of the war and after his discharge, came home and worked in a grocery 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 693 

store for one year, after which he began working at his trade as a painter and 
interior decorator and enjoyed an extensive patronage. 

In Angust, 1865, Isaac \Y. \Vhite was united in marriage to Martha Ann 
Lloyd, daughter of Creath Lloyd, to which union one child was born, who 
died in infancy. Mrs. White died on September 8, 1866, and Mr. White 
married, secondly, Mary Johnson, daughter of Charles Johnson, a native of 
Kentucky and a highly-respected citizen of this county, to which union three 
children were born, namely: Laura B., wife of William Kiener, of Paducah, 
Kentucky ; Charles, a well-known resident of Greensburg, this county, and 
Lulu, who died young. The mother of these children died in 1875 and on 
January 22. 1878, Mr. White was united in marriage to Nannie J. Lloyd, a 
cousin of his first wife and the daughter of Carter and Nancy (Cooper) 
Lloyd, natives of North Carolina, to which union eight children were born, 
as follow: John D., who lives at Connersville, Lidiana; Jesse C, also of 
Connersville ; Nellie, who married Albert Lacy, of Greensburg, this county ; 
Isaac W.. who is a soldier in the United States regular army, now stationed 
at Tientsin, China; Albert F., who lives at Greensburg; Mary, who married 
James Ray, of Greensburg; Thomas, deceased, and one who died in infancy. 

Mr. \Vhite is a well-respected citizen of Decatur county. He is a pro- 
gressi\'e, broad-minded citizen and a member of the Grand Army of the 
Republic. 



JAMES N. ANNIS. 



Among the veterans of the Civil War and retired citizens now living in 
Greensburg, Indiana, is the venerable James N. Annis, who was born in 
Grant county, Kentucky, in 1844, the son of Charles and Permelia (Kidwell) 
.Annis. the former of whom was a native of Virginia, born near Culpeper. 
He was a son of William Annis, also a native of Virginia and the Annis 
family were among the first settlers of that state, coming of English stock. 
Permelia Kidwell was a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Leonard 
and Ann (Stafford) Kidwell, both of whom were born and reared in North 
Carolina. They also were probably of English origin and were an old family 
in the state of North Carolina. 

Charles Annis was brought by his jjarents from Virginia to Kentucky 
when he was about eight years old, where he grew to manhood and was 
married, living and dying in that state, in which he became a farmer and a 
stonemason. He was a Whig until 1856, when the Republican party was 



694 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

organized, and then became identified \\ith this party, remaining loyal to it 
until his death in 1879. He and his wife had thirteen children, of whom 
J. N., the subject of this sketch, was the eighth and the only one now living. 

The venerable J. N. x\nnis grew to manhood in Kentucky and when 
the Civil War broke out, enlisted in Company G, Eighteenth Regiment, Ken- 
tucky Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. W. A. Warner, in which 
company and regiment he served until the close of the war. This regiment, 
which saw very hard service, was attached to the Army of the Cumberland 
under Generals Thomas and Rosencrans. The first battle in which it par- 
ticipated was at Richmond, Kentucky, on August 30, 1862. The}- then 
went to Fort Donelson but arrived too late for serious service in that battle. 
From Fort Donelson the regiment went to Carthage, Tennessee, and thence 
to Murfreesboro and Hoover's Gap, Tennessee, and were then engaged in 
various skirmishes with Bragg's army. Through Tennessee the arni\- marched 
to Georgia and engaged in the battle of Chickamauga, after which the regi- 
ment fell back to Chattanooga and there they were besieged by General 
Bragg's army and almost star^^ed out. Subsequently, the battle of Mission 
Ridge was fought and this, indeed, was a fierce engagement. Shortly after- 
ward, the regiment was attached to Sherman's army and marched with him 
from Atlanta to the sea. At the battle of Chickamauga, during a lull in 
the fighting, Mr. Annis and two or three of his comrades were standing 
in line when a rebel sharpshooter stepped from behind a tree and fired at 
a distance of about four hundred yards. The bullet plowed up the dirt at 
Mr. Annis' feet. Instantly the sharpshooter was killed. Late in the war, 
Mr. Annis was taken sick with the measles and confined in the hospital 
only eight days. On April 4, 1865, he was mustered out of service at 
Goldsboro, North Carolina, when he proceeded to \\"ashington, where he 
was paid off and discharged on April 14, 1865, the same day on which 
President Lincoln was assassinated. 

After the close of the Civil War, Mr. Annis returned to his Kentucky 
home and about a year later, on March 8, 1866, he was married to Nancy 
J. Powell, the daughter of James and Cynthia (Barnhill) Powell, and 
began life on the farm. He was engaged in farming in Kentucky until 1875, 
when he and his family came to Decatur county, Indiana, settling on a farm 
in Jackson township, where they lived for about fifteen years and then 
moved to a farm in Washington township, where they lived for two years. 
Subsequently, they lived in Clay township for five years. In 1897 they mo\'ed 
to Greensburg, where the family is still living. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 695 

Mr. and Mrs. Annis are the parents of two children, Mrs. Mary 
Ketner, of Bartholomew county, and Charles, of Lafayette. 

Mr. Annis identifies himself with the "Jo^ Cannon"' Republicans. He 
is a patriotic citizen and greatly interested in political aliairs, has always 
been prominent in the councils of his party and is on the firing line in most 
of its campaigns. Mr. and Mrs. Annis are members of the Christian church. 
He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Royal Arch Masons, 
the Union Veterans' League and other societies. He is a highly respected 
citizen of this city and a man who is well known throughijut Decatur county. 
Honorable and upright in all of the relations of life, he is highly respected. 



DANIEL DAVIS. 



Greensburg, Indiana, has the distinction of counting as one of her 
citizens the oldest living veteran of the Civil War in Indiana. This vener- 
able patriot and citizen is Daniel Davis, who is now living retired in this 
city, and who is now ninety years old. Born in 1825 in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, the venerable Daniel Davis is a son of Evan and Margaret Davis, the 
former of whom was a native of Wales and who came to America when a 
young man and settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. Later he came to Decatur county 
and settled on a farm. He was one of the first tanners in Decatur county 
and died in 1828. 

Daniel Davis began early in life to hustle for himself and from a ver)' 
early age was compelled to depend upon his own efforts and his own 
resources. He was bound to a man by the name of Clark in Ripley county 
and, when twenty-one years old, did not have a single dollar. He began 
life for himself by working out on a farm for sixteen dollars a month in 
Ripley county. 

On May 25, 1850, Mr. Davis was married to Matilda Jennings, a 
daughter of John Jennings, a native of England, who settled in Ripley 
county. Mrs. Davis was born in 1826 and died in August in 1900. Mr. 
and ]\Irs. Davis had two children, Edward L., and William H.,.a clerk in 
the postofBce, both of Greensburg. 

In May, 1861, the \'enerable Daniel Davis enlisted in the Sixteenth 
Regiment, Indiana \'oIunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. P. A. Hackle- 
man and Major Wolf. Attached to the Army of Western Virginia, he 
served until 1863, when he was discharged for disabilities and came home. 



696 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, in 1867, Mr. Davis moxxd to 
Greensburg,. Indiana, and engaged in the dairy business. A Republican in 
politics, he cast his first vote for John C. Fremont in 1856, and for many 
years was on the firing line of the political campaigns of this county- He 
has always been a drummer and has the oldest drum in the state of Indiana. 
He is a member of the Baptist church, the Grand Arm_\- nf the Re[)ul)lic 
and of the Masonic lodge at Greensburg. He owns land in Florida, near 
Jacksonville, but has never looked after the land personally. He is still a 
man of vigorous mental poise and well preserved for his years. For thirty 
years he has supplied the people of Decatur county with all kinds of plants 
and is well and familiarh* known as "Uncle Dan." 



JASON B. HUGHES. 

The late Jason B. Hughes, who represented the second generation of 
the Hughes family in America and who was a resident of Decatur county 
for more than a half century, was a Welshman by birth. His father, John 
Hughes, who was born on March 15, 1795, in Aberystwith, Cardiganshire, 
South Wales, sailed from Carnarvon, North Wales, in 18 17, to Baltimore, 
from which place he came to Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania, and assisted in build- 
ing the first bridge over the Monongahela river. After a time John Hughes 
came on to Cincinnati and located on a farm near Miami town, where he 
was married to Anna Jane Sefton in February, 1826. Six years later he 
came on to Decatur county, settling in Washington township, where he spent 
the remainder of his life. 

Jason B. Hughes, who is now deceased, was a nati\e-l)orn citizen of 
this great county, having been "born on the old Hughes homestead on April 
2, 1844, which homestead had been established by his father, at McCoy Sta- 
tion, in Washington township, and here Jason B. Hughes lived from the 
time of his birth until his death, March 4, i()02. 

John Hughes, the father of Jason B., who lived a modest, quiet life far 
from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, was a pioneer in this section, 
having died at the age of ninety-three years, August 25, 1888. He was 
always possessed of a keen and intelligent mind and was known as a great 
reader, a man who maintained his faculties and energies in a high state of 
efficiency up to the time of his death. His early life had been filled with 
interesting experiences, which he liked very much to relate during his declin- 




JASOX 1!. Iir{;iIES. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 69/ 

ing years. In the meantime, he had hecome very prosperous, owning three 
hundred and twenty acres of land, most of which he had cleared with his 
own hands. Noted for his kindly, charitable disposition, he is remembered 
today with pleasant feelings by those who knew him. He was a man who 
always inipiired after his neighbors' welfare and assisted them in every pos- 
sible way to get on in the world. 

Of the seven children born to John and Anna Hughes, Jason B. was the 
youngest. The others were William, David, Sarah, Oscar, Thomas and 
Franklin. Oscar left two sons at the time of his death, Thomas and Chal- 
nier. Thomas also left two sons, Frank and John. 

Jason B. Hughes received his education in Decatur county. He received 
a portion of the old homestead farm, comprising eighty acres, at the time of 
his father's death, and, before his own death, increased this farm to one 
hundred and seventy-two acres. He was known far and wide as the inventor 
of the American Com Shuck Compressor, an in\'ention and device which 
enjoyed a phenomenal success. 

The late Jason B. Hughes was married on December 25, 1878, to Lou 
E. Stewart, who was born in Jefferson county. Indiana, on January 16, 
1855, the daughter of John W. and Keziah (McCullough) Stewart. Her 
mother was a widow, who had one child by a former marriage to James Mc- 
Laughlin, Maria, and who, by her second marriage, had one daughter, Mrs. 
Hughes. Her husband, John \V. Stewart, was also tw^ce married, and l)y 
his first marriage there were eleven children. He died in i860. The widow 
and daughter mo\ed to Harts\ille, where Mrs. Hughes was graduated from 
the Hartsville College. After her graduation, she and her mother m(jved 
to Greensburg, where the latter died, February i, 1900, at the age of eighty- 
one years. Mrs. Hughes and her sister are members of the Christian church. 
Maria McLaughlin married Robert Mitchell, who died on December 15, 1892. 

.\11 the children nf the venerable John Hughes, a pioneer of Decatur 
county, are now deceased. .Among his grandchildren are Mrs. Lon Innis, 
a farmer, of Milroy, Indiana; Wilbur McCoy was postmaster for many years 
of Guthrie, Oklahoma ; Frank McCoy, an attorney at Omaha, Nebraska, and 
the children of Sarah McCoy. 

The late Jason B. Hughes was not only a fine type of the intelligent, 
industrious and self-made citizen, but he was a man of strong religious 
instincts, and throughout his life a devout member of the Presbyterian 
church. He never took much part in politics, but always cast his vote for 
the Republican candidate and in behalf of Republican prniciples. At the 
time of his death he left, besides his family, a host of friends in Decatur 
countv to mourn his loss. 



698 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

OLIVER C. ELDER. 

Oliver C. Elder, a retired farmer of Greeiisburg, Lidiana, is a veteran 
of the Civil War and one who has an exceptionally splendid military record, 
even though he is very modest in accepting this record, a man still sturdy 
and strong for his age. On the first day of the battle of the Wilderness, 
while serving as orderly sergeant, he look the place of the lieutenant in 
command. All of the commissioned officers of his company, having been 
killed, he retained command of the company until just before the battle of 
Petersburg. One of four brothers who served in the cause of the Union 
during the Civil War, he is the' grandson on his paternal side of a soldier in 
the Revolutionary W'ar. His brother, James, was captured and held as a 
Confederate prisoner in Andersonville, Florence, Salisbury and Charleston 
for a period of nine months. 

01i\'er C. Elder, who is one of the highlj- respected older citizens of this 
county and a native of Washington township, was born on November 27, 
1843, o"s ™'ls south and two miles east of Greensburg, the son of William 
JM. and Sarah S. (Sellers) Elder, natives of Kentucky, who moved to 
Decatur count}" in 1S2O, shortly after it was open for settlement. Born in 
January, 1802, William JNI. Elder entered one hundred and sixty acres of land 
in Decatur' county, after coming here in 1826 and later purchased an eighty- 
acre tract from his brother. He had four brothers, Matthew, James, Andrew 
and Roliert. Leaving the farm in 1863. he mo\ed to Greensburg because four 
of his sons were engaged in- the service of their country in the Civil War 
and he had no assistance with which to operate the farm. Of his ten chil- 
dren, three died in infancy and seven lived to maturity. Five of these 
seven children, Mrs. IMary C. \'awter, ]\Irs. America Gray, Mrs. Sarah 
Taylor, George and Henry are now deceased, and the living children are 
Oliver and James Marshall. The last four served in the Civil War. James 
Marshall resides at Highland Center, Iowa. The mother of these children 
having died in May, 1855, the father was married again to Eliza Ford and 
by this second marriage had two children, Mrs. Serena Hamilton, of Iowa, 
and Mrs. Zerura Griffey, of Indianapolis. The father died on April 8, 

1875- 

After li\-ing at home with his parents until the breaking out of the 
Civil War, when he was eighteen years old, Oliver C. Elder enlisted on 
August 2^, 1861, in Company E, Se\-enth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer 
Infantry, under Col. E. B. Dumont and Capt. Ira Grover, serving until Sep- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 699 

tember 20, 1864. He was in the principal Ixittles'of 1861-62 in western 
Virginia and Shenandoah Valley and the Army of the Potomac during 
1863-64. 

After the war, Mr. Elder returned home and engaged in farming until 
1903, when he moved to Greensburg. Beginning with two tracts of land, 
comprising two hundred and forty acres and one hundred and fifty-four 
acres, Mr. Elder now owns two hundred and thirty acres in one tract and 
sixty acres in another. 

On January 28, 1868, four years after his return home from the army, 
Mr. Elder was married to Sophronia Cobb, the daughter of Dyer Cobb and 
a granddaughter of Joshua Cobb, one of the very first pioneers in Washing- 
ton township, Decatur county, Joshua Cobb having settled in Decatur county 
in the fall of 1820 on the old Michigan trail, married Almira Tremain, of 
New York state. 

Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Elder, two are deceased. 
The three living children are. Orris Clifford, who lives on the home farm; 
Mrs. Edna Meek, the wife of Edmund L. Meek, of Clinton township, and 
Jessie A., who lives at home. 

Mr. Elder is a Republican. He and his wife and family are members 
of the Christian church. He is a member of Pap Thomas Post, Grand Army 
of the Republic, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



SAM V. LITTELL. 



One of the established institutions of Greensburg, Indiana, which has 
become famous throughout Decatur and adjoining counties, is the lunch 
room and grocery conducted by Samuel V. Littell. The. fame of this 
historic old bakery, lunch room and grocery rests partly upon a famous pie, 
which was invented and baked here for a long time. The lunch room com- 
prises from eight to ten tables, and on gala days from fifteen hundred to 
two thousand people take their meals there. There is scarcely a man li\ing 
in Greensburg or Decatur county who does not recall some interesting 
experience or incident connected with the Sam Littell grocery and lunch room. 
Thirty years ago the famous "Washington" pie was first made. This pie 
consisted of meat, bread, cakes, fruit, spices and New Orleans molasses, and 
was baked in huge pans. During the last few years, however, pie baking 
has been discontinued, the volume of the business having become so great 



700 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tliat it was necessary to either discontinue pie baking or enlarge the quarters 
of the store. 

Sam V. Littell. well-known restaurant keeper and grocer of Greensburg, 
was born in Ripley county in 1859, the son of Benjamin and Jane M. (Van- 
zandtj Littell. At the age of two years he was brought to Greensburg, 
Indiana), Ijy his parents, where he grew up and was educated in the com- 
mon and high schools. 

At the end of his school days in 1876, Mr. Littell began clerking in 
the grocery store of which he is now the owner and which was then owned 
by his brother, B. F. Littell. Here he served his apprenticeship, lasting 
about eight years, and learned the business. Later he purchased a half 
interest in the business with another brother, William T. Littell. This 
arrangement continued for four years, when he sold out and entered the 
partnership with another br(_itber, James S. Littell. This partnership con- 
tinued six years and was discontinued when Sam took over the entire business. 
It is now occupied exclusively by Sam V. Littell. He has been in business 
for himself for about twenty years, and has been very successful. His 
volume of business is equal or suijerior to that of any other grocery or 
lunch room in Decatur county. In point of years, he probably has been 
engaged in this business as long as any other man in Indiana. He entered 
the store, of which he is now the proprietor and sole owner, when si.xteen 
years of age, and with the exception of eight months, A\hen he was in the 
hospital, has never been out of this store. 

In years gone by the Littell grocery and lunch room has fed as high 
as two thousand people in a single day. Mr. Littell likes the business, and 
especially the lunch room. In the ])ast he has probalily fed more people than 
all the hotels and lunch rooms of Greensburg combined. 

In September, 1887, Sam V. Littell was married to Lida Howard, a 
daughter of Jesse and Mary ( Ewing ) Howard, the latter of whom was 
the daughter of Patrick Ewing, the founder oi the famous Ewing family 
in this county, whose life and works are recounted elsewhere in this volume, 
and who has many descendants living in Decatur county today. Mr. and 
Mrs. Littell have had two children, Mary, who was born in 1888, and 
Howard, in 1892. 

Sam V. Littell has always been identified with the Republican party 
and has always taken a commendable interest in politics, especially as a good 
citizen. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. 



\ 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 7OI 

It will be many long years before the life and career of Sam V. Littell 
will be forgotten by the people of Greensburg and Decatur county. Here 
in this city his place of business is one of the most famous and he has 
always enjoyed a large patronage and a profitable and successful trade because 
he knows the business and the wants and needs of the public. He has been 
honest and fair in all the relations of life, and no man living in this county 
is more popular than he. 



REUBEN SMALLEY. 



In the city of Greensljurg, Indiana, lives a distinguished citizen and 
veteran of the Ci\'il War, who today carries a medal of honor for distin- 
guished services in several battles, which was presented to him by an act 
of Congress during Cleveland's administration. This valiant and brave 
soldier, a veteran of our greatest war, is Reuben Smalley, who was born 
in 1839 in Steuben county. New York, the son of Elias and Rozelphia 
(Hawkins) Smalley. 

Reuben Smalley was but about twenty-three years of age when, on 
August 15, 1862. he joined Company F, Eighty-third Regiment, Indiana 
Volunteer Infantr)', and leaving his wife and two small children, answered 
his country's call for volunteers. After drilling for six weeks at Lawrence- 
burg, Indiana, this regiment joined Grant's army at Cairo, Illinois, and 
here ijoarded a steamboat and proceeded to Memphis, Tennessee. From 
Memphis they went to Azoo swamp in Mississippi, where they attacked the 
Confederate forces, having later taken eight thousand prisoners at Arkansas 
Pass. Immediately after this the Fifteenth Army Corps built the Butler canal. 
In the following spring they took part in the \'icksburg campaign. This 
fortress they surrounded on May 19, 1863, and it was in this siege that 
Mr. Smalley first distinguished himself. The siege of Vicksburg lasted from 
May 19, until July 4, and on May 22, Grant called for volunteers to lead 
the way into Vicksburg, where Mr. Smalley was promoted for gallantry. 
Mr. Smalley was one of the one hundred and fifty to volunteer. At Fort 
Pennington, he distinguished himself for bravery and wears the badge of 
honor for services in that battle, a medal of which he is very proud. 

After the surrender of \'ickslnirg, the army started to march to Jackson, 
Mississippi, and met General Joe Johnson's army at Black River, Mississippi, 
which they defeated and followed him into Jackson, where they defeated 
liim again. Later they came back to Memphis, Tennessee, and from there 



702 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

marched to Chattanooga, which march was marked by skirmishes with For- 
ester's cavalry. At Chattanooga Mr. Smalley took part in the battle of Mis- 
sionary Ridge, at which time he was acting as first sergeant. After pursu- 
ing Johnson for some time, the army went into winter quarters and in the 
spring Grant's army joined Slierman's. Then followed the famous cam- 
paign of Slierman, with which every one is familiar. 

Reuben Smalley was with his army throughout this campaign and 
marched with it from Atlanta to the sea. He was once taken prisoner, but, 
as he says, no one could lujld him in those days, and as his captor had not 
taken the precaution to disarm him, he relates that after marching along 
quietly for about three hundred yards, he decided it was time to do some- 
thing and the time had come to determine whose hide was the tougher. In 
the struggle, his gun somehow came in contact with the rebel's head and — 
well, Reuben Smalley joined his command. He never missed being in any 
battle which it was possiljle to engage in. Fort McAllister was the last hard 
battle in which he was engaged. Finally he was present at the surrender 
of Johnson to Sherman, which was one of the incidents marking the close 
ot the war. 

Of Mr. Smalley's parentage, it may be said that his father was a native 
of France who came to America, and, after arriving in this country, set- 
tled in New York state. He died when Reuben was a lad of three years. 
When he was seven years old, he came to Jennings county, Indiana, with an 
uncle, with whom he lived until seventeen, at which time he began the 
business of life for himself. Two years later, at the age of nineteen, he was 
married to Martha Ann Johnson, the daughter of Elijah and Nancy (Bowley) 
Johnson, the former of whom was a native of Decatur county, Indiana, and 
the latter of whom was a native of Vermont. Married in Ripley county, 
July 23, 1859, Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Smalley lived in that county until the 
beginning of the Ci\il War. 

After the war, Mr. Smalley came back to Ripley county and, after 
two vears, he and his wife, his two children having died while he was fightine 
for the cause of his country, immigrated to Decatur county. Mr. Smalley 
has been enipli;)yed on railroad construction work for several years as a sta- 
tionary engineer. He has been a shrewd business man and successful in life. 

An enthusiastic member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Reuben 
Smalley is a man of remarkable vitality and striking personality. He is 
well known and highly respected in this community and in surrounding 
counties. The medal of honor, which he wears for distinguished services 
and bravery at the siege of Vicksburg and elsewhere, is something of which 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 7O3 

he is extremely proud and for which he has every right to be. In 1914 he 
was elected constable on the Republican ticket by a majority of three hun- 
dred and fifty-two votes. Several years ago he had been elected to the same 
office. Mr. and Mrs. Smalley are a pleasant couple. She is seventy-three 
and her husband is seventy-six. With the exception of occasional heart 
trouble, both are still vigorous in body and mind and take a keen delight 
in livino-. 



JOHN W. BECK. 



The art of photography has reached such a state of perfection that it 
would seem there is little to be desired. The work, although accoiupanied 
by a certain amount of uncertainty in each instance, up to a given point, 
gives the operator more solid enjoyment, than most any other we know of. 

John W. Beck, photographer, of Greensburg, Indiana, was born on 
March 30, 1865, in Jay county, Indiana, and is a son of Isaac and Millicent 
(Reeve) Beck. He was reared and educated in Columbiana and Mahoning 
counties, Ohio, including the schools at Canfield, Delaware, and Ohio Wes- 
leyan Universities. While attending the latter place, he was offered a 
position in Indiana, and came west, taught school for four years, and then 
became interested in photography at McKeesport, where he spent three years. 
He then came to Indiana, and has been here ever since. After living; for a 
time at Osgood, Knightstown, Carthage and Kokomo, he permanently set- 
tled at Greensburg, where he has built up a prosperous business and a large 
circle of warm friends. His political views are along the independent line, 
and in religion, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
began his career as a photographer in 1885, his present place of business 
having been established in 191 1, is known as Beck's studio. He has a fully 
equipped place and is prepared to do all kinds of inside and outside pho- 
tography, of the highest quality. 

Isaac and Millicent (Reeve) Beck, parents of our subject, were pio- 
neers in Jay county, Ohio, settling there at a time when the ground was 
wet and mushy, and where the former died, in 1865. The mother then took 
her five children back to the old home in eastern Ohio, where she was reared. 
Her children were, Jonas Marion, Ellen, Anna May, Isaac Edwin and John 
W. They were Quakers, and wore the Quaker garb. Their ancestors 
were "Friends" for several generations back. 

John W. Beck was married, December 25, 1891, to Dollie Smith, of 
Decatur county. They have had two children, Adene and Serlett. 



704 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JAMES B. ROBISON. 

The late James B. Robison, of Greensburg, Indiana, not only was a 
successful farmer and stockman, but he was a prominent citizen of Decatur 
county, whose voice was respectfully heard in any council, because it was 
always raised in support of the right. While his most conspicuous service, 
perhaps, was performed as a member of the Indiana General Assembly, of 
which he was a member for two sessions. 1881 and 1889, yet his most impor- 
tant public service was performed in the community where he lived so long 
and where he was so well known. Broad-minded in his \iews, liberal in 
spirit, simple and kind-hearted in his charity, he was loved by the people of 
Decatur county, and today his memory is revered, not only by his widow 
and his two living children, but by the host of men and women who knew 
him, for his goodness of heart and for his unselfish generosity. 

The late James B. Robison was enterprising as a private citizen, it is 
true, but he was public-spirited, which is even more important. More men 
of his type and spirit are needed today. 

As a skillful farmer and a shrewd and far-seeing business man, espe- 
cially in the purchase and sale of live stock, the late James B. Robison had no 
superiors and few equals in Decatur county. Born on June 12, 1834, in 
Fugit township, and the son of Andrew and Polly (Donnell) Robison, he 
passed away cjuietly on his golden wedding anniversary. May 19, 191 3. His 
father, a native of Pennsyhania and a tanner by trade, came to Decatur 
county during the early twenties, and lived and died on his farm in Fugit 
township. After his death, his son, the late James B. Robison, took charge 
of the homestead farm when he was only nineteen years old. 

James B. Robison was married. May 19, 1863, to Margaret Meek, who 
was born on December 25, 1844, and who is the daughter of John Meek, of 
the Springhill community, and the great-granddaughter of Thomas ]\Ieek, 
a pioneer in the state of Kentucky, whose descendants have lived to poi)ulate 
Decatur county with many of its mose enterprising citizens, its successful 
farmers, bankers and mechanics. Mr. and Mrs. Robison had three children : 
William E., who was born in Fugit township on July 31, 1864, married 
Clara Taintor, December 31, 1887, in Sterling. Illinois, the daughter of 
George L. and Martha (Hughes) Taintor. They live on the old Roliison 
homestead in Decatur county, and ha\'e three children, Mary, Margaret and 
Mildred; Stella, December 10, 1870, married Alva M. Reed, of Greensburg, 
January 21, 1891, and they now reside in Greensburg. They have one son. 




JAMES B. KOBISOX. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 7O5 

Rollin Reed; Clara J., November 25, 1875, was married, April 2, 1902, to 
George Davis, and on October 30, 1909, she died in Alberta, Canada. 

One of the largest farmers and one of the most extensive stockmen of 
Decatur county, in 1896 the late James B. Robison removed from the farm 
to Greensburg, leaving his son, William E., in charge of the homestead. 
Later, however, he bought a farm near Greensburg, and personally superin- 
tended it until the time of his death. 

The late James B. Robison was not only a member of the Indiana Gen- 
eral Assembly for two terms, but, from 1906 to 1912, he served as a mem- 
ber of the Greensburg city council. In this office he used his best talents 
and energies for the promotion of enterprise, industry and wholesome living 
in this city. For more than a half century he was a well-recognized factor 
in all phases of life and was especially devout as a member of the Presby- 
terian church, having been an elder in the Kingston church from 1886 until 
the time of his death. To this church he not only gave his best personal 
services, but he also gave liberally of the means of which he was possessed, 
and which appeared without any apparent effort to grow from year to year. 
He regarded himself as a steward merely of the fortune which had come 
into his hands, and dispensed it with a liberality of one gifted with a patri- 
cian heart. 



GEORGE W. SEFTON. 



George \V. Sefton, a retired farmer of Greensburg, Indiana, is one of 
those men who, at the first call for volunteers at the breaking out of the 
Civil ^^'ar, enlisted in Company E, Seventh Regiment, Indiana V'olunteer 
Infantry, a reorganized regiment, and served for three years. In many hard- 
fought battles of the war, the only discomfiture he suffered, excepting the 
privations and hardships in the military service, was an attack of the measles. 
His brother, John, died of the measles while serving in the same regiment." 
Attached to the First Brigade of the First Division of the First and Fifth 
Army Corps, Mr. Sefton contracted rheumatism as early as January, 1862, 
and was confined in the hospital at Cuml>erland, Maryland, on account of 
measles. After his recovery, he brought his brother's body home and then 
rejoined his command at ^^"inchester, Virginia. He was discharged at 
Indianapolis on Septemlier 20, 1864. During his services, he was engaged in 
the battles of Greenbrier, Winchester, Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, 

(45) 



706 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Aline Run, Wilderness, Campaign of 1864, 
Port Republic, Siege of Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, Antietam, South 
Mountain, Chancellorsville and many others. This is an honorable and 
valiant military record of which the subject of this sketch has reason to be. 
very proud. 

George W. Sefton was born on October 10, 1841, in Clinton township; 
Decatur county, Indiana, the son of Henry and Sarah (Brown) Sefton, 
natives of Ohio and Fountain county, respectively. The former, who was 
born in 1S08 and died in 1878, was the son of William Sefvon, a natix-e of 
Ireland, who came with his parents to Ohio, where he was reared. From 
Ohio he moved to Indiana and settled in Decatur county near Sandusky. 
Henry Sefton came with his parents and was reared in this county in the 
earlv twenties, and eventually settled in Clinton township, where he became 
a successful farmer. By his first wife, Sarah Brown, to whom he was mar- 
ried in 1848, he had six children, five of whom are now deceased. The only 
living child is George W., the subject of this sketch. The deceased children 
were: Preserve O. : William; John, who died of measles in the army; 
Elizabeth and Jane. By his second marriage to Sarah Stine, Henry Sefton 
had two children, Mrs. Rachel Wilkinson, of Sandusky, and Isaac Stine. 
who li\es on the home farm in Clinton township. Until March, 1903, 
George W. Sefton was engaged in farming. He owns one hundred and sixty 
acres in Clinton township. 

Mr. Sefton has been married three times, the first time on October 1, 
1866, to Julia Lanham, who was born in 1843 and who was the daughter 
of Thomas and Elizabeth Lanham. She died in 1869, leaving two children, 
Monnett O., born on September 5, 1867, who lives in Rush county, and 
Julia E., on June z-j, 1869, who married John Frank Deem, of Adams town- 
shi|). By his second marriage, April 25, 1871, to Elizabeth Brock, who died 
in 1873, there were two children, Mrs. Emma M. Brown, of Indianapolis, 
who was born on May 4, 1S72, and Mrs. Mary E. Walker, of Newpoint, 
on October 7, 1873. ^7 his third marriage to Harriett Weed, September 
19, 1876, one child, Mrs. Stella Waters, of Indianapolis, was born on Sep- 
tember 18, 1878. 

Mrs. Harriett (Weed) Sefton was born on July 16, 1847, near Milroy 
in Rush coynty and is the daughter of Alvin and Jane Ann (Ross) Weed, 
natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was born in 1810 and died in 
1896, and the latter was born in 1814, died in 1886. .\lvin Weed was the 
son of a well-known pioneer citizen who was drowned while traveling down 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 707 

the Ohio river in a flat-boat in 1812. Alvin Weed died in Howard county 
at the home of his son. His wife, who before her marriage, was Jane Aim 
Ross, was the daughter of Alexander Ross, a native of Ireland. Alvin and 
Jane Ann Weed had a large family of children, as follow : James Hiram, 
deceased; Eliza, deceased; Robert Thomas, deceased; Mrs. Lucinda Webster, 
of Hope, Indiana; Oliver, who died in infancy; Charles William, of Kokomo, 
Indiana; Mrs. Harriet Sefton, of Greensburg; Mrs. Melissa Margaret Oil- 
man, of Howard county; Mary Frances, deceased; Mrs. Alice Root, of 
Indianapolis ; Alonzo and John Lincoln, deceased. 

George W. Sefton cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and since 
that time has always voted the Republican ticket and upheld vigorously 
Republican principles and Republican candidates. Fraternally, he is a mem- 
ber of Pap Thomas Post No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Sefton 
is a member of the Christian church. George W. Sefton is one of the 
honored and highly respected citizens of Greensburg and Decatur county 
and a man who is well known and well liked by his neighbors and fellow 
townsmen. 



HENRY THOMSON. 



Among the well-known citizens of Decatur county, Indiana, and among 
the veterans of the Civil War living in this county, is the venerable Henry 
Thomson, a retired farmer of Greensburg, Indiana, who was born on De- 
cember 16, 1840, in Washington township on a pioneer farm, and who is the 
son of William Henry and Eliza Jane (Hopkins) Thomson, the former of 
whom was born on January 11, 1803, and who died in August, 1840, and 
the latter of whom was born on March, 1809, in Kentucky, and who died, 
December 26, 1864. 

Henry Thomson had just reachetl his majority at the time of the 
breaking out of the Civil War, when he enlisted on September 5, 1861, in 
Company G, Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving until 
May 5, 1864, when he was wounded in the first day's battle of the Wilderness. 
Seriously wounded in the right leg, the effects of which are felt to this day, 
he was not dismissed until September 6, 1864. During his service as a 
soldier in the Civil War his principal engagements were those at Green 
Briar in 1861, Winchester in 1862, where he was wounded in the rieht 
shoulder, the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Virginia, 
Gettysburg, Manassas Gap and the Wilderness. In 1910 Mr. Thomson and 



708 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

his good wife took an automobile trip over many of the battle scenes of the 
Civil War, taking along a complete camping outfit, and remaining away for 
several weeks. Starting on August 14, 1910, they did not return until 
September 11, and during this period visited nearly all of Air. Thomson's 
old battlefields. 

The father of Henry Thomson died before his son Henry was born, and 
the latter was reared in the home of his grandfather Hopkins. His father, 
who was born in Kentucky, was the son of James Henry Thomson, who 
was born on April 2, 1778, and who in turn was the son of James and 
Mary (Henry) Thomson, the former of whom was Ijorn in 1731, and the 
latter of whom was born in 1736. They had three children, as follow: Will- 
iam Henry, who was born in 1743; Elizabeth Davis, in 1750; James Henry, 
the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, April 2, 1778, and who was 
married to Sarah Henry, in 1776. 

James Henry and Sarah (Henry) Thomson had eight children, as 
follow: Almira, who was born in 1800, and who married the Reverend 
Mr. Lowry, the first pastor of the Presbyterian church at Kingston; Will- 
iam Henry, January 11, 1803, the father of the subject of this sketch; 
John Davis, April 7, 1805, and who married Susanna Howe; James Henry, 
October 26, 1807, and who married Nancy Ann McLeod; Alexander Brown, 
January 8, 1810, who first married Johanna S. Howe, September i, 1815, 
and for his second wife, Elizabeth R. Carson; Samuel Harrison, August 
26, 181 3, was a professor at Hanover College for twenty-five years, and 
married Magdelena Sophronia Clifton; Preston Wallace, January 17, 1816; 
married Mary Ann Ashman; Mary Elizabeth, the last born, who first saw 
the light of day, June 2, 1818, married George F. Whitworth. 

William Henry, the father of Henry, was married to Eliza Jane Hop- 
kins, who was the daughter of John and Jane Hopkins, natives of Kentucky 
and early settlers in Washington township, Decatur county. John Hopkins 
became a judge of the appellate court, and was a man of abilit}- and great 
power. It was Judge John Hopkins who practically reared Henry Thomson, 
the subject of this sketch. Judge Hopkins died in 1852, and his wife in 
1854, two years later. Mrs. Eliza Jane (Hopkins) Thomson died in 1864, 
on December 26. 

After the Civil War, Henry Thomson entered Hanover College, where 
he was a student for some time, but he later returned to the farm in Wash- 
ington township, and was actively engaged as a farmer until 1903, when, 
after a trip to the West, including the National Park, the Pacific coast. 



1 



DECATUR COUNTYj INDIANA. Jog 

Oregon, the Pacific coast cities, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Grand Canon 
of Colorado, he and his wife settled at their present home in Greenshurg, 
Indiana. The one-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm, with which he started life, 
in the meantime has been increased to one hundred and sixty acres. Air. 
Thomson still owns this farm, which is well improved. 

On December 15, 1881, Mr. Thomson was married to Laura Alice Mc- 
Cracken, who was born on January 31, 1852, and who is the daughter of 
Adam and Mary Jane (Rankin) McCracken, natives of Kentucky. Adam 
was the son of James and Sallie (Meek) McCracken, and was born on May 
20, 1824, and died in 1901. His wife was the daughter of Adam and 
Hester (Logan) Rankin, natives of Kentucky, who settled at Springhill in 
Decatur county in the early twenties. Here they homesteaded a farm and it 
was here that the mother of Mrs. Thomson was reared. Adam McCracken 
and Mary Jane Rankin were married in 1851. The latter was born in 1827. 
Mrs. Thomson is one of three children born to her parents. The others 
were James Logan, who was born on January 9, 1858, and who lives at Wat- 
seka, Illinois, and Whilma, November 7, 1864, died, July 24, 1889. 

An ardent believer in temperance and in the suppression of the liquor 
traffic, Henry Thomson has been an active and influential member of the 
Prohibition party. Mr. and Mrs. Thomson are members of the Presbyterian 
church. Henry Thomson is a member of Pap Thomas Post, Grand Army 
of the Republic, at Greensburg, Indiana. 



JOHN WESLEY DEEM 

John Wesley Deem, a retired farmer and merchant of Greensburg, 
Indiana, whose active life dates back to the pioneer history of the Hoosier 
state, is a native of Preble county, Ohio, his birth having occurred on 
Novemljer 22. 1831. He is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Sayler) Deem, 
natives of Kentucky, whose family came originally from Virginia, and who 
removed from Kentucky to Ohio in an early day, and from that state to 
Indiana, settling in Decatur county in 1834, where they purchased land and 
Thomas Deem became a large landowner, possessing at one time five hun- 
dred acres. He was born on May 30, 1796, and died on September 24, 
1833. His wife was born October 20, 1809, and died March 3, 1895. The 
Deem homestead, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, was pur- 



710 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

chased from Ella and Elizabeth Warriner, December 3, 1834, for nine 
hundred dollars. The deed was recorded on September 24, 1835. 

Thomas and Sarah (Sayler) Deem were the parents of ten children, 
whose names in the order of their birth are as follow : Mrs. Mary Ann 
Heaton, who was born on December 10, 1826, died on March 6, 1915; 
Mrs. Eliza A. Stewart, April 11, 1828, died in December, 191 1; Mrs. 
Catharine Dailey, the widow of E. G. Dailey, of Greensburg; Mrs. Elizabeth 
Hoodlow, of Topeka. Kansas, in 1829; Airs. Lenora Corey, November 22, 
1830, lives on the old homestead; John Wesley, the immediate subject of 
this review; Lemuel, in 1836, is now deceased; Oliver, in 1840. lives in 
Greensljurg ; William Henry, in 1844, died in the service of his country 
during the Civil War, and Thomas Harvey, in 1847, ^i^-d in 1864, and 
was also a soldier in the Civil War. 

After his father had purchased the homestead farm, John Wesley Deem 
assisted in clearing the land, and did his share toward the improvement and 
cultivation of the home farm. The familv li\'ed at this time in a hewed 
log house, and experienced all the privations and hardships, as well as the 
joys of true pioneer life in southern Indiana. When he was twenty-four 
years of age, in 1855, John W. Deem removed to Shelby county, Indiana, 
where he lived for two years. During this period he and his wife li\ed 
in a round log cabin which was notched, daubed and chinked with mud. 
It consisted of one room, eighteen by fifteen feet, with one window and a 
door on the opposite side from the window. The chimney was built of mud 
and sticks with mud jambs and a clapboard roof. It was a typical pioneer's 
cabin, the door having a wooden latch with a string on the outside, which 
could be locked by pulling the string on the inside. Mr. Deem sawed lum- 
ber at night during the winter season, by the use of the water-mill, four miles 
away, and in this way secured lumber enough to build a new house. His 
father had built what is believed to have been the first brick house in Decatur 
county. After two years' residence in Shelby county, Mr. Deem returned 
with his family to Decatur county, and here he engaged in the mercantile 
and grain business at Adams, \\'here he remained for six years. He operated 
a saw-mill for a number of years and then moved to his farm in Adams 
township. At one time he was the owner of four hundred acres of land, 
but has sold the greater portion of this land and now has two hundred and 
fifty acres. In 1894 Mr. Deem retired from active farm life and moved 
to Greensburg, where he engaged in the hardware and implement business, 
in which he continued for a period of eighteen years. On account of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 7II 

poor health of Mrs. Deem, he retired from business at this time and cared 
for his wife until her death. 

John Wesley Deem was married on September 20, 1855, to Margaret 
Jane Logan, who was born on November 9, 1832, in Decatur county, the 
daughter of Samuel Logan and wife. Mrs. Deem died on September 28, 
1903. John W. Deem and wife were the parents of six children, Sarah 
Susanna, who was born on August 11, 1856, was married to Arthur Doggett, 
March 4, 1875, and died ten years later on October 17, 1885, leaving two 
children, Mrs. Sarah Alberta Brockelmeier and Otis; Samuel Logan, Febru- 
ary 15, 1858, married Flora King; Kate, March 25, i860, died on December 
20, 1865; Wilham Henry Ellsworth, August 13, 1862, died August 22, 1863; 
Mary, October 13, 1864, married J. C. Bird, December 21, 1881, and on 
May 29, 1895, her death occurred, leaving two children, Mrs. Ethel Koester, 
who is a resident of Cincinnati, and has two children, Robert and one 
unnamed, and Harry Bird, a resident of Greensburg; John Franklin, who 
was born on March 29, 1871, lives on the home place. He married Julia 
E. Sefton, December 24, 1890. 

John Wesley Deem, during his lifetime, has been an ardent believer 
in Republican principles and has always voted the Republican ticket. He 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, but on account of defect 
in hearing, cannot enjoy attending. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, 
in which he is deeply interested. 



IRA CLARK. 



Of pioneer descent, the gentleman whose name is here noted, maintains 
in his own life and manner of living all the sterling traditions of a stalwart 
and vigorous race of God-fearing, home-loving, temperate and industrious 
forbears, men and women who wrought well during the early days of this 
section of the state and who, upon passing, bequeathed to their posterity the 
priceless legacy of a good name. Born and reared in this county, Mr. Clark 
has created at Greensburg, the county seat, a business which aids very 
materially in carrying the name of that pleasant city to distant parts of this 
country. The beautiful flowers which are cultivated in the famous green- 
houses of Ira Clark & Company at Greensburg are shipped to cities at far 
distant points, being one of the most delightful contributions this county 
makes to the commerce of the land. Roses and carnations are the special 



712 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

products of this well-known greenhouse and a wide territory is supplied 
from the Clark houses, shipments of the standard and best varieties being 
made to points as far west as Denver, as far north as Toronto and as far 
south as Atlanta and New Mexico. In addition to these select varieties, Mr. 
Clark also cultivates a general line of florist's goods and has a place which 
is one of the show places of the town, carrying on a business in which all the 
people in and about Greensburg take a very proper pride. Ira Clark & 
Company's greenhouses cover twelve thousand square feet of surface, com- 
prising eight large houses, hot water and steam heated, and are otherwise 
fully equipped according to all modern requirements. 

Ira Clark was born on a farm near the town of Clarksburg, this county, 
on June 5, 1870, the son of Hezekiah E. and Catherine J. (^filler) Clark, 
the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania in 1827 and died at his home 
in this county in 1896, and the latter of whom was born in Franklin county, 
this state, on June i, 1840, and is now residing in the city of Greensburg. 

Hezekiah E. Clark was the son of William Clark, who founded the town 
of Clarksville, Pennsylvania, in the year 181 7, and who, with his brother, 
gave a church to the town. Just ninety-eight years later, on February 14, 
1915, this historic old church was profusely decorated with flowers shipped 
from Greensburg by Ira and Nellie M. Clark, grandchildren of William 
Clark. William Clark and three brothers came to .-Vmerica from Scotland 
in the eighteenth century, one of the brothers locating in Pennsylvania, 
another in New Jersey and the other in South Carolina. William Clark 
later moved to Ohio, in which state his last days were passed. His son, 
Hezekiah E., came to Decatur county, Indiana, in 1854, settling in the village 
of Clarksburg, where he married Catherine J. Miller, who was born on June 
I, 1840, the daughter of Jacob and Rebecca (Lewis) Miller, and who now is 
residing in Greensburg. Jacob Miller, a native of Virginia, was the second 
person to settle in Fugit township, this county, and was one of the men who 
organized the township. He came to this county about the year 1821, fol- 
lowing a "blazed trail," and quickly established himself here, being one of 
the most potent forces in the creation of a social order in the then wilderness. 
His wife, Rebecca Lewis, was a cousin of "Davy" Crockett, she and the 
immortal hero of the Alamo having been reared children together. The Lewises 
and the Crocketts left A'irginia together, but parted at Cinch mountain, the 
Crocketts going on into Tennessee and the Lewises coming to Indiana. 
Jacob Miller, who was born in the year 1800 and died in 1872, first settled 
on Salt creek, in Franklin county, this state, where he married Rebecca 
Lewis, later coming to this county and settling in Fugit township where he 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 713 

and his wife spent the remander of their Hves. Hezekiah Clark moved from 
Fugit township to CHnton township, this county, and died on the farm in 
that township, one of the most highly respected men in the county. Both 
the Clarks and the Millers were of a hardy, self-respecting, upright race, 
stanch Methodists and firm in the expression of the courage of their con- 
victions. The JNlillers entertained John Wesley when that great, apostle of 
Methodism made his historic tour into Virginia. These two families were 
ardent temperance advocates and practiced what they preached, even in a 
day when the drinking of strong drinks was a common practice. In the 
old "log rolling'" days, when it came time for Jacob Miller to invite his 
pioneer neighbors to such a fete, he declined to furnish whisky to the par- 
ticipants in the arduous labors of the day, notwithstanding the time-honored 
custom of the period ; being so strictly temperate in his own habits that he 
would not consent to putting the intoxicating glass to his neighbors' lips. 

To Hezekiah E. and Catherine J. (Miller) Clark were born seven 
children, five sons and two daughters, namely : Jesse M., who died on April 
9, 1898; Tillman, who lives in Howard county, Indiana; Mrs. Clara Draper, 
who lives on a farm east of Greensburg, in this county; Emmet, a well- 
known farmer of Adams township, this county; Nellie M., who is associated 
with her brother, Ira, in the florist's business in Greensburg; Ira, the imme- 
diate subject of this sketch, and A. Burl, who lives in the state of Oklahoma. 

Ira Clark received his early education in the schools of Sandusky, this 
county, and was graduated from the school at that place. To this course 
of schooling he added a course in the Central Normal School, at Danville, 
Indiana, from which he also was graduated, after which, for ten years, he 
taught in the schools of Sandusky and St. Paul, this county, being the assist- 
ant principal in the latter school. He then, in the year 1901, engaged in the 
florist's business in Greensburg, he and his partner conducting the business 
for a year under the firm style of Hedges & Clark, the concern in 1902 
becoming known as Clark & Company. The beginning of this business was 
on a comparatively small scale, but Mr. Clark later bought out the green- 
houses of Henry Bentlage, combining the two greenhouses under the present 
efficient management, and has been quite successful. 

In 1897 Ii'S' Clark was united in marriage to Carrie Bell-\'andament, a 
well-known and popular teacher in the Sandusky schools, the daughter of 
J. C. Bell, a prominent resident of that village. To this union two children 
have been born. Wayne, who now is sixteen years of age, and Lewis, now 
twelve years of age. 

I\Ir. and Mrs. Clark are members of the First Methodist Episcopal 



714 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

church and are acti\-e workers in the congregation to which they are attached, 
Mr. Clark being one of the church stewards. Following the example of his 
pioneer forbears, Mr. Clark is a strong temperance advocate and is one of 
the leaders in all the good works of the city in which he lives. In his poli- 
tical views he is quite independent, believing that it is the duty of a good 
citizen to support the ablest and most conscientious men for positions of 
public trust and responsiljility, regardless of the party with which candi- 
dates for office are affiliated. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias 
and of the Odd Fellows and takes a warm interest in the affairs of these two 
popular fraternal orders. 

Mr. Clark is an energetic business man and public-spirited citizen who 
has the entire confidence of the community in which he lives and he and 
Mrs. Clark are held in the highest regard by all who have the pleasure of 
their acquaintance. 



CORNELIUS MESSLER. 

Cornelius Messier, a well-known retired citizen of Greensburg, Indiana, 
belongs to a family which served its country most valiantly during the trying 
days of the Civil War. Four Messier brothers, of whom Cornelius was the 
second, hazarded their lives on the battlefields of the Civil War for the 
preservation of the American Union. It is doubtful whether there are any 
families in Decatur county, which can show a more patriotic record than 
this. A member of Company H, Third Indiana Cavalry, and in the service 
of his country nearly four years, a participant in at least twenty-five severe 
battles, including the battles of Corinth and Pittsburg Landing, Cornelius 
Messier was taken prisoner at Soloman's Grove, North Carolina, on ^larch 
10, and held until the latter part of 1865, a period of sixty days in all. Two 
brothers, James and John, were members of the One Hundredth Regiment, 
Indiana \'olunteer Infantry, and one brother, Henry, was a soldier in the 
Eleventh Regiment, Indiana A'olunteer Infantry. This country is enthus- 
iastically and reverently proud of the splendid service which was per- 
formed by the heroes of 1861-65. ^^ 's not only proud of the service they 
performed during this troubled period, but it is likewise proud to number 
among its citizens in these days of peace the battle-scarred veterans of that 
war, among whom is Cornelius Messier.. 

A resident of Greensburg, Indiana, Cornelius ^Messier li\es in a com- 
fortable home, and was born on September 23, 1832. in Hamilton county, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 7I 5 

Ohio, the son of John S. and Sabina Messier, the former of whom was a 
native of New Jersey, born on August 2, 1797, and who died on September 
30, 1840, the latter of whom was born on April 13, 1809, and died on 
June II, 1849. John S. Messier, who came west from Philadelphia, died 
in Union county, Indiana, and his wife passed away in Salt Creek town- 
ship, Decatur county. They had six children, William F., James, Cornelius, 
John R., Henry, and Mary A. 

When twelve years old, Cornelius Messier was employed to drive a team 
along the old White Water canal, from Cmcinnati to Cleavestown, and 
thence by the way of the Wabash & Erie canal to Toledo, a distance of 
three hundred and eighty miles. In 1842 the family came to Decatur 
county, where Cornelius lived for one year, and then returned to the state 
of Ohio, and was engaged as a stage-driver in that state for a period of six- 
teen years. In the meantime he worked at various occupations, coming to 
Decatur county, Indiana, to live permanently in 1897. 

Mr. Messier has been twice married, the first time to Sarah A. Hannan, 
who was born on November 5, 1828, and who died on February 2, 1883. 
She was buried in Taswell county, Virginia. She was the mother of five 
children, three of whom, Mary A., John and Anna, the youngest, are now 
deceased. The two eldest, William, who was born, October 3, 1855, and 
James H., on June 8, 1859, live near Frankfort, and Hartford City, respec- 
tively. 

Many years after the death of Mrs. Sarah A. (Hannan) Messier, Mr. 
Messier was married again, April 21, 1898, the second time to Sarah Eliza- 
beth Bell, who was born on the Bell homestead on April 11, 1840, and who 
is the daughter of Henson S. and Ann (Marlin) Bell, natives of Woodford 
county, Kentucky, and Monmouth county. New Jersey, respectively, the 
former of whom was the son of Daniel and Nancy Bell. Henson S. Bell, 
who died on November 30, 1890, at the age of eighty-one years, was a mere 
boy when he came from Kentucky to Indiana. For some time he and his 
wife li\-ed in Laurel, but they later moved to a farm, just before the death 
of his wife in 1841. In 1850 he removed to Oregon, driving overland, but 
returned in 1873, and lived on his farm until his death. In the meantime 
he had traveled over Oregon, Washington, and California. He had two 
children, Nancy Jane, deceased, who was born in 1837, and who died in 
1856, and Mrs. Cornelius Messier. Daniel Bell, the father of Henson S. 
Bell, died on April 28, 1875, at the age of ninety-five years. His wife, Nancy 
Bell, died on February 8, 1883, at the age of ninety- fi\e. The\- had come 
to Decatur countv in 1822, and homesteaded on government land. On their 



yi6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

trip to Decatur county they were accompanied by their son, Henson, the 
father of ]\Irs. Alessler. Before returning home they planted a patch of 
corn, and upon coming back to Decatur county found out that the squirrels 
had eaten up the corn. The ten children born to Daniel and Nancy Bell, 
John, Louisa, Henson, George, Thomas, Mary, Nancy, Tarlton, James and 
Julia, are all deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Messier have a farm of eighty-one acres in Fugit town- 
ship, the old Bell homestead, although they have for several years resided 
in Greensburg, where, in October, 1902, they bought a home. They are 
known as among the most delightful people living in the city of Greensburg. 
Mr. Messier is a man who has enjoyed a variety of experiences, and who 
is rich in anecdote of former times, a charming conversationalist, a genial, 
broad-minded citizen, who is revered by his fellow townsmen and honored 
by all with whom he has ever come in contact. Mrs. Messier is a woman of 
most gracious personality, refined and cultured, interested in all worthy 
public movements, and who for many years was a leader among her sex in 
this county. Eminentl}^ worthy as both J\Ir. and Mrs. Messier are, they 
well deserve the respect and esteem of the .people of Greensburg and 
Decatur county. Mrs. Messier is now and has been a member of INIt. Carmel 
Methodist Episcopal church since 1855. 



HARRY H. MOUNT. 



Harry H. INIount, of Greensburg, Indiana, formerly a school teacher 
and banker, now a farmer, who owns two hundred and forty acres of land 
near the Shelby county line, is one of the best-known citizens of Decatur 
county. For several years he has been an extensive breeder of Aberdeen 
Angus cattle, and for the past two years has raised only registered cattle. 
His herd consists now of forty-four head, eight of which are registered 
stock. 

Mr. Alount was born on December 28, 1875, on a farm in Noble town- 
ship, Shelliy county, Indiana, two miles west of Cliffy, or INIilford, the son 
of Thomas J. and Nancy (Thornburg) Blount, natives of Noble township, 
Shelby county, Indiana, the former of whom was born on August 24, 1846, 
and who died on October 10, 1910, and the latter of whom was born on 
July 6, 1844, and who died on September 2, 1894, many years before the 
death of her husband. Tiie late Thomas J. Mount was the son of Matthias 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 717 

and Margaret (Marsh) Mount, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom 
was born in 1823, and who died in 1893. Coming to Shelby county, Indiana, 
with his father when a mere lad, he eventually succeeded to the land his 
father entered from the government, and it is this land which is now held 
by the Mount family. His wife, who before her marriage was Margaret 
Marsh, was born in 1825, and died, three years before the death of her hus- 
band, in 1890. They had ten children, six of whom lived to maturity, 
Thomas J., was the father of Harry H. ; Mrs. Martha Hanks died on Feb- 
ruary ZT,, 1913; Amos died in March, 1894; Hannah is deceased; Sarah died 
in 1881 ; and Mrs. Emma Blackmore lives on the old home place. 

Thomas J. Mount, a successful farmer and stockman, removed to 
Greensburg in November, 1884, from which place he looked after his farm- 
ing interests, living there until 1908, when he returned to the farm, and there 
died. In 1896 he purchased a farm from Frank Butler on the Shelby and 
Decatur county line, a part of which was in Clay township, Decatur county, 
and a part of which was in Shelby county. He owned four hundred and 
fifty acres in all, and at one time was an extensive breeder of Poland China 
hogs. He exercised his right of franchise as a Republican. He and his 
family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. The late Thomas 
J. and Nancy (Thornburg) Mount had only two children, Harry H., the 
subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Elmer E. Wooden, who lives in Greensburg. 
Mrs. Nancy (Thornburg) Mount was a native of Noble township, Shelby 
county, Indiana, and the daughter of Thomas and Maria (Berry) Thorn- 
burg", who were in turn natives of Pennsylvania, and Ohio, respectivel3^ 
They migrated to Shelby county, Indiana, in the late thirties. 

Educated in the country schools of Decatur county and in the Greens- 
burg high school, Harry H. Mount attended the State University at Bloom- 
ington, Indiana, pursuing his studies in the scientific course. After teaching 
school for two years in Clay township at the Hiner and Brown schools, he 
resigned in 1899 to take a position as bookkeeper in the Third National Bank, 
and from December i, 1899, to May i, 1912, a period of thirteen years, he 
was bookkeeper and teller at this institution. Since 1912 Mr. Mount has 
been devoting all of his attention in directing the work on his two-hundred- 
and-forty-acre farm on the Shelby county line. 

On June 7, 1905, Harry H. Mount was married to Daisy E. Gartin, of 
Hartford City, Indiana, who is the daughter of Griffith and Laura E. 
(Templeton) Gartin, formerly residents of Decatur county. Indiana. The 
father now lives in Muncie. Mrs. Mount was born on September 2/. 1876, 
in Decatur county. Her father, who was born in this county on October 



JlS DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

26, 1854, is llie son of Clril'litli (iartin, Sr., a natiw of \'ir<;inia, aiul an 
early settler in Decatur county. Her mother, who hefore her marriage was 
Laura E. Templeton, was born on l'"ehruary 13, iSs^^, and died on June 25, 
1882, in I'Vanklin county. She was the dau,^hter of John Templeton, who 
came to Mecalur counl\- in an early day. Mrs. .Mount is the onl_\' child horn 
to her father's first marriage. 

.\. Republican in party ])olitics, Harry 11. .Mount is a member of the 
Greensburg citv council, and is giving efficient service to his tellow towns- 
men as a public ofticial and an enterprising and public-spirited citizen. Mr. 
and .Mrs. Mount are meiubers of the .Methodist h'.piscopal church. He is a 
member of the Knights of I'ythias Lodge No. 148, at Greensburg, and for 
sex'cn years has been keeiier of records and seal. Mr. and Mrs. Mount live 
in a moilern home, and both are well educated and highly rei'med. Mrs. 
Mount is treasurer of the Deiiartment Glub at Greensburg, and both take 
an active part in tiie social life of the city. 



S.VMUKL H, STEWART. 

The Stewart family in Decatur county was fotnidctl by Atlani L. Stew- 
art, a native of South Carolina, born in iSi 1, and who died in 1896, From 
SotUh Carolina, he immigrated with his father, James Stewart, to Ohio, and 
it was here that lie was reared. JM-om Ohio he came to Rush county about 
1832, and one year later mo\ctl to luigit township, Decatur county, Intliana, 
where he settled. Here he married Isal)ella Hood, the daughter of Samuel 
.and Isabella (Lee) 1 b)od, wiiose grantlfatber, John Carson, of X'irginia, 
was a soldier in the .\merican Revolution, Lsabella Hood was born in Ken- 
tucky in i8ir> and died in 18S8. She was l)rought to Decatur county by her 
father, Samuel Hood, who came in 1827. In 1852 Adam L. and Isabella 
(Hood) Stewart mo\cd to a farm in Clinton township, consisting of eighty 
acres and here they li\ed until their deaths. 

Samuel 11. Stewart, who is one of eight children born to Adam L. and 
Isabella Stewart, and who is a prominent stock dealer and farmer of Greens- 
burg, now li\ing retireil, is the subject of tiiis sketch. Samuel H. Stewart 
w;is born on Jaiuiary 26, 1837, in Fugit townsliip. He was the eldest child 
born to bis parents, the otliers being James, wiio died at the age of thirteen; 
Mrs. So|)lna Weed, deceased; I'.liza, who died in i8<i8; Mrs. Xanc\- .\manda 
l'\)ley, a widow who li\es in Greensburg; John, of Kansas City; Margaret, 
who died in .\pril. 1014. and .Mar\-, who died at the age of two years. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 71^ 

Saimifl II. Stewart, who responded to President Lincoln's first call for 
volnnteers, enlisted in Company F, Seventh Regiment, Indiana \'oluntcer 
Infantry, in 1861 and served three months, being mustered out in July, 1861. 
He was in the first battle of the Civil War at Philippi, Virginia, and also 
served throughout the Cheat river campaign. 

On November 9, 1865, Mr. Stewart was married to Hannah Donnell, 
who was born on August 9, 1837, in h'ugit township, and who is the daugh- 
ter of Samuel Addison and Mary (Lowe) Donnell, natives of Kentucky, 
the former of whom was born in 1808 and died in 1870 and the latter born 
in 1810 and died in 1858. Samuel Donnell, whose wife was Hannah (Juiett 
of Kentucky, settled in Decatur county in 1823. He was the son of James 
Donnell, a native of Pennsylvania and a pioneer settler in Kentucky. James 
Donnell married Catherine Gibson, a native of Virginia. Six children were 
born to Samuel A. and Mary (Lowe) Donnell, as follow: Mrs. Hester Jane 
Rankin, of Greensburg; Luther, who died in Fugit township; Hannah; Seth, 
deceased; Thomas R., of Greensburg, and Mrs. Rebecca Angelina Miller, of 
Franklin, Indiana. The Donnell family is a very large one in this section of 
the country. Mrs. Mary (Lowe) Donnell, the mother of these children, was 
a daughter of Seth and Rebecca (Ryan) Lowe, the latter of Virginia. He 
was the first settler in the Kingston neigii])orhood, the Hamiltons and Mc- 
Coys coming in 1823, he preceding them by two years. Although a member 
of the Baptist church, he attended the Presbyterian church and was a man 
of charitable and benevolent disposition. He reared, several children beside 
his own family, and was known during his day and generation as a noble 
character. 

After .Mr. and .Mrs. Stewart were marrieil, they settled in Clinton town- 
ship and in 1871 niox'ed to Greensburg, where he engaged permanently in 
the live stock business. 'Jdiis business, however, he had reallv begun in 
1855. During his life, Mr. Stewart has bought and sold thousands of cattle 
and hogs. In the early days he shi])pcd from three to fifteen carloads of cat- 
tle and the same nuniljer of carloads of hogs, at one time. He shipped to 
Buffalo, I'ittsburgh and Cincinnati, ])rincipally. .Mthough Mr. Stewart has 
owned as high as two hundred and fifty acres of land, he now owns only 
si.xty acres in Clinton township. His farm of two hundred acres which he 
owns, three miles south of Greensburg, lie is now selling off from time to- 
time. .\fter selling the farm, Mr. Stewart leased it for a period of twentv 
years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel H. Stewart have been the parents of four chil- 
dren, Mary, who is the wife of Charles J. I"",rdinann, of Greensburg; Edna. 



•720 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

who is employed Ijy the State Life Insurance Company, at IndianapoHs; 
Anna, who is employed on the Greensbiirg Review and who was formerly a 
school teacher, and Kate, who lives at home. 

An independent Repuljlican in politics, Mr. Stewart is a great admirer 
of President ^ViIson. Religiously, he is a member of the Presbyterian 
church as is Mrs. Stewart also. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and 
Accepted Masons and the Pap Thomas Post No. 5, Grand Army of the 
Republic. 



REV. JOHN ADAM URICH. 

Decatur county has been the home and the scene of the labors of many 
men whose lives should serve as a lesson and an. inspiration to those who 
follow them upon the stage of life's activities — men who have been of 
larger usefulness to the community than in clearing the wilderness or 
amassing great personal fortune. The honored and esteemed Rev. John 
Adam Urich, pastor of St. Mary's church at Millhousen in Marion town- 
ship for the past eleven years, is a man of well-rounded character, sincere, 
devoted and loyal. Standing as he does today at the head of one of the 
more important Catholic churches in Decatur county, it is fitting that a brief 
summary of his life and work be given in this volume. 

Born on February 16, 1863, at St. Joe, Vanderburg county, Indiana, he 
is the son of Bernard and Barbara (Wiedner) Urich, the former of whom 
was born January i, 1818, and who died on April 5, 18S7, and the latter of 
whom was born in 1820 and died on June 27. 1909. Both were natives of 
Hambach, Bavaria, Germany, and were born, reared and married in their 
native land. With their children, Barbara, Mary and Peter, they came to 
America in 1854, locating in the Catholic settlement at St. Joe, near German- 
township, Vanderburg county, Indiana, a distinct German emigrant neighbor- 
hood. The father became a well-to-do citizen, who owned one hundred 
and eighty acres of land and who died in good circumstances in his old 
home in Vanderburg county. A brother of his wife, having urged him to 
locate in America, he and his wife being of sickly natures, on their doctor's 
advice, came to Indiana. They had seven children, of whom John Adam 
was the youngest. The other children were : Mrs. Barbara Nurenbern, of 
Vanderburg county ; Mrs. Mary Pallet, of Evansville ; Peter, who li^-es on 
the old home place; Joseph, of Vanderburg county; Mrs. Margaret Cztel- 
"ler, deceased ; Regina Czteller, of Evansville. 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 72I 

After ha\ing studied at Tentopolis College in Illinois for two years, the 
Re\-. Joim Adam Urich entered St. Meinrad College, in Spencer county, Indi- 
ana, where he remained for eight years, finishing the theological seminary 
course. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Francis S. Chatard, at Ferdi- 
nand, Indiana, on June 19, 1886, and was assigned the pastorate of St. 
Anne's church in Jennings county, where he remained until June 15, 1904, 
when he was placed in charge of St. Mary's church at Millhousen. 

During the Rev. John Adam Urich's pastorate of St. Mary's church 
all of the parish buildings, including the church, school house, the priest's 
house and the sisters' house, have been painted and reroofed. Three altars, 
costing two thousand dollars, have been purchased. The interior of the 
priest's house and the sisters' residence have been renovated, cement walks 
have been installed, school grounds have been graded, and a wire fence has 
been erected around the entire property. Gas lights have been installed 
inside and outside of the church and many other minor improvements have 
been made. There can be no doubt that the pastorate of the Rev. John 
Adam Urich has been a distinct success. This is a large parish and com- 
prises altogether one hundred and sixty families. 

The Rev. Father Urich is not only successful in his pastoral duties, 
but he is an elocjuent and forceful preacher, a man well learned in the his- 
toric foundation of Christianit}^ and a man who is able to inspire his par- 
ishioners with love of the Christian church. 



GEORGE MENZIE. 



Probably there is no man in Decatur county who has a wider acquaint- 
ance in the county than the gentleman whose name the reader notes above. 
One of the most extensive buyers and shippers of live stock in this section of 
Indiana, he is known to every farmer hereabout and is popular with them 
all. There is hardly a day in the year that George Menzie does not ship 
from his }ards in Greensburg from one to four cars of cattle, his business 
aggregating more than five hundred cars annually. In the operation of this 
extensive business he distributes thousands of dollars throughout the county 
and is recognized as one of the most active and energetic men in this part of 
the state. No review of the activities of this county would be complete 
without a proper reference to Mr. Menzie's part therein, hence it is very 
fitting that the following biographv be set out here. 
(46) 



722 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

George Menzie was born in the city of Greensburg. Indiana, on Janu- 
ary 6, 1871, the son of John and Alary (Luther) Menzie, the former of 
whom was a native of Switzerland and the latter of whom was born in 
Greensburg, this county, both of whom are still living, enjoying their latter 
days in quiet retirement at their pleasant home in the county seat. 

John Menzie was born in Switzerland on December 12, 1837, the son of 
Jacob and Verina (Snaille) Alenzie, the former of whom was a shoemaker. 
During his early boyhood, John Menzie worked for his uncle in a saw-mill 
and at the age of sixteen years decided to seek his fortunes in the land of 
opportunities across the sea. Coming to America, he proceeded to Law- 
renceburg, Indiana, at which place his brother, Jacob, had located some years 
previously. Shortly after his arrival at Lawrenceburg he and his brother 
went to Chicago, with a view to possible permanent location there, but not 
finding things just to their liking, returned to Indiana. John went to Greens- 
burg, where for a short time he worked for Charles Zoller in a meat market, 
later taking occupation as a farm hand in the Springhill neighborhood, in 
this county. After two years of this form of experience, he returned to 
Greensburg and entered the butcher business, working for Harvey Ander- 
son and George Menzie, presently becoming the sole owner of this business, 
in which he became quite prosperous, gradually enlarging the scope of the 
same to include general dealing in cattle and hogs, becoming an extensive 
shipper. His shop was located on the corner, which he then owned, but is 
now occupied by the I. O. O. F. building. In 1905 he turned the business 
over to his sons, John and George, since which time he has been retired 
from active business cares. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War John Menzie sold out his butcher shop 
and enlisted in Company F, Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. 
After three months of service, however, he was seized with a serious illness, 
which so incapacitated him that he was discharged. Returning to Greens- 
burg he found his invalidism did not properly respond to local treatment and 
took a trip to Europe, finding his health greatly improved thereby. Upon 
recovering his wonted health, Mr. Menzie returned to Greensburg and 
resumed the butcher business, success attending him from the very start. 

On September 29, 1861, John Menzie was united in marriage to Mary 
Luther, who was born in Greensburg on October 8, 1-844, the daughter of 
Caleb and Elizabeth (Nice) Luther, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts 
and Pennsylvania. Caleb Luther was a contractor and builder who located 
in Greensburg in the early days and was an active builder there for years. 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 723 

In 1856 he bought a small farm near the city and there spent the rest of his 
life. His wife, Elizabeth Nice, was the first teacher in the old seminary in 
Greensburg, a woman who exerted a very wholesome influence upon the 
youth of that day in and about the county seat -and whose memory still is 
kept green in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Luther were the parents of four 
children, Mrs. Abbie Whipple, who died in Iowa; Mrs. Frances Gilchrist, 
who also died in Iowa ; Edward, who died in Leavenworth, Kansas, and 
Mrs. Menzie. To Mr. and Mrs. Menzie were born two sons, John and 
George, both of whom live at Greensburg. Two daughters died in infancy. 

j\Ir. and Mrs. John Menzie are members of the Presbyterian church and 
are held in the highest esteem in the city in which they live. Mr. Menzie is 
a Democrat and formerly took much interest in political affairs. He is a 
member of Pap Thomas Post No. 5, Grand Army of the Republic, and a 
member of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Knights and 
Ladies of Honor lodges in Greensburg, in all of which he is very popular. 

George Menzie was educated in the local schools at Greensburg and 
at the age of fifteen went to Cincinnati where he remained for three years, 
learning the butcher business. ' At the end of this time he returned to Greens- 
burg and for one year worked for Charles Zoller, after which he and his 
brother, John, engaged in the butcher business for themselves, continuing 
this association for ten years, at the end of which time, in 1912, John sold 
his interest to his brother, George, having conducted the business alone since 
that time, being the exclusive buyer and shipper of live stock in the city of 
Greensburg, his shipments amounting to as much as five hundred carloads 
of cattle and hogs annually. 

On December 25, 1892, George Menzie was united in marriage to Mollie 
Rader, daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth Rader, of Greensburg, and to 
this union one child has been born, a daughter, Elizabeth, on July 12, 1894, 
who is bookkeeper and stenographer for the Sal-Tone Company, of Greens- 
burg. 

Mr. Menzie is a Democrat and is particularly active in the lodge circles 
of the city in which he li\es. He entered the Odd Fellows and Knights of 
Pythias lodges when he was twenty-one years of age; has passed through 
all the chairs in the encampment of the former order and is past chancellor 
commander of the local lodge of the latter order. He also is an active mem- 
1)er of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and' is a prime favorite 
in all these lodges. Mr. Menzie is a busy, energetic man, public-spirited and 
progressive and is regarded as one of the leaders in the busy life of his 
home city. 



724 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JAMES B. LATHROP. 

James B. Lathrop, the president of the Citizens National Bank at 
Greensburg, Indiana, who is still active in business at the age of ninety 
years, has had a most interesting career as a pioneer citizen of Indiana. 
Born of patriotic stock, he represents the second generation of a family 
which has lived in Decatur county practically ever since the town of Greens- 
burg was laid out in 1822. For thirty-one years a minister of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, he perhaps served as pastor of more cities in Indiana 
than any other living man. Few men, living or dead, have had more to do 
with Indiana Methodism than he, having served as pastor in fifteen or 
twenty Indiana cities, and having in less than twenty years after he began 
his career as a minister of the Gospel, became a presiding elder in the Meth- 
odist church. For many years, however, he has been retired from the min- 
istry, and has been engaged in business in the city of Greensburg. 

The Lathrop family had its original home during the fourteenth cen- 
tury in northeastern Yorkshire, England, in what was known at that time 
as Lothroppe College Rectory, a church and school. The founder of the 
family in America was the Rev. John Lathrop, a Congregational preacher, 
whose church in the city of London was raided under the Archbishop of the 
English church and all of the congregation, including the minister and 
si.xty-six men, thrown into prison. The Rev. John Lathrop was released 
after having been kept in prison for five years, and took the first vessel for 
America, landing at Plymouth Rock, where he was greeted by forty of his 
old congregation. For four years he served as pastor of the church at 
Scituate in what is now Plymouth county, and was then appointed chaplain 
to the governor at Boston, where he spent the remainder of his life. He 
was accustomed to write the annual Thanksgiving proclamation for the 
governor of Massachusetts. 

The next member of the Lathrop family in line of descent from Rev. 
John Lathrop was Erastus Lathrop, a native of Connecticut, who moved to 
'Canada, and whose property was confiscated by the crown during the War 
of 1812. He returned to this country and settled in Vermont, where he 
owned a fine farm on the St. Lawrence river. A brother of Erastus, Ezra 
by name, served during the War of 1812. Erastus himself was a captain 
in the home guards, a company which was called out at the battle of Lake 
Champlain. He was a well-known Baptist minister in his day and genera- 
tion. On his father's farm, located near the St. Lawrence river in Canada, 
Ezra Lathrop, the father of James B., was born in 1803. Ezra was a native 




ItEV. JAMKS It. LATIIUUl'. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 725 

of Canada and was reared in that country. During the year of 1812 the 
family refused to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown. Aljout 
1822, the year in which the town of Greensburg was laid out, Ezra Lathrop 
came west to Decatur county, Indiana, with his father. They selected one 
hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining the site of the county seat, and 
also another one hundred and sixty acres north of the present site of Greens- 
burg. Erastus, having returned home to bring back the family, died of 
typhoid fever. Ezra, the brother, came to Dearborn county, Indiana, in 
1817, and grew to manhood, the hired man having, in the meantnne, made 
a camp out of the bark of a poplar tree. During the winter of 1812 they 
lived on the site of Webb Woodfill's present residence. They cleared ten 
acres of land and in the spring returned for the mother and her other 
children. 

Ezra Lathrop married Abi Potter, a member of the pioneer family of 
Huguenot descent, who fled from France, and who settled first in South 
Carolina, and later migrated to North Carolina. Nathaniel Potter, the 
father of Abi Potter, lived near where the battle of Cowpens was fought, 
antl he had four brothers who were soldiers in the American Revolution. 
Subseciuently he moved into Kentucky and from there moved to Decatur 
county, where he purchased several tracts of land. He gave each of his 
eight children eighty acres, and retained for his own use one hundrcfl and 
sixty acres east of town. He was an important man in his day and genera- 
tion and was considered extremely wealthy. Ezra Lathrop inherited con- 
siderable land from his father. During the first few years of his residence 
in Decatur county he did odd jobs, and during the second year he got a 
contract with another man for the building of the brick school house in 
Fugit township. The partner, however, absconded with all the profits, and 
Ezra got nothing. Eventually, howexer, he became a successful contractor 
and a manufacturer of brick, building many houses in Greensburg. He 
served as justice of the peace, having jurisdiction over the entire county, 
and held this office for a period of twenty years. A dry goods merchant, 
he also loaned money. The old linmc farm, adjacent to the town of Greens- 
burg, two miles north, and upon which a part of the present city of Greens- 
burg is built, he sold for two hundred and fifty dollars j>er acre. After 
having reared a family of two children to maturity, Ezra Lathrop died in 
1894. Six children, however, were liorn to himself and wife, four of thera 
dying in infancy. Levi, one of the sons who grew to maturity, died m 
1884, and the other son is James B., the subject of this sketch, who was 
born on November 24, 1825, in a one-story brick house, which stood in the 



726 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

second square from the court house on East Washington street, and which 
Ezra Lathrop had built probably in 1823. 

The venerable James B. Lathrop received an extraordinary education 
for his day and generation, having been instructed in the pioneer schools 
of Greensburg, and at Indiana University. Immediately after leaving col- 
lege he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church. Beginning 
in 1847, ^t the age of twenty-two, he served almost continuously as pastor 
of some church for thirty-one years. He was first called upon to fill a 
vacancy on the iMartinsville circuit. Later he was transferred to Greenville, 
having in the meantime eighteen appointments in school houses, homes and 
churches. At Vincennes, Indiana, he had a very hard field, but was able 
to establish two new churches. From Vincennes he was transferred to 
Point Commerce on the Wabash river. From Point Commerce he went to 
Franklin, Indiana, a very poor church, which had only fifty members as late 
as 185 1. Among other charges he was pastor of the church at Conners- 
ville, Vevay, Madison, Brookville, Columbus, Rushville, Aurora and Adams. 
When he went to Adams, there were only sixteen members, and within two 
years during his pastorate the church had increased to one hundred mem- 
bers and a new building had been dedicated. The Greensburg church had 
the best village Sunday school in Decatur county. 

After a brief absence from the ministry, during which he was engaged 
in business with his brother at Greensburg. he returned to Connersville in 
the fall of 1864, and became presiding elder, a position which he held for 
two years, having jurisdiction over the Indianapolis district, and completing 
the balance of the six-year term on Moores Hill district, as the result of hav- 
ing traded districts with Elder Holliday, of Moores Hill. He was presiding 
elder of the Lawrenceburg and Moores Hill districts for six years each. 

At one time Reverend Lathrop was in charge of the Grace Methodist 
Episcopal church in Indianapolis, but on account of the death of his brother 
and the aged parents, he returned home and served as pastor within the 
Milroy circuit for four years. 

On the death of his brother in 1884, Mr. Lathrop became guardian 
for his children, and had charge of his deceased brother's estate. Subse- 
quently, he became guardian for two girls left fatherless, and served in this 
capacity for five years. The father having been a mill owner, Mr. Lathrop 
operated the mill for the children for one year, selling the mill to a com- 
pany. He operated the mill for the company for five years. He has been 
connected with the Citizens National Bank of Greensburg for many years, 
and on his father's death became manager of his estate, assisted by Lewis 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 727 

E. Lathrop, which position he held until 1884, when he turned the estate, 
amounting to a hundred thousand dollars, over to his children. 

In this connection it may be said that Mr. Lathrop's career as a minis- 
ter ended with a tinal period of four years during which he was a junior 
preacher on the Milroy circuit. 

On November 28, 1848, James B. Lathrop was married to Mary C. 
Butler, who was born in Bloomington, Indiana, and who was the daughter 
of F. T. Butler. Mrs. Lathrop was born in 1830 and died in 1897. She 
was the mother of six children, two of whom died early in life. Levi died 
at the age of twelve years, and William died at the age of two years. The 
other children are Mrs. Ella Gavin, wife of Judge Gavin, of Indianapolis; 
Lizzie, who lives with her father; Harry, the secretary of the Business 
Men's Association of Greensburg, and Mrs. Margaret Shannon, wife of 
John Shannon, who lives one and one-half miles northwest of Greensburg. 

James B. Lathrop has been a life-long Republican. Fraternally, he 
is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and is a Knight Templar, 
being a member of the Baldwin Commandery at Shelby ville, Indiana. 

Possessed with a genius for public service, the influence of James B. 
Lathrop will live when he is gone. As his career is nearing a close he may 
enjoy the satisfaction of looking back on a life which has been spent in his 
Master's vineyard. Having carried the Christian Gospel to the people of 
this state at a time when it involved a greater sacrifice than at present, and 
having been a true ser\'ant, it is not too much to believe that his work will 
be approved by the One he has served in these well-known words, 

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 

Mr. Lathrop became a stockholder of the Citizens Bank at Greens- 
burg, Indiana, in 1873. He has served as president of the bank for sev- 
eral years. 



ANTHONY HABIG. 



Among the thriving businesses in Decatur county, Indiana, is that of 
the Habig Real Estate Agency, established in 1897 by Anthony Habig. This 
firm not only deals in farms and city properties in Indiana and Ohio, but 
also has a large loan business and deals in lands in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, 
Canada and Oklahoma. The company has handled a considerable acreage 
of land during its existence, Mr. Habig buying and selling thousands of acres 
principally upon the commission basis. 

Although Anthony Habig is not a native of this county, he has resided 



'I 



728 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

here now for twenty-five years and is naturally well known. He was born 
in Cincinnati on December 5, 1870, the son of Joseph and Theresa liabig, 
natives of Cincinnati, who moved to Indiana in 1880 and located on a farm 
one mile east of Shelbyville. They later resided in Greensburg and he was 
engaged in the milling business until 1897, when they moved to Indianapolis^ 
where they died in 1905. 

Mr. Habig has resided in Greensburg since 1890. From 1890 to 1897, 
he was employed in the office of the mill operated by his father. In the 
latter year he engaged in the real estate business and has been continuously 
engaged since that time. 

In 1891 Mr. Habig was married to Ethel Fromer, of Greensburg and 
to them have been born two children, Marguerite and Velma. 

' A Democrat in politics, Mr. Habig has never taken a special part in 
the councils of his part}'. He has never held office nor has he ever aspired to 
office, devoting his time almost exclusively to his own private business. 
Fraternally, Mr. Habig is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the 
Knights of St. John and is prominent in both organizations. The Habig 
family are all members of the Catholic church and are liberal contributors to 
its support. 

.\nthony Habig is a man, who, in his dealings with the public, has 
established an enviable reputation for honorable and square dealings. In 
his business especially this is an important asset and it is responsible largely 
for the splendid clientage which he today enjoys. He also handles old 
line fire insurance, Hanover h'ire Insurance Company, New York City; 
Aachen and Munich, New York City; also has a rent-collecting depart- 
ment. 



BERNARD H. BLANKMAN. 

In the history of our country, the schoolroom has led directly to many 
positions of trust and responsibility, and many of our celebrated statesmen 
today are men who began their active careers in life as teachers in the pub- 
lic schools. Bernard H. Blankman, the present surveyor of Decatur county, 
Indiana, who began teaching at the age of eighteen, was engaged continu- 
ously in this profession for fourteen years. He is a man who is well known 
to the people of Decatur county, and who, having given a satisfactory meas- 
ure of service during his first term as county surveyor, was triumphantly 
re-elected in the fall of 1914 to serve a second term. 




Ml;. AM* MUS. HKUXAltn II. ItL.WKMAX. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 729 

« 

Bernard H. Blankman, the county surveyor of Decatur county, was 
born on October 28, 1877, at Millliousen, Indiana, where lie now resides. 
He is the son of Henry and Mary (GoldschmicU) Blankman, the former of 
whom was born on December 6, 1849, '" Cincinnati, and the latter of whom 
was born in 1857 in the same city. Nine children were born to Henry and 
Mary Blankman; Bernard, the subject of this sketch; Edward, Frank. 
August, William and Mrs. Clara Vaske, all of whom reside at Bigelow, 
Minnesota ; Mrs. Josephine Ruhl, who lives in Millliousen ; John and Theo- 
dore, who still live at home. 

Henry Blankman was the son of Bernard H. and Angela (Lueken) 
Blankman, both of whom were born in Germany, although not in the same 
state. They came to America when still young people, met and were mar- 
ried in Cincinnati, Ohio. They moved to Millhousen, Decatur county, when 
their son, Henry, was six year old. Mr. Blankman's maternal grandparents 
were John Bernard and Elizabeth (Brinkers) Goldschmidt, who were also 
born in Germany. They moved to Millhousen, Decatur county, when Mr. 
Blankman's mother was eleven years old. Henry Blankman and Mary 
Goldschmidt were married in Millhousen. 

Bernard H. Blankman attended the parochial school at Alillhousen 
until fourteen years of age, and was then a student in the district school, 
No. 6, in Marion township, being graduated from the district school at the 
age of seventeen. Subsequently, he attended the Central Nonnal College 
at Danville, Indiana, during the summer of 1895, preparatory to teaching. 
He has learned surveying by home study and by practical work. Mr. Blank- 
man taught school for fourteen years, having begun at the age of eighteen. 
He taught until 1913, when he assumed the duties of surveyor, having been 
elected to the office in November, 1912. This office was wholly unsought, 
as Mr. Blankman is in no sense of the word a politician. He gave such 
excellent service that he was re-elected in 191 4. During the three years 
that he has held the office he has had no trouble and during this period has 
had charge of all land surveys, the building of macadamized roads and all 
bridges in Decatur county. Mr. Blankman has one hundred acres of land — 
well improved farm — which he rents out. He, however, still lives on his 
farm. 

On June 7, 1905, Mr. Blankman was married in Millhousen to Clara 
M. Hardebeck, who was born at Millhousen on December 4, 1885, and who 
is the daughter of Henry and Rebecca ( Funke) Hardelieck, the former of 
whom was born near Marion, Indiana, on January 27, 1840, and who died 
on October 10, 191 3. The latter was born in Germany on Februar}' 2, 



730 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1845. They were the parents of the following children : Mrs. Josephine 
Steltenpohl; Mrs. Mary Butz; Mrs. Cecelia Ronnebaum; Frances, at home; 
Theodore, a farmer of Marion township; Louis and Henry, also at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Blankman have had five children : Cyril, w-ho was born 
on December 14, 1907; Paul, August 20, 1909; Alvin, May 17, 1911 ; Laura, 
October 21, 19 13, and Orval Theo, June 20, 19 15. 

Fraternally, Mr. Blankman is a member of the Knights of St. John. 
He and his wife and family are members of the Catholic church and he is 
identified with the Democratic party. He owes his nomination and election 
as county sui'veyor to this party. 



HARRY EMMERT. 



An enterprise of which the people of Greensburg are very proud, and 
one which finally passed under the control of local capitalists, is the Greens- 
burg Water Company, which supplies water to the citizens of Greensburg 
frorii thirty driven wells by the latest compressed air system. The Greens- 
burg Water Company, of which Harry Emmert is vice-president and gen- 
eral manager, has one of the finest plants in Indiana, and one which is en- 
tirely adequate for a much larger city. The new system, which was installed 
in 1915 after two years' work at a cost of forty thousand dollars, makes 
it possible to pump water to a radius of one and one-half miles. Although 
this company was organized in 1888 by Samuel R. Bullock, a few years 
later it was owned by the Prudential Water Company, of Rochester, New 
York, and in 1901 passed to the control of residents of this city. For 
almost twenty years Harry Emmert has been the general manager of this 
plant, and its splendid success is so closely intertwined with his career as a 
business man, that it seems fitting here to emphasize its importance to the 
comfort and convenience of the city of Greensburg. The present president 
of the company is David A. Myers. Mr. Emmert is vice-president and gen- 
eral manager. James B. Kitchen is secretary and treasurer. These officers 
with W. W. Woodfill and \^'. H. Robbins comprise the board of directors. 
The company, which is capitalized at one hundred thousand dollars, employs 
ten people. 

Harry Emmert, who has been general manager of the Greensburg 
W^ater Company since 1896, was born on October 6, 1868. in Greensburg, 
but is the son of native-born German parents, John and Catherine (Seitz) 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 73 1 

Emmert. The former, who was born in Mannheim, Germany, came to this 
country a poor boy, and attended night school after coming here to obtain 
an education. Coming to Greensburg, Indiana, in 1866, he built the Gar- 
land mills, and operated these mills until his death. Before coming to 
Greensburg he had lived in Lawrenceburg, to which place he came in 1853. 
He not only was engaged in the milling business, but he was a miller by 
trade, as was his father before him, and no doubt his technical knowledge 
of the business was, in a large measure, responsible for his great success. 
During his life John Emmert was an influential man in Decatur county. A 
Democrat in politics, he served as councilman of Greensburg for a number 
of years, and was public-spirited, progressive, industrious and became very 
wealthy. A member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for many 
years, he was prominent in that organization. There were three eventful 
years in the career of John Emmert. In 1845, when he came to America 
with his parents and located at Trenton, New Jersey; in 1853, when he 
located at Lawrenceburg, where he was married to Catherine Seitz, and 
in 1866, when he came to Greensburg, Indiana, where the most of his for- 
tune was acquired. His wife, who before her marriage was Catherine Seitz, 
was born in Alsace-Lorraine, and was brought to America with her parents 
when four years old, in 1838. The}- first located in Hamilton, Ohio, but 
her father, Christopher Seitz, later removed to Dearborn county, where he 
became a farmer. John Emmert died in 1882. while his wife survived him 
many years, dying in 1909. 

Harry Emmert grew up in the milling business of his father, having 
worked in his father's mill from the time he was a small lad. In the mean- 
time he received a liberal education in -the public and high schools of Greens- 
burg, and when finishing high school was reasonably well equipped for a 
business career. At the age of twenty-eight he became manager of the 
Greensburg Water Company, and with the growth of this company he also 
has grown as a business man, having become, in the meantime, president of 
the Citizens Gas Supply Company, a fifteen thousand dollar corporation, 
president of the Sand Creek Gas Company, a five thousand dollar corpora- 
tion, which supplies natural gas to the Citizens Gas Supply Company, besides 
being extensively interested in other important local enterprises. 

IMr. Emmert has never married. He is a Democrat in politics and a 
member of the Presbyterian church. He is a member of the Masonic lodge, 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Benevolent and Protective 
•Order of Elks. 

Water, as we all know, is a public utility and a public convenience and 



732 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

necessity, and the man who is responsible for furnishing pure, clean water 
to the people of a city, performs a greater service than a man can perform 
in almost any other way. Mr. Emmert is a skilled manager, and being sup- 
plied with the best equipment, he naturally is in a position to maintain cordial 
relations with the public. In the city of Greensburg he is very popular.. 



NELSON MOWREY. 



Decatur county has produced men who have risen to distinction in 
many different fields of endeavor, but it is safe to say that no man has made 
a more pronounced success of agriculture than Nelson Alowrey. Born in 
this county more than eighty years ago, he has made it his life-long resi- 
dence and has never cared to exjhange it for any other home. Decatur 
county has been good enough for him. 

There is probably no other occuijation which }'ields the certain returns 
that may come to the farmer, and the striking success which has attended 
the efforts of Mr. Mowrey are ample evidence that he has applied his ener- 
gies in such a way as to produce maximum results. Starting out in life 
with only a small competenc}' he has labored to the end that he has accu- 
mulated more material wealth from the soil than an}' other farmer who has 
ever tilled the soil in the county. 

But it is not mere wealth which makes a man. If it were, there would 
be no outcry against the men of wealth in this country today. It is the 
use of the wealth once gained which marks the true .American citizen, and 
it is in this particular that Mr. ]Mowr'ey stands high in the estimation of his 
fellow citizens. More than one church in the county can testify to his 
generosity; more than one congregation in the county today is doing the 
Master's work better and more efficiently because of the broad philanthro- 
pic spirit of Mr. Mowrey. The crowning act of Mr. Mowrey, however, 
which shows his worth as a pulilic-spirited citizen was his gift to the city 
of Greensburg which made the magnihcent new Young Men's Christian 
Association building a possibility. This was erected in 19 15, solely through 
the munificence of Mr. Mowrey and will stand as a monument through 
manv generations }-et to come. Thus it may be seen wh\' Mr. Mowrey 
merits the title of the "Grand old man of Greensburg." 

Nelson Mowrey, the son of Joel and Priscilla (King) Mowrey, was 
born on July 30, 1832, in Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana. His 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 733 

father, a native of Kentucky, was a thrifty citizen for his day and genera- 
tion and when he came from Kentuck}- to Decatur county in the early twen- 
ties, he at once set about to carve a place out of the primeval wilderness. 
Here he and his good wife lived until their death, he passing away in 1834, 
when Nelson was only two years of age. The mother was left with a fam- 
ily of four children. Nelson being the }'oungest. The other three children, 
John L., Malinda Jane and Thurza Ann, are deceased. Nelson was born 
-in a log cabin which is still standing. His mother lived to a ripe old age, 
dying at the age of seventy-eight jn 1880. 

Educational opportunities were e.xceedingly meager in the boyhood days 
of Mr. Mowrey. The old-fashioned log school house was still in vogue and 
the only school was what was known as the subscription school and was in 
session seldom more than three months in the year. It is a well-known fact 
that the long nine months" vacation often caused the youngsters of that day 
to forget practically all that they had learned in the short three months 
that they were permitted to attend during the winter season. Nevertheless, 
Mr. Mowrey got a good knowledge of the elements of the "Three R's" in 
such a school and this was supplemented by wide reading in later life so 
that he became a well-informed man. He continued to reside on the home 
farm with his mother and the other members of the family until he was 
twenty-four years of age, at which time he was given his share in the pater- 
nal estate, which amounted to fourteen hundred dollars, and with this small 
amount he started out to make his way alone in the world. It is not the 
purpose of this brief summary of Mr. Mowrey's life to follow his career 
in detail through the long years which have followed. Only the larger 
landmarks in his career will be noticed. 

On March i, 1857, Mr. Mowrey moved to a farm one and one-half 
miles south of the old home place and six miles west of Greensburg. This 
farm of eighty acres was soon increased by the purchase of one hundred 
and forty-five acres, and on this' farm of two hundred and twenty-five acres, 
he lived until 1887. In the meantime he had been buying land in other 
parts of the county and in 1887 he moved on to one of his eighty-acre farms 
in Clay township. Year after year saw his acreage increase until he had 
accumulated twenty-eight hundred acres of land in the county. 

The acquisition of such an extensive estate could only come about by 
the closest application and the widest foresight. Much of the wealth of 
Mr. Mowrey has come about by the natural increase in the value of his 
land, much of which has increased several fold in value since he acquired it. 
Mr. Mowrey continued in the active management of his extensive farming 



734 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

interests until his marriage in the fall of 1907, since which time he has made 
his home in Greensburg. 

. 'Sir. ;\Io\vrey was married on October 2, 1907, to Carrie F. Seitz, who 
was born in Patriot, Indiana, a daughter of ^Michael and Sophia Seitz. 
Her parents were natives of Germany and first located in Switzerland 
county, Indiana, upon coming to this country. A few years later they set- 
tled in Dearborn county where they made their home the remainder of 
their lives. 

The career of ilr. ]Mowre}' has been altogether too active as a farmer 
and financier to permit of any participation in politics. He has always been 
identified with the Republican party and given it his hearty support at all 
times. While he leans to the Christian church, yet he has been a generous 
contributor to all denominations. Fraternally, he has been a member of 
the Free and Accepted Masons at Milford for many years. 



WALTER W. BOXNER. 



The life of every man is influenced by two factors, heredity and envi- 
ronment, and no one can say which of these two factors has the most to do 
with determining the career of a man. Fortunate, indeed, is' the man who 
has good blood in his veins, for undoubtedly, as the old adage says, "Blood 
will tell." However, there are too many exceptions to the statement that 
heredity counts for everything; too many men of the Lincoln type have 
risen to fame to believe that heredity accounts for all our eminent men. 
Environment must be given credit for many things and he who says that 
one or the other factor makes a man assumes a knowledge of men which 
the facts will not warrant. The career of Walter W. Bonner happily illus- 
trates a combination of heredity and enviroiynent and in his case both 
factors have united in such a manner as to make him a man of the highest 
type of American citizenship. 

Starting in life as a lawyer. Mr. Bonner soon left the profession to 
enter banking and has made this his life-long work. For more than thirty 
years he has been identified with the Third National Bank of Greensburg. 

\\'alter W. Bonner was born near Springhill, Decatur county, Indiana, 
on July 30, i860, a son of William H. and Narcissa E. (Elliott) Bonner. 
His father was born in Wilcox county, Alabama, a son of James and Mary 
P. (Foster) Bonner, who came with his parents to Decatur county in 1836. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 735 

The father of James Bonner was a Scotch Presbyterian and left his home 
in the north of Ireland toward the end of the eighteenth century. He came 
to America and settled on a plantation near Anderson, South Carolina, rt&t 
far from the historic old plantation which was destined in after years to 
become the home of John C. Calhoun, and there James Bonner was born. 
The latter was reared near Abbeville, South Carolina, and there married 
Mary P. Foster, whose father, James Foster, was born in the north of Ire- 
land, and who became a farmer after his migration to South Carolina and 
in 1837 came to this county, settling on a farm in the Springhill neighbor- 
hood, where he spent the rest of his life. Two years after his marriage 
James Bonner moved to Wilcox county, Alabama, where he dwelt for six- 
teen years, owning and operating a large plantation, the work of which was 
performed by slaves. Coming to hate the institution of slavery, he sold his 
slaves in a body to his brother and, in the spring of 1836, came to this 
county, becoming a large farmer in P\igit township, where he died at the 
age of fifty-five. Mary, the wife, died in 1837, where he was married a 
second time. James Bonner was the father of six children, two daughters 
who died in early womanhood, James F., Dr. John I., William H., father 
of the immediate subject of this sketch, and Robert, who died in childhood. 

William H. Bonner was reared on the home farm near Springhill and 
was a farmer all his life. He became a man of large influence in the county 
and in 1868 was elected representative from this county to the state Legis- 
lature. He served one term in a manner very acceptable to his constituents, 
but declined a re-nomination. Hon. William H. Bonner for many years 
was one of the leaders of the Republican party in this part of the state and 
was influential in all good ways. He was a member of the United Presby- 
terian church and served for many years as a ruling elder of the local con- 
gregation. He was twice married, his first wife having been Elmira L. 
Hamilton, a sister of Thomas M. Hamilton. Upon her death, he 'married, 
secondly, Narcissa E. Elliott, to which union there were born two sons and 
one daughter, Henry E., a farmer of this county; Walter W., with whom 
this biography directly treats, and Mary F. The Hon. William H. Bonner 
died on August 12, 1874. 

Walter W. Bonner was educated in the district schools of Fugit town- 
ship and in Indiana University at Bloomington. In the year 1881 he began 
studying law in the office of Miller & Gavin, in Greensburg, and in 1882 
was admitted to practice at the bar of the Decatur circuit court. He did 
not practice law very long, however, for when the Third National Bank 
was opened at Greensburg he entered that institution as a bookkeeper and 



736 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

in 1S84 was promoted to the position of assistant cashier, being advanced 
to the responsiljle position of cashier on February 3, 1887, which position 
he since has held, his services having proved most satisfactory to the direc- 
tors of this excellent financial institution. 

On September 15, 1884, Walter W. Bonner was united in marriage 
to Libbie Donnell, of Springhill, to which uni(jn there was born one child, a 
daughter, Ruth, who married Homer G. Meek and has one child, Mary Lois. 

Mr. Bonner is one of the best-known and most successful financiers in 
this part of the state. To his excellent direction of afifairs undoubtedly is 
due much of the strength of the sound financial institution with which he 
is connected and he has the utmost confidence of all business men through- 
out this part of the state. 



THOMAS KNOX SMILEY. 

Nearing the three-score-and-ten mark along the highway of life, calm 
and serene, at peace with the world and a lover of all mankind, there is one 
man in Decatur county to whom the incidental worries and vexations that 
at times beset most mortals mean very little, for his philosophy of life con- 
tains no room for the word "worry." Living nearly half a century on the 
farm on which he still makes his home, he is known to everyone in the 
part of the county in which he resides, and, as he is a friend of all, all are 
friends to him, few persons thereabout having a wider personal popularity 
than he. JoviaU genial, sunny-tempered and full of the joy of living; pros- 
perous and well-circumstanced, jjossessed of a fine farm of two hundred 
and thirty-eight acres of choice land in Clay township, on which he lives a 
life of quiet ease, enjoying the evening of his life as he well deserves to 
enjoy it; T. K. Smiley, better known to his neighbors and friends as Knox 
Smiley, is regarded by many as a most fortunate man. A good citizen, a 
kind and generous neighbor, public-spirited and enterprising, Mr. Smiley 
has done his part in the advancement of the best interests of the commun- 
ity of which he so long has been a part, and it is a pleasure on the part of 
the biographer to here present a few of the salient points in his life. 

Thomas Knox Smiley was born in the state of Ohio on May 30, 1846, 
the son of William and Mary Ann (Kenny) Smiley, both of whom were 
of Irish descent. William Smiley's father emigrated from Ireland to this 
country and settled in Pennsylvania, where he reared a family and spent 
the remainder of his days. Mary Ann Kenny was born in New Jersey. 




THOMAS K. S.MILKY. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 'JT^-J 

Her mother was a Boston woman, and from a nearby hill was an interested 
spectator of the battle of Bunker Hill, the presumption being that her hus- 
band, in common with most of the patriots of that city, was a participant in 
that historic struggle. Later the Kennys moved from New Jersey, to which 
latter state they had emigrated from Massachusetts, to Ohio, where the 
parents of Mrs. Smiley spent the rest of their lives. 

William Smiley was born in Pennsylvania on March 14, 18 14, the son 
of Irish parents, and upon reaching manhood's estate moved to Ohio, where 
he married Mary Ann Kenny about the year 1838, and on January 9, 1849, 
came to Decatur county, settling in Clay township on what is now known 
as the Smiley homestead. He bought land at that time for ten dollars an 
acre that now is worth more than ten times that price. William Smiley was 
a man of strong character, a stanch and upright citizen and an excellent 
farmer. He was energetic and enterprising and speedily began to prosper, 
eventually becoming the owner of nine hundred or one thousand acres of 
land in Clay township and gaining the reputation of being one of the shrewd- 
est business men in that part of the county. He and his wife were members 
of the Methodist church and their children were reared in that faith. Mr. 
Smiley was an ardent Democrat and took an active interest in political affairs. 
In one election years ago he was the candidate of his party for the office 
of county commissioner from his district, and despite the fact that the 
county at that time returned an overwhelming Republican majority, he was 
defeated by but two votes, a circumstance which attested unmistakably his 
popularity throughout the county. As their children grew to manhood and 
womanhood, Mr. and Mrs. Smiley divided their large land holdings among 
them and for nearly twenty years lived a life of pleasant retirement in the 
city of Greensburg. Mr. Smiley died in Greensburg in June, 1893, at the 
age of seventy-nine years. His widow survived him just three years and 
she also died at the age of seventy-nine. They were a most estimable old 
couple and the memory of their wholesome lives and good deeds lives long 
after them. 

To William and Mary Ann (Kenny) Smiley were born the following 
children: Permelia, deceased, who was the M-ife of James L. Henry; Caro- 
line, who married Edward Sefton: George W., deceased, father of William 
G. Smiley, who died in 1907, on the old Smiley homestead and was a very 
successful farmer, being the owner of seven hundred acres of fine land ; 
Harvey K. married a daughter of John E. Robbins and died in 1915; 
Thomas Knox, the immediate subject of this sketch; William F.. who lives 
(47) 



738 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

in Greensburg, this county; Maiy, who died in August, 1914; Sovereign 
Patrick, who hves in Texas, and Margaret, tlie widow of Wilham Johnson. 
Thomas Knox Smiley has always lived the life of a bachelor, and 
makes his home with Frank Jalop and wife on the old Smiley homestead, 
three and one-half miles southwest of the village of Burney, on the Greens- 
burg and Columbus road. He is a member of the Methodist church at 
Hartsville and was one of the charter members of the Knights of Pythias 
lodge at the same place. He is a Democrat and takes an earnest interest 
in political affairs, but has never sought office. He became the owner of a 
goodly farm in the distribution of the home acres, but to his share he has 
added one hundred and twenty acres, acquired by his own industry, and is 
very well circumstanced. Though still giving careful attention to the gen- 
eral details of his extensive farming operations, Mr. Smiley for the past 
ten years has lived practically retired from the active duties of the farm and 
is taking life easy. The good cheer which he brings into his intercourse with 
his neighbors, makes him a prime favorite in the neighborhood and no one 
thereabout is more popular than he. 



JAMES FRANCIS HAMILTON. 

A noted Hoosier historian has said, "There is liut one end in life that 
is worth while, and that is to conquer adversity, pain, envy, regrets, ambi- 
tions, and the varied obstacles that are put in our path to develop our forti- 
tude, our courage and our brains." If this be true, the life of the man 
whose name appears above has been emmently worth while, for he has grad- 
uated from the "University of Hard Knocks." He knows the joys of suc- 
cess, the bitterness of misfortune, and has the mental poise to meet both 
like a man. When but a lad he was called upon to face disappointment, 
to give up his own education that he might help a bereaved father to care 
for six younger brothers and sisters, but this he did with(>ut a murmur, 
and thus perhaps were forged the elements of character which later con- 
tributed to his success as a man, and in relation to society. James Francis 
Hamilton, the well-known merchant and undertaker of Westport, was born 
on August 17, 1869, in the town in which his past and present home is 
located. 

Mr. Hamilton's grandfather on the paternal side came from Kentucky 
to clear and enter the land which became the homestead of this noted family. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



739 



This man, James F. Hamilton, was of the stalwart nature of which pioneers 
are made, and was an ancestor of whom any descendant might be proud. 
He was born in 1803, and passed away at the age of seventy years. It was 
in the early thirties when he and his bride, formerly Judah Owens, came 
to Decatur county, and began planning for the home that was destined to 
remain in the family for the next thirty-hve years. This land was situated 
one and one-half miles northwest of Westport. The brave wife of this 
sturdy pioneer, who was a native of Virginia, was born on December 14, 
1799, and died on June 20, 1898. One of their children was George W., 
who later became the father of the subject of this brief biography. George 
was born on May 10, 1837, and died on July 29, 1899. His wife, Mary 
Jane Conwell, who was born on February 3, 1847, belonged to one of the 
most prominent families in the state. Her Western progenitors formed 
part of that israve band of pioneers whose courage and heroism in opening 
up a new and rugged country has made it possible for us to live in peace 
and plenty. George, of course, was born on the farm of his parents, and 
after the meager school course then provided, he managed a store in Gay- 
norsville for four years beginning in 1869. He then became a salesman 
for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, engaging in this occupation until 
1883, when his health became broken and he retired. There were seven 
children, the eldest of whom was only a lad in short trousers. The children 
thus early deprived of a father's care were : James Francis, our subject ; 
Clara Maude, who died in September, 1895; Clem E., a farmer of Marion 
township; John C, of Greensburg; Charles L., who later l^ecame a railroad 
man with headquarters in Indianapolis; George C. employed in a furniture 
store, and Mary \''., who Hves in Westport with her mother. 

After May 20, 1882, James had to assume duties heavy for the shoul- 
ders of thirteen summers, and there followed days of toil and nights of 
dull weariness that tested the courage of the manly little fellow. He 
attended sch(jol until his thirteenth year, and then was oljliged to ]jut his 
books on the shelf and to go on errands for a storekeeper, moving to West- 
port that he might be near his work. The qualities that afterward made 
him a prosperous merchant and bank official early began to assert them- 
selves, and his weekly earnings were soon a very substantial increase to the 
family budget which was to shelter, feed and clothe six little brothers and 
sisters. James remained an employee of the storekeeper until he went into 
business for himself, which happened when he was twenty-three years of 
age. Then he became a merchant in the flour and feed business, continuing 
this for five years. On January 20, 1897, he had an opportunity to buy 



740 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

out an undertaking establishment, which he did, adding to this, two months 
later, a furniture store. So rapidly did his business grow that new quarters 
became necessary, and on May 13, 1914, ground was broken for a hand- 
some two-story brick structure, forty-two by seventy feet. While the whole 
building, including two floors and basement, is used for store purposes, 
it is so conveniently arranged that there are two separate departments for 
the furniture and undertaking business, respectively. The cost of the house 
was over twelve thousand dollars. Thorough in everything that he does, 
Mr. Hamilton has spared no pains in the construction and equipment of 
this handsome business block, which is one of the finest in southern Indiana. 
A private office, a casket display and dressing room comprise the under- 
taking department, which maintains two funeral wagons and an ambulance 
besides a splendid team which is owned and kept by Mr. Hamilton. The 
basement is appropriately built and arranged for the display of rugs and 
draperies, while the third floor is taken up with furniture. The building 
has a modern elevator, and its own electric light and water plant. The 
owner carries stock valued at ten thousand dollars. 

The wife of Mr. Hamilton was formerly Mary i\I. Link, a daughter 
of John Link, of Milhousen. The marriage occurred on November 22, 
1893. Their only daughter, Leona J., who is nineteen years of age, having 
been born on May 6, 1896, is a graduate of the Westport high school, being 
a member of the class of 1914. 

Mr. Hamilton is one of the "live wires" of Decatur county. He first 
plans out carefully a course of action, and, having determined upon what 
ought to be done, he does it. In business he is alert and progressive, as is 
evidenced by the fact that he belie\'es in advertising, and spends large sums 
of money for this purpose. As an illustration of his energy and will-power 
may be cited the fact that when he was ready to build, a dwelling which 
stood in the way was unceremoniously removed, although it had stood 
firmly on one spot since 1838. 

No higher honor can be paid to a business man by any community 
than to make him president of its chamber of commerce. This mark of 
esteem has been bestowed upon Mr. Hamilton because of his merit. Besides 
being the head official of the \\'estport Chamber of Commerce, he is vice- 
president of the First National Bank of that town, and in this capacity has 
added influence to the community. 

As it seems impossible to classify a man before we know what he 
believes as to politics and religion, it may be of interest to note that Mr. 
Hamilton is an ardent Democrat, and a member of St. Denis's Catholic 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



741 



church. He is also active in the Knights of Columbus, Council 1042. Here, 
as in business circles, his business acumen, as well as the qualities which 
go to make up the sort of man we respect, make him a leader. He becomes 
a power in whatever organization or movement to which he gives his name. 

In all of the activities of her husband Mrs. Hamilton has been per- 
haps a silent, but a potent partner. In the conflicts and problems of a 
strenuous life, it has been her pleasure to co-operate, and in making their 
home a real home to lighten the burdens and cares of the outside world into 
which every man is forced to go. 

It is impossible to close this summary of a man's life without paying 
to him a tribute not only for his character as an individual, but for his 
public service. It means much to a community to have within itself men 
who are stanch and true to their convictions as to right and wrong; men 
who, while building up their own fortunes, are not unmindful of the needs 
and misfortunes of others, and, most of all, men whose lives are guided by 
high moral principles and purposes. Such is the man we have endeavored 
to describe. 



SMITH B. BUSSELL. 



Smith B. Bussell belongs to that large colony of retired farmers of 
Decatur county now living in Greensburg and is himself the owner and pro- 
prietor of a highly productive farm of two hundred and sixty acres, sit- 
uated in Clay township near the Liberty church. It is only during his later 
years that he has been engaged in farming, his earlier years having been 
devoted largely to mechanical pursuits and especially to contract building, 
in which he was very successful. 

Smith B. Bussell was born on November 29, 1849, in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, the son of Moses and Eliza (Garrison) Bussell, natives of Florence, 
Kentucky, and Hamilton county, Ohio, respectively, the former of whom 
was born in 1800 and died in Alarch, 1857, and the latter of whom was 
born in 1820 and died in 1864. Moses Bussell was the son of a native- 
born English gentleman, who settled in Virginia, the Bussell family having 
been related on the paternal side to the mother of General Washington. 
From Virginia the family moved to Kentucky, and here the parents of 
Smith B. Bussell lived and died. Eliza Garrison was the daughter of Jonas 
and Priscilla Garrison, early settlers in Hamilton county, Ohio. The great- 
grandfather of Mr. Bussell, Joseph Garrison, entered land where the court 



742 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

house now stands. Finding this land very wet and flat, he later moved to 
higher land. Moses and Eliza Bussell had a family of seven sons, three 
of whom, Joseph, the eldest; John, the third, and Thomas, the sixth; are 
deceased. The others are Erastus, of Wichita, Kansas; Smith B., the sub- 
ject of this sketch; George, who lives in Greensburg, and Ezra, who lives 
in Cleves, Hamilton county, Ohio. 

Being only eight years old at the time of his mother's death. Smith B. 
Bussell grew up among strangers and was compelled to shift for himself. 
Coming to Decatur county in 1870, having learned the mechanic's trade 
in Cincinnati, he worked as a Ijuilder until 1S80, a period of ten years, and 
then engaged in general contract building until 1900, a period of twenty 
years, specializing during this period in the construction of foundations. 
For six years he was superintendent of the Greensburg Limestone Company. 
Since 1900 Mr. Bussell has been engaged in farming. In the meantime, he 
has invested his savings in farm real estate, and now owns two hundred 
and sixty acres near the Liberty church in Clay township, where general 
farming and stock raising are carried on. 

Mr. Bussell has been twice married, the first time in 1872, two years 
after coming to this county, to Mary Foster, of Greensburg, who was born 
in Gallipolis, Ohio, and who died in February, 191 1. She was the mother 
of three children, two of whom died in infancy. William, the first-born, 
died in April, 1912, about one year after his mother's death, at the age of 
thirty-nine, he having been born in 1873. At the time of his death he was 
a member of the Decatur county board of commissioners and a large 
farmer. He left a widow, who before her marriage was Margaret Emmert, 
and one daughter, Helen Catherine. Harry and Louis, the other two chil- 
dren born to Smith B. and Mary Bussell, died at the age of four months 
and six weeks, respectively. In September, 1912, Mr. Bussell was married 
again to Gertrude Kerr, a native of Greensburg and the daughter of David 
R. Kerr. 

Mr. Bussell has always been actively attached to the principles of the 
Democratic party and its candidates. For sixteen years he served as a 
member of the Greensburg city council. He is a member. of the Baptist 
church, while fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. Mv. Bussell is well known in this county and he commands the 
confidence and respect of his fellow townsmen and is universally liked not 
only in private, but in public life. His success in business was founded upon 
sterling integrity, a scrupulous code of right dealings with his associates. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 743 

WILLIAM G. UPDIKE. 

It is one of the primary purposes of this vohrnie 'to give fitting 
recognition to those representative men who, by their force of character, 
have aided in the advancement of the city or town or county in which they 
Hve, and by so doing, have matle such place better and more attractive for 
the homes of others. Based upon this premise, the man whose name heads 
this article is entitled to consideration, for his life has been an integral part 
of the community, and his energies have been directed to those measures 
which make for the common good. It is the altruism of such men that 
advances civilization, and that helps to make life worth while for the masses. 
William G. Updike, who belongs to one of the oldest families in America, 
was born on April 29, 1850, in Franklin county, and came with his parents, 
to Decatur county when he was eleven years of age. 

As a successful farmer, a county commissioner and township trustee, 
Mr. Updike has filled an unusually prominent place in the community. He 
is the son of Elijah and Matilda (Gilbreath) Updike, the former having 
been born on August 4, 1818, and died on May 10, 1893. Peter Updike, 
father of Elijah and grandfather of William G., was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, and early in the country's history, packed his household goods in 
wagons, and brought his family to the rough timber lands of Indiana, look- 
ing into the uncertain and dangerous future with faith in himself and in the 
God of his fathers. Nor was that faith disappointed, as the after years 
have proven. It was in Franklin county that Elijah began his life on earth, 
and when he had reached manhood, he married, and made his home on a 
farm two miles north of Westport. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Matilda Gilbreath, was twice married, and was, at the time of her marriage 
to Elijah Updike, the widow of a Mr. Luse. She had a daughter, Nancy 
J. Luse, now deceased. Matilda Updike was the daughter of James Gil- 
breath, whose enterprising spirit and ambition brought him from bonnie 
Scotland to this country when he was still a young man. He had a reputa- 
tion in all the country round for his honesty and integrity, and his good 
■ business ability. His daughter, Matilda, was born in 1834, and passed 
away on July i, 1889. 

The farm on which Mr. and Mrs. Updike, Sr., settled iia 1861, became 
their life-long home. Their children, four in number, were William G., the 
subject of this sketch; Mary Ann, wife of Isaac Shera, of Westport; Frank 
M., of Butler county, Ohio, antl John Reiley, who died, when two years of 
age, in Franklin county. 



I 



744 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The father of this notable family believed that children should be 
brought up with industrious habits, and practical training, and with the help 
of his faithful wife, taught them the principles of good farming, as well 
as their application. Thus it was that the first-born, William, came to love 
the farm, and made it his home for fifty years. After the death of the 
senior Updike, the homestead was divided, and one hundred acres became 
the share of William. These lands he continued to improve until his became 
one of the most prized farms in the county. As a country home, also, it 
was most attractive. 

On the 20th of December, 1883, Mr. Updike was united in marriage 
to Louisa Armstrong, daughter of Robert Armstrong, and a sister of F. D. 
Armstrong. Her birth date was on June 17, 1862, and the place. Sand 
Creek township. To these parents two children were born, Charles C, the 
eldest, is now a resident of St. Paul, Indiana, where he teaches in the high 
school. After graduating from the Letts Corner high school, he studied 
at the Terre Haute State Normal, showing in all of his work a high grade 
of scholarship, and a special adaptability to the teaching profession. Charles 
Updike was born on February 23, 1885, and will graduate at Danville, 
Indiana, in the class of 1915, and will teach at Milroy, Indiana, and Mabel, 
who is attending the Westport high school, was born on August 5, 1900. 

Farm work is rather strenuous for one in good health, and when there 
is any impairment of the physical organism, it may become a burden. Find- 
ing that his health was not equal to the duties of farm life, Mr. Updike 
left the country in 1912, and, with his devoted wife and family, took up 
their residence in a beautiful, modern home in Westport, later selling their 
farm. Since his removal, Mr. LTpdike has enjoyed comparative freedom 
from activity, and has given part, at least, of his time to those pursuits to 
which his tastes attracted him. 

Always interested in whatever would advance the well-being of his 
home town, Mr. Updike creditably filled the position of township trustee, 
serving for a term of five years. He then was elected to the office of county 
commissioner, his term expiring on January i, 1909. \\''hen his official 
duties were completed, there was general regret, for it was recognized that 
the affairs of the township and county had been handled in an admirable 
way, and that his duties had been discharged with honor and efficiency. 
Mr. Updike is a Republican. Both ]\Ir. and ]\Irs. Updike are members of 
the Baptist church, and here as elsewhere, both have been not only nominal 
members of the organization, but adherents to the faith in reality, for they 
have contributed in many practical ways to the welfare of the church. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 745 

Mrs. Updike, by her devotion to her home and family, has been a real 
inspiration to the efforts of husband and children, and has had a share in 
their success. Mr. Updike is a prominent member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons, and of the Knights of Pythias. 



W. T. .STOTT & COMPANY. 

The department store of W. T. Stott & Company is one of the con- 
spicuous places in the business section of Westport, and since its establish- 
ment by the honored father of the present owners has added much to the 
commercial prestige of the town in which it is located. While the careers 
of both William T. and J. C. have been interesting, they may be better 
understood by a perusal of the life of their father, the late Capt. William 
T. Stott, than whom Westport has never had a more enterprising merchant 
nor a more loyal citizen. As a tradesman he was just, honorable and kind, 
and as a man his influence transcended the usual limitations, for he was 
called upon to serve his country, which he did with an honor and bravery 
well worthy of emulation. William Taylor Stott, Jr., was the second son 
born to Capt. W. T. Stott and his wife, Caroline Bennett. Captain Stott 
was born in October, 1840, in Jennings county, and died in August 8, 1912, 
in Greensburg, having lived a life of signal usefulness. He was the son 
of Christopher and Elizabeth (Daily) Stott, natives of Kentucky and A"ir- 
ginia, respectively, who early came to Jennings county to make their future 
home. About the year 1846 they removed to Decatur county, where they 
began farm life in Sand Creek township. But this was interrupted later 
by the call to arms which took the young man into many battles, for he 
enlisted in Company B, Fifty-second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 
and served for four years, becoming captain of his company. He distin- 
guished himself in many battles and engagements. At the close of the 
Civil War, Captain Stott engaged in the drug business, continuing until 
about 1875, his store being in Westport. Then he was appointed deputy 
internal revenue collector, a position which he filled with credit for a num- 
ber of years. Elected sheriff of Decatur county in 1896, and re-elected two 
years later, he served in that capacity until the end of his term, and then 
bought out the well-know-n firm of Davis & Littell and took his sons into 
partnership with him. Captain Stott was by nature a politician, and took 
great interest in politics, being a Republican and a leader in his party. He 



b 



746 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was honest and fair, and an advocate of clean political standards. A mem- 
ber of the Christian church, although he lived a busy life, he found time 
for worship, and he and his wife brought up their children to respect mat- 
ters pertaining to religion. An ardent patriot, he was prominent in the 
Grand Army of the Republic post, of which he not only was commander, 
but whose ofifices he filled at various times. He was also a member of the 
Westport Free and Accepted Masons, joining the Masonic lodge when he 
was only twenty-one years of age. 

Captain Stott's wife, who was before her marriage Caroline Bennett, 
was his helpmeet and inspiration in all matters of interest to him, and while 
he was active in the outward world of affairs, she looked after the home 
and the happiness of her family with devotion and true womanly unselfish- 
ness. She was born in 1845 and died in February, 1877. Her birthplace 
was in Decatur county. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Stott, Sr., were 
four in number, Charles A. became a farmer and lives in Sand Creek town- 
ship, one mile south of Westport ; the second son was William Taylor, born 
on May 20, 1870, to whom we shall again refer; Elizabeth is the wife of 
Jacob Binninger, of Greensburg; James Clarence, November 26, 1875, and 
was reared in Westport. He, like his father, is a Republican, a member 
of the Christian church and of the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. 
He was married on July 17, 1895, ^o Mary Elizabeth Brown of Decatur 
county, and to them were born seven childern, namely: Paul T., Chris- 
topher, Benjamin H., Gertrude and Gladys, twins, born in 1904, Dorothy 
and Verd. 

Since going into business with their father in 1902, both W. T. and 
J. C. Stott have put into practice those princi])les \Ahich cannot fail to bring 
success. Their large department store carries an immense stock of general 
merchandise to meet the demands of the trade, which has become especially 
heavy since the store has occupied the two-story brick block into which the 
goods were placed in 1910. 

Much of the success of this firm is due to the energy and ability of 
its senior member, William T. Stott, who is considered one of the repre- 
sentative business men of Westport. He, like his father, is a man of sterling 
honesty, fair and just in his business relations, and ecjually fair and just 
as a friend. Pie has identified his interests with those of his native town, 
and has been one of the leading public-spirited men of the community. He 
is a Republican, a member of the Christian church and a prominent member 
of the Free and Accepted Masons. 

The ability of the members of the firm of W. T. Stott & Company 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 747 

has given them a distinctive place in the commercial life of the town in 
which they were born and reared, and the sons, who are now the owners, 
by their strict adherence to principle, and by their honorable, upright deal- 
ing, have been a decided impetus to the community to which their family 
has contributed in no small degree. 



FRANCIS M. ALLISON. 

W'hen the family of Francis M. Allison, a well-known and prosperous 
retired farmer of Adams township, this county, gather about the hospitable 
board at his pleasant home in the village of St. Paul, there are fifty there 
assembled. He is the father of thirteen children, all of whom are living, 
well and strong, and who, with their respective wives and husbands and 
their children and grandchildren, constitute the even half hundred when 
gathered with their father, who also is a great-grandfather. This undoubt- 
edly is the largest collective family, all living and in good health, ever 
reared in Decatur county, a distinction of which Mr. Allison, naturally 
enough, is quite proud. The mother of these children died in 1908 and 
since 191 1 Mr. Allison has been living somewhat retired in the village of 
St. Paul, though still giving close attention to the operation of his e.xcellent 
farm. Both he and his wife were of excellent pioneer stock and their 
numerous j^rogeny gives assurance to the future that this stock long will 
persist in this county, to the no small gain of the community at large. 

Francis M. Allison was born at old St. Omar, this county, on Novem- 
ber 16, 1847, the son of John and Elizabeth (Zeigler) Allison, the former 
of whom was born in March, 1913, and died in August, 1882, and the latter 
of whom was born in 1816 and died in December, 1881. John Allison was 
born in Washington county. Virginia, the son of Matthew Allison, who was 
born and reared in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, where he married, emigrat- 
ing thence to A'irginia, later going to Ivnoxville, Tennessee ; emigrating 
from that point in 1822 to Indiana, locating in Orange township. Rush 
county, on the banks of Big Flatrock. He also owned land over the county 
hne, in Adams township, this county, which he sold in 1834. His wife, 
wbo was a Mrs. Cline, died in 1822. Elizabeth Zeigler was born in Butler 
county, Ohio, the daughter of Peter Zeigler, who came to Decatur county 
in 1819 or 1820. He first entered land on Michigan road in Washington 
township. On this tract he built a log cabin and proceeded to clear the 
timber away. Upon improving this tract he sold the same and then entered 



1 



748 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

another tract just west of St. Omar, on which he spent the remainder of 
his hfe, his death occurring in 1874. His grandson, James W. AlHson, 
now owns the farm originally entered by Mr. Zeigler in this county in 1821. 

John AlHson was reared on the paternal farm in Rush county and, 
upon finishing his schooling, taught school for three years. He bought a 
farm two miles west of St. Paul, which, in 1861, he sold, moving to the 
state of Iowa, where he remained until 1866, in which year he returned 
to Decatur county, locating in the village of St. Paul, where he spent the- 
rest of his life. To his union with Elizabeth Zeigler there were born the 
following children : Charles, who was killed by an accident at the age of 
eleven years ; Mrs. Salina Courtleyou, who was born on February 24, 1836, 
lives in Des Moines, Iowa; Francis M., the immediate subject of this sketch; 
Mrs. Alice McCain, of St. Paul, this county; James W., who lives at Essex, 
Illinois; Mrs. Jessie Wilson, of St. Paul, this county, and Mrs. May Kurr, 
also of St. Paul. 

Francis I\I. Allison received his education in the district schools and 
was reared to the life of the farm. In 1S71 he bought a farm of sixty- 
eight acres in Adams township and in 1874 bought a small farm on Flat- 
rock creek. From 1876 to 1882 he lived on a farm of eighty acres in 
Orange township. Rush county. In 1881 he bought the old William A. 
Pearce farm of two hundred and seventeen acres in Adams township, which 
was entered from the government in 1821, and in 19 12 sold this farm to 
his brother, James W. Allison. For one year he then owned the old Jona- 
than Paul farm at the edge of the village of St. Paul, which he sold and in 
September, 19 14, bought a farm of two hundred and two and one-half 
acres on Little Flatrock, which he still owns and which he is operating 
very successfully, though not occupying, he having made his home in St. 
Paul since the year 191 1. 

On October 5, 1870, Francis M. Allison was united in marriage to 
Mary A. Garrett, who was born in Orange township, Rush county, Indiana, 
on August I, 1848, the daughter of Wesley Garrett, who died on December 
5, 1908. To this union there were born thirteen children, as follow: Dr. 
Charles D., a physician of South Bloomington, Illinois, on August 10, 1871, 
was graduated from Indiana Medical College in 1896, married Mary Mina 
Apple, of Adams township, this county, and has four children, Nina, Mary, 
Charles and Caroline; Elizabeth, January 17, 1873, married Albert A. Green, 
of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has two children. Earl and Helen; 
Mary, April 4, 1874, married Daniel Apple, a farmer living east of St. 
Omar, in this county, and has six children, Ethel (who married Livy 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 749 

Adams), George, Gladys, Charles, Forrest and Caroline; Katy, November 
2, 1876, married Otto Owen, of Reddick, Illinois, and has four children, 
Scott, Russell, Helen and Mary; Myrtle, September 2, 1878, married Otis 
Doggett; of Adams township; Dr. Francis M., July 13, 1880, a graduate 
of Indiana Medical College, practicing medicine at Gardner, Illinois, mar- 
ried Mayme Allison and has one child, Francis; Anna, April 27, 1882, mar- 
ried Ernest Tevis, of Adams township and has one child, Francis; Fannie, 
September 25, 1883, married George Burtscher, of Chicago; Ernest W., 
who operates the home farm in Adams township. May 23, 1886, married 
Nellie Shelhorn and has two children, Mabel and Caryl; Dorthy, April 23, 
i'888, married Cleve Archie, of Mt. Victory, Ohio, and has two children, 
James Francis and Robert Allison; Ethel, December 2, 1890, married Orba 
Land, of Adams township, and has one child, Carlos Allison; Bessie, Feb- 
ruary 17, 1892, married Walter Tonyes, of Richland township, Rush county, 
and has one child, Mary Elizabeth, and Marguerite, February 8, 1893, who 
is her father's housekeeper in their pleasant home in St. Paul. 

Mr. Allison is a friend of all churches and does his part toward the 
promotion of the best interests of his community. He is a stanch Demo- 
crat, as was his father before him, and is regarded as a leader in the ranks 
of that party in Jackson township. He was elected township trustee in 
1886 and was re-elected in 1888, his service in that connection having been 
of large benefit to the township. He is active in lodge work, being a mem- 
ber of the Masonic lodge at Waldron; of the Knights of Pythias lodge at 
St. Paul and of the lodge of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks 
at Greensburg, in all of which lodges he is very popular, his genial dispo- 
stiion making him friends wherever he goes. 



JACOB EMMERT. 

The conspicuous success which has come to the venerable Jacob 
Emmert, a retired farmer and miller of Clarksburg, Indiana, is by no means 
a matter of accident, since he has from the beginning of his career 
■ approached the problems of the farm and the problems of the milling busi- 
ness with the scientific insight of one who knows that the smaller the cost 
of operation the larger the profit. His methodical precision in mastering 
the details of lausiness seems to have been a natural endowment. Personal 
successes frequently can be explained on no other hypothesis than that the 



750 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ^ 

individual is possessed of a superior ability. It is not ditiicult to explain the 
success of those men who were favored by inheritance or accidental good 
fortunate, but Jacob Emmert does not belong to this class of successful 
men, since he came to Clarksburg as a poor man and has become a- wealthy 
citizen by his own individual and personal effort. 

Jacob Emmert was born seventy-si.x years ago, on April 19, 1839, m 
Bavaria, Germany, the son of Christopher and Elizabeth Emmert, who 
seven years after the birth of Jacob came to America and located on a farm 
in the state of Maryland. From Maryland they removed to Wilmington, 
Delaware, where Christopher worked in a mill. Eight years after coming 
to America they remo\ed to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and the father, who 
worked in a flour-mill, died in that city, .\lthough this part of Jacob 
Emmert's career may appear uneventful to the superficial observer, never- 
theless it probably was the most e\entful period of his life, since about this 
time he was learning the business in which he was tu become so prominent 
in later life. One of a family of eight children, it is quite natural that 
Jacob had to begin to shift for himself at an early age. Three of his 
brothers, Peter, John and Fred, and his two sisters, Elizabeth and Cath- 
erine, are deceased. He has one living brother. Philip, who has been a 
merchant in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, for sixty years. 

Leaving home at the age of sixteen years, in 1855. Mr. Emmert first 
operated a mill at Harrison, Oliio, for two years, and during the succeed- 
ing two years was engaged in operating another mill two miles north of 
Elizabethtown, Ohio. This was a water-mill. During the first two months 
of 1859 he was engaged in operating a steam-mill at Guilford, and for a 
short time later was at Greensburg. I'rom Greensburg he re.noved to Dear- 
born county, and there operated a water-mill for John Emmert at Dills- 
boro for two years'. In 1862 Mr. Emmert went to Fairland in Shelby 
county, Indiana, and was engaged in the milling business there for two 
years, when he returned to Greensburg, where he remained until the fall 
of 1869, at that time purchasing a mill which had been owned by a com- 
pany of men who had failed. Purchasing the plant at an assignee's sale, for 
nearly fifty years he has been engaged in manufacturing flour, grinding 
grain and sawing luml)cr. The mill, which is operated for custom and 
local trade, is now run by Mr. Emmert's son, Clinton Buell Emmert. It is 
equipped with all the latest machinery and operated by a gas engine at a cost 
of five cents an hour. The roller processes are employed, and two well- 
known local brands of flour, the "White Loaf" and "Blue Ribbon," are 
mamifactured. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 75 1 

When Jacob Einmert came to Clarksburg he first purchased sixty-five 
acres of land for which he went into debt. Later he purchased one liun- 
dred and forty acres for credit and subsequently eighty acres additional. 
He now has one of the most fertile farms in Decatur county, and Ijy crup 
rotation and intelligent farming he has developed the land to a very high 
state of productivity. Practically all of the land was very much run down 
at the time he purchased it. The previous owners had grown great quan- 
tities of corn year after year and had robbed the land of its fertility. By 
farming the land systematically and rotating his crops, Mr. Emmert has 
had a splendid success. He followed a three-year rotation plan until the 
wheat grew so tall that it was necessary to raise corn two years in succes- 
sion. Land which had grown thirty-five to forty bushels of com to the 
acre, and yielded fifteen bushels of wheat to the acre, under Mr. Emmert's 
care and management now produces from sixty to eighty bushels of corn to 
the acre and from twenty to thirty bushels of wheat. At the present time 
he has two hundred and sixty-four acres of land which is operated for the 
most part li}- his son, John Leslie. The farm is equipped and well supplied 
with all necessary outbuildings. Jn 1913 he fed sixty-nine head of cattle 
and two hundred head of hogs. He also sold fifty-four head of mules in 
the home market and sold his cattle in Buffalo, New York. At the present 
time he has forty-four head of cattle, sixteen head of young mules and one 
hundred and fifty head of hogs. Mr. Emmert's neighbors, who have fol- 
lowed his methods in farming, have all prospered, and many owe much of 
their success to the example he has set in this community. 

On No\-eml)er 2"/, 1861, Jacob Emmert was married in Greensburg to 
Catherine Hauk, the daughter of William and IMargaret Hauk. Born on 
October 3, 1841, Mrs. Emmert passed away in 1901, leaving a family of 
six children, five of whom are living. Of these children, Carrie is the wife 
of Luther D. Hamilton and was born on October u, 1862; Clinton Buell. 
who is now engaged in operating the Emmert mill, was born on July 14, 
1864, and on May 17, 1893, he was married to Alhe Patterson; they have 
one child, James Allen, who is a student at the Sweetwater military school ; 
Mrs. Svlvia Senior, April 12, 1867, has one child. Merlin; Ellison, March 
8, 1869, died on December 17, 1888; John Leslie, April 30, 1871, was mar- 
ried on November 27, 1895, to Ada Thornton Dobyns, and they have one 
chiki, Mabel, and Ruby Leona, September 18, 1886, lives at home and is 
keeping house for her father. 

Jacob Emmert has been a life-long Rejnib'ican. Four years, from 
1888 to 1892, he served as trustee of Fugit township. .A. member of the 



-752 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Presbyterian church, he has filled all the offices in the local congregation. 
Fraternally he is a member of Clarksburg Lodge No. 124. Free and Accepted 
Masons. He became a ilason at Fairland in Shelby county, fifty-three 
years ago, transferring his membership from Fairland to Greensburg and 
from thence to Clarksburg. For ten years he served as treasurer of the 
Clarksburg lodge. 

Decatur county has few citizens who have been more industrious and 
more enterprising than the venerable Jacob Emmert. His acquaintance 
extends not only throughout Decatur county, but he is well known in all of 
the adjoining counties, and occupies an enviable place in the hearts of his 
neighbors and fellow townsmen. AMiile he has lived an industrious and 
honest man, he has in many ways contributed to the happiness and comfort 
of the people with whom he has come in contact and is honored by them 
todav as a kind and generous friend. 



1 



WILLIAM M. ANGLE. 



In Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, where the venerable Will- 
iam Angle has lived for nearly sixty years, or since he was sixteen years 
old, he is known far and wide for his unaided and heroic struggle for per- 
sonal success. It is natural that he should be well known in this township 
on account of his long residence, but he is especially well known on account 
of the large measure of success which fortune has \'isited on his efforts. 
Every one who is at all familiar with history knows that money is far 
easier to obtain now than it was a half century ago. Most eveiy one knows 
further, that not one young man in fifty has a thousand dollars which he 
himself earned and saved at the time of reaching his majority. Yet, the ven- 
erable William Angle, who attained his majority early in 1861, had by that 
time saved out of his own earnings fifteen hundred dollars, which lie had 
given to his father. No one is able to say that \\'illiam M. Angle has 
neglected his personal or immediate duties in his race for a fortune. Before 
his career as a farmer and financier had really begun he not only made a 
handsome gift of his earnings to his father, but he had cared for him in his 
declining years, when he was compelled to lean upon the stronger shoulders 
of his son, and, at his death, had paid all of the bills incurred during his 
last and fatal illness. More than anything else, this noble act proved what 
manner of man William ;\f. Angle is. It shows that the successes of his 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 753 

career were founded upon a just and fair realization of his nearest Und 
dearest duties. It is no wonder, therefore, that he occupies a position 
among his neiglibors and fellow citizens as a man who has worthily dis- 
charged his obligations in all the responsible relations of life. 

The venerable William M. Angle, retired farmer of Fugit township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, is a native of Laurel, Kentucky, having been born 
seventy-five years ago in February, 1840. His parents, William and Eby 
(Sutherlin) Angle, were both natives of southern states, the former of 
Tennessee and the latter of Kentucky. Believing that they would find 
greater opportunities in the newer land north of them, they emigrated in 
1856 to Indiana and settled east of Clarksburg, where they lived until their 
deaths. Several of tlieir fourteen children died in infancy, leaving only eight 
who accompanied them to Indiana. Of these eight children, William, the 
subject of this sketch, and his sister, Priscilla, of Fairmount, Indiana, are 
now the only ones living. 

In the first three years of the last half of the nineteenth century, agri- 
cultural conditions did not compare with conditions today, especially from 
the standpoint of getting cjuick returns for one's labor. Nevertheless, Will- 
iam Angle, who began life on his own account when twenty years of age, 
rented land in Decatur county, and saved most of the money left after the 
expenses of farming were paid. During this period of his life he found it 
a pleasant task to care for his aged father and in giving his father fifteen 
hundred dollars which he earned before he was twenty-one years old. 

In 1870, when he was thirty years old, Mr. Angle purchased his first 
tract of land, paying one thousand dollars in cash and agreeing to pay 
twenty-eight hundred dollars additional as fast as he was able to make and 
save the money. In eight years he was able completely to relinquish the 
debt, so that by 1878 he was well started on the road to fortune. In Feb- 
ruary, 1909, he purchased a ninety-five-acre farm in Rush county, paying 
nine thousand dollars in cash for this land. His home farm in Fugit town- 
ship consists of fifty-three acres, so that he owns altogether one hundred 
and forty-nine acres in Decatur and Rush counties. Aside from this land, 
which is conservatively estimated to be worth fifteen thousand dollars, Mr. 
Angle owns five thousand dollars' worth of stocks and bonds, which are 
gilt-edge in every respect and which pay him handsome dividends and inter- 
est. It is fair to say that he is today worth not less than twentv thousand 
dollars, every cent of which he has made himself, and saved out of his own 
personal earnings. This is a splendid record and one of which he has e\'ery 
(48) 



754 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

reason to be proud. In fact, his neighbors in Fugit township and the people 
with whom he has come in contact during Hfe are Hkewise proud of him and 
his achievements. 

On March 17, 1875, when he was thirty-five years old, William Angle 
was married to Mary Ann Evans, who was bom on December 9, 1845, and 
who is five years his junior. Mrs. Angle is a native of Franklin county 
and the daughter of James Evans, who married Lydia Weston. They also 
were natives of Franklin county, and the son and daughter of old families 
of this section of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Angle have no children. 

It could hardly be expected that William Angle, in view of his large 
success as a farmer and financier, and in view of his busy life, has ever 
been able to devote very much time to political affairs. However, he is a 
Republican in politics, but contents himself with voting the ticket of his 
party and leaving such matters as organization and the management of 
campaigns to others. Mr. and Mrs. Angle have long been members of the 
Presbyterian church, and are devout in this faith. 



THOMAS N. SHAW. 



Retirement from business does not necessarily indicate an inactive life. 
It often means that the mind released from strenuous business cares can 
turn its attention to other matters equally worth while, and often more 
important to the public good than the amassing of wealth. To be a repre- 
sentative farmer among other successful farmers, a man must possess many 
forceful traits of character, and the fact that he begins life as the son of 
a wealthy landowner does not, as in the present case, detract one iota from 
the credit due him as a financier. In these days of sharp competition, it is 
quite as difficult to retain a fortune as to- make it, and therefore, while 
Thomas N. Shaw may be considered more than ordinarily fortunate, it 
would seem, nevertheless, that commendation is due. Nor has he been 
unmindful of the needs of others. Thomas N. Shaw, retired farmer of 
Westport, was born on January 6, 1855, in Jackson township. 

Mr. Shaw's father, whose name also was Thomas, was brought up by 
his grandfather, for his own father died when the younger Thomas was an 
infant. The latter, who was Thomas N. Shaw's paternal grandfather, was 
born on December 3, 1789, and his wife, Sarah Shaw, was born on October 
5, 1792. Their children were as follow: Elizabeth C, born on July 15, 



DECATUR COUNTYj INDIANA. 755 

1814; John, February 23, 1816; Sarah, December i, 1817, and others, 
including Thomas, the father of Thomas N. The birth of the latter occurred 
on July 3, 1821, and he passed away in 1905. He was a native of Franklin 
county, going to Decatur county when only a young boy. In early man- 
hood, he married JNIargaret Ann Wilson, who was a native of Indiana, and 
died in November, 1904. Thomas Shaw, Sr., was the owner of a splendid 
farm in Jackson township, consisting of three hundred and eighty acres, 
and of one hundred and eighty acres in Sand Creek township, and was one 
of the large landowners of the entire county. Thomas N. Shaw had two 
brothers and two sisters, as follow: John S., who lives in Greensburg; 
Martha E. Swope, of Fowler, Indiana; Samuel S., deceased, was a farmer, 
and Mary E. Mclnwain, also dead. Thomas N. Shaw, Jr., was the young- 
est of his family. 

His boyhood home was at the northeast corner of the home section of 
Jackson township, while his own farm is in the southwest corner of the 
same section. In July, 1875, he was imited in marriage to Louisa, daugh- 
ter of Eli and Catherine Risley Bake, a wealthy landowner of Decatur 
county. Besides Mrs. Shaw, their other children are, Lewis S., Amanda 
J., Clarissa, Cordelia, Olive P., Lorinda, Martha A., William H., Pearl, 
wife of Dr. Will E. Thomas, of Clarksburg, who became the parents of 
two children, Ricliard Shaw and Mary Louise. 

Upon their marriage, the father of Mr. Shaw presented him with one 
thousand dollars, and his wife received a similar amount from her parents, 
and with this they purchased the land upon which they lived until 1912. 
The original tract consisted of ninety acres to which the}' later added sev- 
enty acres, which farm is so well equipped in evei-y way that it easily attracts 
the attention of travelers, and is considered one of the finest in the county. 
It now contains a splendid house, which the}' built in 1884, although when 
the young people first moved in, they occupied a one-room log cabin. It 
was necessary to go in debt, but that encumbrance has long ago been paid 
off. A large, two-story brick house replaces the primitive log cabin, and a 
spacious barn is modern in every respect. In 1912, the owner added to its 
attractiveness as well as to its intrinsic value by enclosing the grounds, 
within four hundred rods, with wire fencing, braced by substantial stone 
posts. In this year, also, the family removed to Westport, desiring this 
progressive little town as a place of residence. 

Mr. Shaw has always been interested in the affairs of the Republican 
party of which he has been a life-long member. He and his wife and 



756 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

daughter have a great many friends, and theirs is considered one of the 
important and hospitable home of the community. 

ReHevcd from active participation in the arduous labors of farm work, 
Mr. and Mrs. Shaw can enjoy a leisure deserved by reason of their years 
of service to their family, and it is hoped by their many friends that many 
more years will be spared to them, years that may be fruitful in both pleas- 
ure and achievement. 



DANIEL JEFFERSON B.\LL.\RD, M. D. 

For many years a practicing ph)-sician in the pleasant village of St. 
Paul, Decatur county, an honored \eteran of the Ci\il War, active in church 
and lodge circles and a leader in the fast diminishing ranks of the Grand 
Army of the Republic in this part of the state, there are few men in this 
county who have a wider acquaintance or better friends than the \enerable 
Doctor Ballard, whose name the reader notes abo\'e. Of fine old pioneer 
stock, Doctor Ballard ever has sought to maintain the best traditions of his 
sterling ancestry, and has been for many years regarded as a leader in that 
section of the county in which he has lived since boyhood. Doctor Ballard's 
wife, who is a daughter of the oldest man in Adams township, also is of 
stalwart pioneer stock and has been a most efficient factor in the develop- 
ment of the best interests of her home town. For many years she has been 
a registered pharmacist and has assisted her husljand in the operation of 
a drug store at St. Paul. Previous to taking up pharmacy, Mrs. Ballard 
had been a school teacher, and in that capacity her i-nfluence was such as 
to leave a lasting impression upon the cultural life of her home vicinity. 

Daniel Jefferson Ballard, M. D., was born on a farm in Orange town- 
ship. Rush county, Indiana, not far over the line from Decatur county, 
on October (S, 1841, the son of Madison and Sarah Ann (Tevis) Ballard, 
the former of whom was born on March 13, 1814. and died on March 15, 
1888, and the latter of whom was born on February 25, 1822, and died 
on January 18, 1883. 

Madison Ballard was born in Virginia, the son of Elijah Ballard, born 
in 1777, who came to Indiana in 1825, settling in Rush county, where he 
spent the remainder of his life. Madison Ballard became a well-known and 
influential farmer in Rush countv, where he made his home until 1877, in 
which year he moved to St. Paul, this county, where his last days were 
spent. By his marriage to .Sarah Ann Tevis six children were born, Daniel 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 757 

J., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Catherine Raynes, who hves in llhnois; 
John Durbin, who hves in ShelbyviUe, this state, and Mary Ehzabeth, Sarah 
Helen and JMellender, the last three named of whom are deceased. 

Being the eldest of the family and it being necessary for him to aid 
in the work of the farm during the days of his youth, Daniel J. Ballard 
received little schooling in his boyhood, his attendance being limited to about 
three months in a year during the winter seasons. He was not twenty 
years of age when the Civil War broke out, but on September i8, 1861, 
he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-se\enth Regiment. Indiana Volunteer 
Infantry, for service in that great struggle between the states. In 1862 
he was transferred to the First Battalion, Pioneer Brigade of Engineers, in 
which service he was engaged for two years, and was discharged with his 
regiment on October 26, 1864. Tb.ough engaged in some of the fiercest 
battles of the war. Doctor Ballard never was wounded, though on numerous 
occasions bullets passed through his clothing. Among the notable battles 
in which he participated may be mentioned Stone's River, Chickamauga, 
Missionary Ridge, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta and Jonesboro. Doctor Ballard 
was discharged with the rank of corporal. 

.\t the close of the war Doctor Ballard determined to pursue the studies 
which he had been compelled to neglect in his boyhood, and he attended 
school at St. Paul and at Shelbyx'ille, after which for a few years he taught 
school in St. Paul, beginning as primary teacher and ending as principal. 
Thus fortified, he took up the study of medicine and, after a period of pre- 
paratory reading, entered the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, 
from which institution he was graduated in February, 1876. He immedi- 
ately entered upon the practice of his profession in the village of St. I'aul 
and for forty years has been thus engaged, during the past twenty-one years 
of which time he also operated a drug store in the village. 

On September 18, 1867, Doctor Ballard was united in marriage to 
.Anna E. French, who was born in Liberty township, Shelby county, this 
state, on February 15, 1846, daughter of Joseph R. French, a native of 
that county, who was born in 1825, the son of Daniel French, who settled 
in Shelby county in 1820. Joseph R. French enjoys the distinction of being 
the oldest citizen of Adams township, this county. Since 1856 he has 
resided in the village of St. Paul, having always lived in the neighborhood, 
with the exception of four years s])ent at Moores Hill, when his son was 
attending the college at that puint. Mr. l^-ench was a saddler during his 
active year, and in his old age turned his attention to the cultivation of 



758 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

raspberry slips and other hothouse plants, but is now retired. Mr. French's 
wife was Catherine Zeigler, a member of a pioneer family of this part of 
the state, who was born in 1824 and died in November, 1902. To their 
union five children were born, namely: Anna E., who married Doctor 
Ballard; Mrs. Sarah Elizabeth Plymate, who lives at Acton, this state; ]\lrs. 
Amy Celeste Derbyshire, of St. Petersburg, Florida ; Harriet Jane, who 
died in girlhood, and William Henry Harrison. 

Anna E. French began teaching school when she was thirteen years 
of age and taught until she was twenty years of age, at which time, follow- 
ing her marriage to Doctor Ballard, she took up the study of chemistry, 
with particular reference to pharmacy, and for twenty years has been a 
registered pharmacist, being an invaluable aid to her husband in the opera- 
tion of the drug store at St. Paul. 

To Dr. Daniel J. and Anna E. (French) Ballard three children have 
been born, only one of whom is living, namely : Harry \V., an artist, who 
resides in St. Paul, married Fannie Floyd and they have one child, a son. 
Jack Floyd; Daniel Arthur, who died on April 10, 1879, at the age of two 
years and five months, and Joseph Clarence, who died in a St. Louis hos- 
pital on March 2, 1902, at the age of twenty-three years, three months and 
twenty-seven days. Joseph C. Ballard was graduated from Purdue Uni- 
versity and at the time of his death was engaged as a chemist in a steel 
plant at St. Louis. 

Doctor and Mrs. Ballard are meml:)ers of the Methodist church and are 
active in the good works of the communit}' in which they so long have 
labored. Doctor Ballard was a Republican until the year 191 2, in which 
year he transferred his political allegiance to the Progressive party. He 
is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of 
Pythias lodges at St. Paul and a leader in the local post of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. Formerly he took an active part in the affairs of the 
medical associations to which he was attached, but of late years is gradually 
relaxing some of his aforetime activities. He was a member of the Decatur 
County Medical Association and the Indiana State Medical Association, in 
the affairs of both of which societies he took an earnest interest. Mrs. Bal- 
lard also formerly was active in the work of the Pythian Sisters and of 
the Daughters of Rebekah, having filled all the chairs in the local lodges 
of those orders and served as delegate to the grand lodges of the same. 
Doctor and Mrs. Ballard, by reason of their useful lives in and about St. 
Paul, are held in the highest esteem thereabouts, being regarded with the 
greatest respect by the entire community. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 759 

CYRUS D. MARVVOOD. 

Cyrus D. Harwood, for fourteen years secretary and treasurer of the 
St. Paul Gas Company, was born on j\Iay 20, i860, in Dearborn county, 
Indiana, the son of Ebenezer and CaroHne ( Sumpter j Harwood, the former 
of whom was a native of Dearborn county. He and his wife were suc- 
cessful farmers in that county. 

Cyrus D. Harwood, who died on August 15, 1913, came to Decatur 
county when a small lad, probably five or six years old. They settled in 
Shelby county for a short time and then moved to Adams township, Deca- 
tur county, settling near St. Omer. 

In 1863 Ebenezer Harwood enlisted in the Union army and served 
until June 2"], 1864, when he died at Knoxville, Tennessee. He was a brave 
and efficient soldier, and was one among the thousands of patriotic citizens 
who gave up their lives in the cause of human freedom. At his death he 
left a wife and five children, the names of four of whom are herewith 
given, Mrs. Susan Pope, of Milford; Mrs. Mary Wilson, of Milford; 
Thomas, of Illinois; James of Bloomfield, Missouri; and Cyrus D., the sub- 
ject of this sketch. 

The late Cyrus D. Harwood grew to manhood at St. Omer and when 
about fifteen years of age his mother married again, after which time Cyrus 
D. went to Illinois, where he took a position with a mining company, which 
he held for several years. He became postmaster at Bartly, Illinois, and 
for some three or four years was engaged in the mercantile business at 
that town. 

About 1887 '^r. Harwood, after a trip west made in order to regain 
his health, came back to Decatur county and was married to Julia Short, 
March 29, 1888, a daughter of Joseph and Nancy (Gulley) Short, the 
former of whom was born on Flatrock river, Adams township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, and where he lived until his death on February 26, 1911. 
Nancy (Gulley) Short was born in .Shelby county and came to Decatur 
county when a child and lived here all of her life, where her father was a 
farmer. Her father and mother died within three weeks of each other, 
the mother on February 5, 191 1, and the father on Febitiary 26, 191 1. Her 
father was a Republican and a member of the Baptist church. During the 
Civil War he was a corporal in Company D, Seventy-sixth Regiment, Indi- 
ana Volunteer Infantry, a patriotic citizen and a man poptilar in the neigh- 
borhood where he lived. 



760 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

After his marriage Cyrus D. Harwood entered ijusiness at St. Omer,. 
but a short time after that they moved to St. Paul, where he engaged in 
business. During a period of about fourteen years he was secretary and 
treasurer of the St. Paul Gas Company. He was also a notary public and 
a man of unusual ability, possessed of a genial disposition, and had many 
friends in this county. He took a great interest in public improvements, 
and especially in the improvement of his own town, where Mrs. Harwood, 
his widow, lives at her home with her adopted daughter, Zelman, who is 
now a student in high school. Mrs. Harwood, who is a strong believer in 
education, is trying to give her adopted daughter the very best educational 
advantages. Mrs. Harwood taught school for six year previous to her mar- 
riage and is a cultured and refined woman. She has a wide circle of friends 
in Adams township. 



t 



MORGAN L. AHERS. 



Emerson, in his great essay on Character, recalls the indignation of 
an eloquent Methodist at the kind admonition of a Doctor of Divinity — "Afy 
friend, a man can neither be praised nor insulted," and, indeed, in this age 
when the superlative is shrieking throughout the land, it would seem that 
even the common acceptance of the term praise had outworn its wonted 
use, for everything whose praises the promoters are shouting from the house- 
tops is either the greatest this or the greatest that that ever was. What 
with "the puff direct and the puff collateral and the puff' oblitpie" of the 
old time magnified by the megaphonic methods of the modern advertiser, 
praise — if, despite the eloquent Methodist whom Emerson cites, praise be 
possible — has overshot itself. When e^•ery thing has become alike superlative, 
there are no superlatives and the promoter's adjectives are regarded askance 
by those whose ears are assaulted by the tumult of his cries. However, there 
is such a thing as proper and due praise, the modest meed that merit claims, 
and it surelv is not ill-timed or unfitting that on such a page as this a few 
words be said in passing regarding the life and the ijersonality of Jtlorgan L. 
Miers, one of the most influential men in Decatur county, the owner of four- 
teen hundred acres of land in Clay township and president of the Third 
National Bank at Greensburg, than whom no man in the cuunty is more 
widely known or regarded with higher favor by his neighbors. INlr. Miers 
is a man of quiet, unassuming manner, of genial disposition and a philosophic 
turn of mind; qualities which bind his friends to him as "with hoops of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 76 1 

steel." and it properly may be said that no man in this part of the state 
has firmer or more devoted friends than he. Mr. Miers' grandfather, Thomas 
Miers, was one of the early settlers of Decatur county and for three genera- 
tions members of the Miers family have been prominent in the affairs of this 
county, their influence ever having l)een exerted in behalf of the welfare of 
the whole community. A brother of Mr. Miers, the Hon. Robert W. 
Miers, of Bloomington, this state, represented this district in Congress for 
eight years and in all ways the family has stood for good government and 
decent li\'ing; being faithful and true in all the relations of life. 

Morgan L. Miers was born in the year 1855 on the farm on which he 
now lives, one and one-half miles south of the pleasant village of Burney, in 
Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, the son of Thomas S. and Mahala 
( Braden ) Miers, both members of pioneer families in that section of the 
county. Thomas S. Miers came to this county when about seven years 
of age with his parents, his father, Thomas Miers, emigrating from Ohio 
at an earl\- day in the settlement of this county and entering from the gov- 
ernment a tract of land in the Burney neighljorhood, in Clay township, 
where the rest of his life was spent, his death occurring not luany years 
after he came to this county. Thomas S. Miers was reared in the pioneer 
home in Clay township and upon succeeding to the ownership of the farm 
prospered largely, gradually increasing his holdings until he became the pos- 
sessor of more than six hundred acres of fine land, the larger part of which 
he had brought under an excellent state of cultivation. Though laboring 
under the many and manifest disadvantages of his day and generation, 
Thomas S. Miers displayed much executive ability and a keen business fore- 
sight, becoming one of the foremost factors in the development of that part 
of the county in which he lived. He was a farmer of unusual skill and 
his farm became very profitable to him, his chief source of revenue being 
derived from feeding hogs, he finding that the value of the extensive crops 
of corn that he raised was thus largely enhanced. Thomas S. Miers was 
a member of the Episcopal church, a Democrat and a member of the Ma- 
sonic lodge at Milford. He was active in the good works of his community, 
inrtuential in local politics and interested in the affairs of his lodge. (3f a 
singularly optimistic nature, he radiated cheer wherever he went and was 
exceedingly popular throughout that part of the county. Ever ready to 
help others, he never forgot a kindness directed toward himself and it 
is said of him that he would go as far as anyone to accommodate a friend. 

Thomas S. Miers married Mahala Braden, a member of one of the pio- 
neer families of the county, and to this union there were born seven children,. 



762 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

namely: Mary, who married Isaac Sefton, of Greensburg, this county; 
Robert W., of Bloomington, Indiana, former member of Congress from 
this district, now judge of the Monroe county circuit court; Mrs. Emma 
Gilmore, deceased; Morgan L., the immediate subject of this sketch; Wil- 
lard A., a well-known farmer of the Burney neighborhood, who owns three 
' hundred and twenty acres of choice land in Clay township, is a well-known 
breeder of fine horses, having some time ago sold one of his trotters, "Little 
Snapp," for twenty-five hundred dollars; Nevada, wife of William A. Minor, 
of Clay township, and Alaggie B., who married Frank Stapp and lives 
at Hope, Indiana. 

Morgan L. Miers was reared on the home farm in Clay township, 
receiving his elementary education in the local schools, which he supple- 
mented by a course of four years at Indiana University and was graduated 
from the law department of that excellent institution. - Upon completing 
his education he devoted his time to the development of the growing farm 
interests of his father, giving his particular attention to the raising of live 
stock, soon becoming known as one of the heaviest shippers in the state. 
Recognizing the growing value of land in the neighborhood of the home 
acres he gradually bought land as he prospered and now owns fourteen 
hundred and sixty acres of choice land, all of which lies in Clay town- 
ship. ]\Iuch of this land, purchased for fifty dollars an acre, is now well 
worth one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre, and INIr. Aliers 
maintains that if he had had the acunlfen to have extended his purchases during 
the days of cheap land thereabout he now would be a millionaire. However, 
he is a man of remarkably' optimistic nature, as was his father before him, 
and he is not worrying because of this lack of foresight years ago. In fact, 
he makes it a point never to worry, his genial temperament placing him 
above the petty worries that sometimes afllict less optimistic individuals. 
Though giving his chief attention to his great estate, ]\Ir. ]\Iiers has found 
time to extend his activities in other directions and is interested in numerous 
enterprises in this and adjoining counties. Since the opening of the Third 
National Bank of Greensburg. thirty-four years ago, ^Ir. Miers has been a 
director in that sound old financial institution and for the past two years 
has been president of the same; a position of prominence in the financial 
circles of southern Indiana exceeded by few therein. His sound judgment 
regarding values and thorough acquaintance with commercial and indus- 
trial conditions in this part of the state give to his opinions in connection 
with investments a weight of well nigh dominant force hereabouts and few 
iinanciers in southern Intliana have a higher standing in banking circles than 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 763 

he; his enterprising spirit being sufficientl_v well balanced by a native con- 
serxatism to give to his decisions that unerring cjuality which business men 
in this section have learned to appreciate and value so highly in consulta- 
tions regarding investments. 

Thirty-three years ago Morgan L. Miers was united in marriage to Gail 
Hamilton, of Clay township, this county, daughter of G. M. and Mary Susan 
(Logan) Hamilton, members of pioneer families in Decatur county, the 
latter of whom was a daughter of John Logan, and to this union two children 
were ]:)orn, a son and a daughter, Roy, now twenty-three years of age, and 
Mary, now aged sixteen, the latter of whom is attending school in Boston, 
Massachusetts. Mrs. Miers met her death in an automobile accident on Oc- 
tober 20, 1914, a tragedy which plunged the entire community into mourning, 
for she was a woman of exceptional strength of character and for years a 
leader in good works in the vicinity in which her gentle influence so long 
had been exerted in all good ways. 

Mr. Miers is a member of the Methodist church and he and his son, 
Roy Miers, are members of the IMasonic fraternity. Mr. Miers is a Demo- 
crat and takes an earnest interest in the political affairs of the county, state 
and nation, though he never has been included in the office-seeking class, his 
extensive personal interests being sufficient to engage his undivided atten- 
tion. He is a constant exponent of good government and all measures look- 
ing to the advancement of the public welfare find in him an ardent champion. 
Energetic and public spirited, Mr. Miers is a powerful factor in general 
affairs hereabout and no man in the county is held in higher esteem. 



GEORGE M. MEEK. 



Of the private soldiers who belonged to the Seventh Regiment, Indiana 
Volunteer Lifantry, recruited during the latter months of iS6i, no one 
living or dead had a more valiant record in the service of his country than 
the venerable George M. Meek, a well-known farmer of Fugit township. 
Idaving enlisted on September 13, 1861. in Company G, which was for two 
years commanded by his brother. Capt. John Meek, and under him Lieut. 
Orville Thomson, he served akogether three years. In the battle of the 
A\'i!derness he was wounded by a shot through the right breast, a wound 
which has liothered him all of his life. Few soldiers participated in a 
greater number of severe battles than George j\L Meek, who fought at 



764 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Greenbrier, Winchester, Port Republic, the second battle of Bull Run, 
Antietam, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Slaughter Mountain, 
Virginia, and in the Wilderness campaign. After serving in every battle in 
which his company and regiment was engaged, he was inustered out of the 
ser\'ice on September 20, 1864, full of honors yet weighted with the terrible 
burden of military service and disabled by the ghastly wound he had received 
in the Wilderness. 

The venerable George M. IMeek, who was only eighteen years old at 
the time of his enlistment, was born on May 3, 1842, three miles northeast 
of Greensburg, the son of Adam R. and Nancy (Logan) Meek. Adam R. 
Meek, a native of Kentucky, was the son of Thomas Meek, and came to 
Decatur county in 1825, just after the settlement was beginning in this 
section. He was twice married. Among his eighteen children were Tay- 
lor, of Greensburg: John, of Kansas; Mrs. Jerusha Patton, of California; 
Mrs. Mollie Donnell, of Missouri; Samuel; Mrs. Minerva Bonner; Tirza 
Mclllvane;; Mrs. Rebecca Henry; William N., deceased; Thomas; Mrs. 
Laura Kincaid, deceased, and Josiah, deceased. 

After becoming cme of the largest landowners in Decatur county, Adam 
R. Meek divided his land among his children, presenting each child with 
eighty acres in fee simple. 

George M. Meek, who now owns three hundred and thirty acres of 
land in Fugit township, settled, after his marriage, on the eighty-acre farm 
given to him by his father, .\fter his marriage, he purchased the old Logan 
or Patton farm and in 1887 'ii'ilt his present farm home. .A few years 
ago he also built a home for his son. 

On November 26, 1883, Mr. Meek was married to Charlotte Miller, 
who was born on November 28, 1S60, at Clarksburg, and who is the daugh- 
ter of Louis C. and Elizabeth (Barneman) Miller, natives of Ohio and 
Germany, respectively. The)' were married in Ohio and moved from that 
state to Decatur county in 1857.' "Sir. and Mrs. George M. Meek have had 
three children, the youngest of whom died in infancy. The two living 
children are Thomas, a well-known farmer of this county, who married 
Daisy Carroll, and Mrs. Fredericka Smith, who lives near Williamstown 
on a farm and who has one child, Carmen. 

As a farmer Mr. Meek feeds a large amount of live stock, and it is 
principally from live stock that he has made his greatest profits in farming. 
During his twenty-nine years of experience in the business of farming he 
has made a close and careful study of its methods, and few men living in 
Decatur county today are better informed regarding its various phases than 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 765 

he. Mr. Meek understands first the culti\'ation of the soil; he recognizes 
the importance of good seed and the preparation of a good seed bed. More- 
over, he beHeves in frequent and careful cultivation. He is not a man who 
sells a great deal of grain, practically everything raised on the farm in the 
way of grains or cereals being fed to the stock. 

The venerable George M. Meek comes from a distinguished family 
and one which has been intimate!}' identified with the history of the county 
since pioneer times. If nothing more, his valiant service as a soldier in 
our great Civil War would be sufficient to entitle him to rank as one of 
the foremost citizens. But as a careful, enterprising, thrifty farmer, he 
is quite as much a hero of peace as he was a hero of war. 



JOHN H. LOG.\N. 



John H. Logan, a successful farmer and breeder of Fugit township, 
who passed away in Oklahoma, where he had gone to recover his health, 
on March 28, 1908, was one of the best-known citizens living in this part 
of Decatur county. 

The son of Joseph A. and Mary Jane (Straney) Logan, John H. Logan 
was born on November 8, 1849, on the farm where he spent the most of 
his life. He was the son of Joseph A. Logan, as heretofore noted, who was 
born on January 9, 1821. and who married Mary Jane Straney, a native of 
Kentucky. Joseph A. was the son of Martin Logan, a pioneer in Fugit 
township, and a native of Kentucky. He married Nancy Martin and died 
in 1888. Joseph A. Logan entered the land where Ezra Kirbv now lives 
in 1821. His father filed the papers for this farm, which afterward passed 
into the possession of his son, Hugh, and is now owned by Ezra Kirby. 
Mrs. Mary Jane (Straney) Logan, who was born on May 12, 1824, was 
the daughter of Jane Brown, who was born on December 2'/, 1748, aufl 
who had also two other children, John Brown Straney, born on November 
9, 1825, and Sarah Agnes Straney (IMayne), August 20, 1827. 

Joseph A. Logan was only nine months old when his father removed 
from Kentucky to Decatur county. Indiana, and settled on the old home- 
stead, where the widow of his son, John H., now lives. He and his wife 
had eight children. Of these children, Nancy Martin was born on March 
9, 1844, married a Mr. May, now deceased; Mrs. Mary Ann Cook, Octo- 
ber 14, 1845; Mrs. Margaret (Findley) Manlove, August 13, 1847; John 



766 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

H., is the subject of this sketch; Leander, February 9, 1853, deceased; Will- 
iam R., August 20, 1855, deceased; Nathan McDill Logan, September 27, 
1857, and lives in I'\igit township, Luna Ames, October 23, 1865, died on 
January 3, 1891. 

After his marriage the late John H. Logan and his wife purchased the 
old homestead, consisting of one hundred and nineteen acres, and later 
bought sixty-six acres more, making in all one hundred and eighty-five 
acres. Upon this farm they erected a splendid modern home in 1900, and 
from time to time excellent outbuildings. He was a large stock raiser and 
feeder, and made a specialty of road horses with whicli he was very suc- 
cessful. In 1908 Mr. Logan went to Oklahoma for the purpose of regain- 
ing his health, which was fast failing, and died six years afterward. At 
the time of his death he not only left to his wndow and heirs the farm in 
Fugit township, but also a farm where he lived at the time of his death of 
one hundred and fifty acres southwest of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. An 
energetic and honorable citizen, a good business man and farmer, he was 
also a splendid type of the man wdio practices the Christianity wdiich he 
professes. If John H. Logan had any enemies at the time of his death, he 
did not know about it, since he lived according to the Golden Rule, and 
never had trouble with anybody. A Republican in politics, he was a loyal 
and devoted member of the Springhill United Presbyterian church. 

On October 10, 1888, the late John H. Logan had been married to 
Jennie Carson, who was born on September 26, 1865, in Tipton county, 
Indiana, and Avho is the daughter of John and Helen (Picken) Carson, 
natives of Brown county, Ohio, and Scotland, respectively. The former 
was the son of Irish parents, and died in Tipton county in 1884. His wife 
died later in Indianapolis. 

i\Ir. and Mrs. John H. Logan had four children. Of these children, 
Harry Carson, born on June 22, 1890, was educated in the Clarksburg high 
school, and after leaving high school, spent two years in a military school 
in Tennessee; Ruth, December 11, 1891, is a student at the Bradley Insti- 
tute at Peoria, Illinois, having taught school for two years ; Jessie, Decem- 
ber 22. 1893, was a student in the Bradley Institute until her graduation in 
191 5, and William, April 2, 1902, is attending the Clarksburg school. 

At the death of her beloved husband, Mrs. John H. Logan was left 
well i)rovided for, and out of their combined earnings and savings she may 
enjny all the comforts of life, and the conveniences which her beloved hus- 
band meant her to have. His memory is revered not only by the widow 
and children he left here, but by the host of friends he gained during a long 
and active life in this county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 767 

WALTER T. BOLING. 

Among the enterprising business men of St. Paul, Decatur county, 
Indiana, may be mentioned Walter T. Boling, the proprietor of a feed and 
grain business at that place. Born in 1887, in Franklin county, Indiana, he 
is the son of William and Hannah ( Humphrey) Boling, the former of 
whom was born in 1828 and died in 1899. Hannah Humphrey was the 
second wife of William Boling, "the first wife having been a Miss Sloan, 
who bore him one child, Josephine, now deceased. By his second marriage 
there were twelve children, of whom Alice, the eldest and Jasper, the fifth 
born, are deceased. JNIrs. Alice Wheeler died in February, 1914, at her 
home in Laurel. The living children are, Mrs. Martha Jane Carr, of 
Frankfort; Mary, who is the housekeeper for George. Logan, of Clay town- 
ship; Albert, who is the treasurer of Decatur county; Mrs. Ada Wright, 
the wife of Wilbur Wright, of Adams; George W., who is engaged in the 
hardware business in St. Paul; W. T., the subject of this sketch; Clyde, 
Elmer, Owen and Edna, all of whom reside in Indianapolis. 

Walter T. Boling, after spending his boyhood days on the farm, and 
receiving his education in the common schools of the county, left home at 
the age of seventeen and afterward worked on a farm in Decatur county 
until 1 90 1, when he came to St. Paul and was employed in the grain ele- 
vator of William Nading, for whom he worked for six years. At the end 
of this period, he purchased an interest in the St. Paul Hardware Com- 
pany, where he remained for three years. Later he sold out and purchased 
his present business in which he has been engaged ever since. Mr. Boling 
handles and sells many thousands of bushels of corn each year as well as 
all kinds of feed and flour. He has been successful in business and now 
owns the mill and building. At the present time he is building a strictly 
modern up-to-date home in St. Paul and is spending in the neighborhood 
of two thousand dollars in its construction. 

In October, 1904, Mr. Boling was married to Gertrude M. Wynkoop, 
of Sand Creek township, the daughter of Isaac Newton and Mary Eliza- 
beth (McGee) Wynkoop, the former of whom was born on February 24, 
1850, in Franklin county, Indiana, the son of James and Barbara ( Mer- 
rick) Wynkoop, and the latter jjorn on April 8, 1854, in Sand Creek town- 
ship, two and one-half miles from her present home, the daughter of Ralph 
and Sarah (Jones) McGee, the former of whom was born on January 8. 
1827, and the latter born on April 12, 1832. Ralph McGee died on June 
20, 1909, and his wife on February 3, 1906. Ralph McGee was the son 



768 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of John McGee, a native of Ireland, who came to Butler county, Ohio, in 
1810, and who was a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Jane Cas- 
sell. Mrs. Boling's paternal grandparents, James and Barbara ( Herrick) 
Wynkoop, were natives of Penns\lvania, the former having been born on 
July ly, 181 7, died on February 2'], 1893, and the latter born on January 
23, 1S17, died on November 30, 1903. 

Having started in life with five cents in money, it cannot be denied that 
Mr. Boling has made a wonderful success in his business. He has suc- 
ceeded by dint of great nerve and a philosoph}- all his own. He is a well- 
known citizen in the county and is highly respected wherever known. 

He is a stanch Democrat and for many years served as precinct com- 
mitteeman. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge 
No. 148, at Greenslnirg, and has been a member since he was twent^•-one 
years old. Mrs. Boling is a member of the Baptist church, while Mr. Bol- 
ing is a member of the Presbyterian church. 



JOHN E. OSBORN. 



The legal profession has claimed many of the brighest minds of Decatur 
county and from the beginning of the county's history in 1822 the bar of 
the county has included men of high standing. From the bar of this county 
men have gone out to become congressmen, members of the highest courts 
of the state and lieutenant-governors. In whatever position they have found 
themselves they have acquitted themselves with credit. One of the younger 
members of the Decatur county bar is John E. Osborn, the senior member 
of the firm of Osborn & Hamilton. Without those advantages which so 
many of the younger lawyers of today have, he has arisen to a high place 
in his community through the sheer force of his personality and enjoys the 
utriiost confidence of both bench and bar in this sectron of the state. 

The Osborn family is of English ancestry and were early settlers in the 
state of New Jersey. It was in that state that Albert I. Osborn, the father 
of John E., was born on February 3, 1831. Albert I. Osborn was only 
four years of age when he came with his father, John Osborn, to Dearborn 
county, Indiana, later locating in Decatur county. In this county he grew 
to manhood, married, reared his family, and is still living. He is now in his 
eighty-fifth year and makes his home at Newpoint. 

John E. Osljorn, the youngest child of his parents, was born on August 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 769 

25, 1872, near Newpoint, Decatur county, Indiana. Reared on the farm and 
educated in the pubHc schools at Newpoint, Rossburg and Mechanicsburg, 
lie reached man's estate without any other than a solid common-school edu- 
cation. He remained on the farm until he was nineteen years of age, and 
desiring to become something else than a farmer, he began the study of law 
by himself. So rapidly did he master the rudiments of the legal profession 
that he was admitted to the bar in May, 1897. However, he had previously 
been appointed deputy county auditor, receiving the appointment at the age 
of nineteen, and had served as deputy auditor under his brother-in-law, John 
J. Puttman, from December 7, 1891, to March, 1896. 

The professional career of Mr. Osborn was begun in partnership with 
Elmer E. Roland, but six months later he resigned from the firm to become 
the partner of Hugh Wickens, the present circuit judge. After the election 
of Mr. Wickens as judge of the ninth judicial circuit, Mr. Osborn was in 
partnership with Lewis A. Harding, the firm being known as Osborn & 
Harding from November, 1910, to January i, 1912. On the latter date 
Frank Hamilton became a member of the firm, which was then changed to 
the firm of Osborn, Hamilton & Harding. This partnership continued until 
November, 1912, when Mr. Harding was elected prosecutor of this judicial 
district and withdrew from the firm. Since that time Mr. Osborn has been 
associated with Mr. Hamilton. 

John E. Osborn has now been practicing before the bar of this county 
for nearly twenty years and has had many important cases in the county, 
district and state courts. His practice has constantly increased and he has 
had the management of many interesting cases. So successful has he been 
that in his several firm changes he has been able to take with him the personal 
business which he had acquired as a member of these respective firms. The 
career of Mr. Osborn has not altogether been confined to his legal business. 
He has branched out in industrial and commercial enterprises with the 
same degree of success which has marked his progress in his chosen field 
of law. He is a stockholder and a director of the American Cooperage 
Company of Helena, Arkansas; the Columbia Cooperage Company of Mc- 
Gehee, Arkansas; the Arkansas Cooperage Company of Jennie, Arkansas, 
and is a partner with John T. Meek in a plantation in Concordia Parish, 
Louisiana, near Natchez. He and Mr. Meek own forty-four hundred acres 
of land on which they raise rice, cotton and considerable live stock. They 
^Iso have a saw-mill on the plantation. 

On July 17, 1900, John E. Osborn was married to Grace Gullefer, the 

(49) 



770 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

daughter of Dr. Thomas B. and Louise (Hederick) Gullefer, to wliich uniou 
one son has been born, Wendell G., born on October 23, 1905. 

Mrs. Osborn's father, Dr. T. B. Gullefer, was born eight miles from 
Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 12, 1851, a son of Stephen Gullefer, also 
a native of Marion county, Indiana, who died on his farm in that county 
in 1901. Stephen Gullefer was a son of Aaron Gullefer, a nati\e uf Wayne 
county, Indiana, an early settler of Clarion county, where he acquired a farm 
of six hundred and forty acres. The wife of Stephen Gullefer was Emily 
Bowers, born in Salem, Indiana, in 1824, who died in July, 1853. Dr. T. B. 
Gullefer is the only child born to this union now living. After the death of 
his first wife Stephen Gullefer married a second time and had six children 
by his second marriage, three of whom are dead, those living being John N., 
who owns the home farm; Eliza A., who resides with her brother John, and 
Judson. a resident of Indianapolis. 

After receiving a common-school education in the schools of Marion 
county. Doctor Gullefer spent one year in Butler College and then became 
a student of DePauw L^niversity for three years. After leaving college he 
taught school in the rural districts for six years. In 1879 he entered the 
medical college at Indianapolis and was graduated with the class of 1881, 
later taking a post-graduate course in the Chicago Homeopathic College, 
from which he was graduated in 1891. Doctor Gullefer practiced in Plain- 
field, Indiana, for five years ; in North Vernon, Indiana, for two years, and 
has been in continuous practice in Greensburg, this county, for the past 
twenty-five years. 

Dr. Thomas B. Gullefer was married in 1873 to Louise Hedrick, who 
was born in Gallatin county, Kentucky, in 1851, daughter of John and 
Charlotte Hedrick, to which union two children were born, Grace and 
Bessie. Grace is the wife of Mr. Osborn and Bessie married John Hor- 
nung, Jr., a grain merchant of Greensburg. Mrs. Gullifer passed away on 
July 5. 1915. 

Doctor Gullefer is a Republican in politics and has served as coroner 
of Decatur county, for eleven years; six years as secretary of the county 
board of health, and four years as secretary of the city board of health. 
He also servetl as United States pension examiner for one year, and is the 
present medical examiner for the government civil service in the fourth con- 
gressional district. He is a member of the Indiana Institute of Homeopathy. 

John E. Osborn made his first start in Democratic politics immediately 
after reaching his majority and has taken a keen interest in political affairs 
ever since. As member of the Democratic state central committee from the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. .77I 

sixth congressional district from January, 1908, to January, 1912, liis wise 
and judicious management of Democratic affairs was largely responsible for 
the election of many Democrats to office. When Finley Gray was elected to 
Congress in 1912, he was the first Democrat to go to Congress from this 
district for twenty-five years. Mr. Osborn deserves no little share of the 
credit for bringing about the election of this Democratic congressman. 

Mrs. Osborn is an active member of the Christian church of Greens- 
burg. Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are prominent in the various activities of the 
community which go toward making it a better and happier place in which 
to live. Their influence is always cast in behalf of all humanitarian and 
benevolent projects and in this way tlrey have earned the commendation of 
all those with whom they come into contact. 



GEORGE W. BOLING. 



During a period of nearly a century, various members of the Boling 
family have been prominent in the agricultural, industrial, commercial and 
political life of Decatur and adjoining counties. The family was founded 
in this section of Indiana by Benjamin Boling, an interesting pioneer citi- 
zen of this region. William Boling, the father of George W., and the son 
of Benjamin Boling, owned a farm just over the line from Decatur county 
in Franklin county, and spent all of his life on this farm. It is now owned 
by Albert Boling, a brother of George W., and the present county treasurer. 

George W. Boling, wdio is best known in Decatur county for his inter- 
est in the St. Paul Hardware Company, of St. Paul, Indiana, was born on 
September 14, 1S73, in Franklin county, Indiana. His parents were Will- 
iam and Hannah (Flumphrey) Boling, the former of whom was born in 
1828 and who died in October, 1899. Hannah Humphrey was the second 
wife' of William Boling and now lives in .\dams in this countv. His first 
wife was a Miss Sloan, who bore her husliand one child, Josephine, now 
deceased. By the second marriage there were twelve children, of whom 
two, Mrs. Alice Wheeler, the eldest, and Jasper, the fifth born, are deceased, 
the former dying in February, 1914, at her home in Laurel, Indiana. The 
living children are, Mrs. Martha Jane Carr, who lives at Frankfort; Mary, 
who makes her home with George Logan in Clay township, and is his 
housekeeper; All)ert, who is the present treasurer of Decatur county; Mrs. 
Ada Wright, who is the wife of Wilbur Wright, of Adams, Indiana; George 



772 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

W., who is the subject of this sketch; Waher T., who is in the feed and 
grain business and operates a mill at St. Paul; Clyde; Elmer; Owen, and 
Edna, all of whom are in Indianapolis. 

Although a member of a large family, George W. Boling was not 
denied the very best educational advantages and, after completing the com- 
mon school course of Decatur county, was a student at the Danville Normal 
school and the Indianapolis Business University. He was employed by 
various firms in Indianapolis after graduating from the business college, 
particularly the William B. Burford Printing Company, the Erie Railroad 
and the American Express Company. In 1901 he came to St. Paul, Indiana, 
and for two years operated the William Nading elevator. In 1903 Mr. 
Boling entered the hardware business under the firm name of Leffler & 
Boling at St. Paul. This arrangement continued until in October, 1903, 
Avhen the firm became Mobley & Boling. This firm continued until 1905, 
when Elmer Upjohn purchased Mr. Mobley's interest when the St. Paul 
Hardware Company was organized. In 1908 C. F. Thompson purchased 
the interest of Mr. Upjohn and he is now a member of the firm. The 
company has a storeroom, thirty by eighty feet, and a wareroom adjacent 
in a brick block. They also have a garage in the Red Men's building, forty 
by forty feet, which is used as a storage room for automobiles. The com- 
pany handles general hardware, agricultural implements, the Johnson line 
of implements, Oliver plows and other standard lines, cream separators, 
Fehring buggies, manufactured at Columbus, Indiana, standard makes of 
wagons, guns and ammunition, stoves, kerosene and gasoline. The com- 
pany is also the local agent for the Studebaker Automobile Company, and 
the agent in Shelby, Rush and Decatur counties for the Hercules car. Inci- 
dentally, they handle automobile supplies and automobile tires. They sell 
gas and gasoline engines, washing machines, install furnaces, water sys- 
tems and plumbing. The company is well equipped to fit up a residence in 
a most modern way, so far as heating and water systems are concerned. 

George W. Boling is connected with the St. Paul Building and Loan 
Association in the capacity of secretary. Tliis company has its offices in 
Mr. Boling's store and was organized in 1886. It has done more to build 
up St. Paul than any other concern in the township, particularly in enabling 
laborers and quarrymen to erect homes in this community. 

In May, 1901, George W. Boling was married to Nona B. Burner, the 
daughter of William Burner of Greensburg. To this union has been bom 
three children, Mildred Louise, Vivian Avalon and Clara Virginia. 

Mr. and ]\Irs. Boling and family are members of the Methodist Epis- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. -j-jt^ 

C(;pal church. Fraternally, Islv. Boling is a member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 
He is identified with the Republican party, but has never held office. 



JAMES N. BUSH. 



James N. Bush, a veteran of the Civil War and formerly a stone 
quarry superintendent and bridge builder of Adams township, was born in 
1842 in Owen county, Kentucky, and is the son of Pleasant and Drusilla 
(Smoot) Bush, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. Their parents 
came from \'irginia to Kentucky. The Smoot family came originally came 
from Scotland. 

Pleasant Bush was the son of Joseph and the Bush family came orig- 
inally from England, and Joseph Bush's wife, who before her marriage was 
a Miss Duncan, was of German extraction. Pleasant Bush, himself, was 
bom, lived and died in Kentucky. 

In 1869 James N. Bush came to Decatur county with his wife, to whom 
he had been married in 1866, in Kentucky. They had one child at the time. 
Catherine (Smoot) Bush, the wife of James N., was born in Kentucky and 
was the daughter of George Smoot, a native of that state. Born in 1842, 
she died in Decatur county in 1908. They had a family of six children, 
three of whom are still living at St. Paul, William, who is a blacksmith; 
A. M., who is a restaurant keeper, and C. L., who is a partner with A. M. 
They have erected many fine buildings in this part of the county, including 
a fine concrete business building in St. Paul. 

When Mr. Bush came to Decatur county he began cutting stone. He 
followed this trade for about a year, when he was employed by W. W. 
Lowe, for whom he worked for twenty-one years as superintendent of stone 
quarries. He afterward leased and operated for himself a stone quarry 
and, in the meantime, was engaged in bridge building. 

In 1863 Mr. Bush enlisted in Company E, Thirtieth Regiment, Ken- 
tucky Volunteer Infantry, which was mounted and commanded by Colonel 
-Mexandria. This regiment was attached to the army of General Stone- 
man. Mr. Bush saw hard service and was detailed to scout work mostly, 
his regiment ha\'ing operated chiefly in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. 
He served until the close of the war, being mustered out of service on April 
18, 1865. On one occasion his division engaged the army of General 



774 ■ DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Breckenridge at Saltville and was badly defeated; in fact, almost anni- 
hilated. However, they returned to Saltville with four thousand men and 
there engaged General Breckenridge and defeated him. Saltville was an 
important point, since it was the source of salt for the Confederate army. 
The Union army destroyed the salt works and the available supply of salt. 
Mr. Bush had many thrilling escapades in scout duties. He was possessed 
of wonderful zest and courage which served him well on many occasions. 
He was a brave and resourceful soldier and is today very proud of his 
military record, which he has every right to be. 

For many years James N. Bush has been badly afflicted with rheuma- 
tism, but nevertheless is a man of cheerful disposition. In his life he has 
made considerable money and had a comfortable competence laid by to 
last him the remainder of his life. On account of sickness and death in 
his family his fortune is somewhat depleted. After the death of his wife 
he divided his property among his children and went to live with his son. a 
business man of St. Paul. 

Mr. Bush is a man of strong convictions, which have always been a 
good guide for his actions. Reared in one of the strongest rebel counties 
of Kentucky, where all of his neighbors and practically all of his relatives 
joined the Confederate army, Mr. Bush himself believed in the cause of 
the Union and chose to support the stars and stripes. He believed that 
slavery was wrong and human freedom was right, and cast his lot accord- 
ingly. No citizen is more highly respected in Decatur county than the \en- 
erable James N. Bush. 



JOHN R. KANOUSE. 

The late John R. Kanouse was a well-known merchant and farmer of 
St. Paul, Adams township, Decatur county, Indiana. He was a man of 
large mental mold and of prodigious physical energy, one who by careful 
application to his personal business built up a large patronage in this com- 
munity and who held, at the time of his death, the respect and confidence 
of the host of friends he had made during his life. 

The late John R. Kanouse was born in 1844 in Clay township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, the son of George and Isabelle (Sumpter) Kanouse, the 
latter of whom was the daughter of John and Elizabeth Sumpter, natives of 
Iowa, and relatives of General Sumpter of Civil War fame. George Kanouse 
himself was a soldier in the Civil War. In 1S71 John R. Kanouse was 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ' 775 

married to Courtney McCoy, a daughter of Isaiah and Mary (Short) McCoy, 
the former of whom was a native of Virginia, born in 1815, and who 
died in 1909. After coming to Decatur county with his parents, WiUiam 
and Nancy (Waple) McCoy, when seven years of age, he settled with them 
on a farm in Adams township. Wilham McCoy was a miller on Cliffy 
creek and a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in Kentucky. IsaiaH 
McCoy was a Decatur county farmer and a very successful business man, 
who started, in life with nothing and who by his shrewdness, industry and 
good management accumulated considerable property. He owned several 
hundred acres of land at the time of his death. A Republican in politics, 
he was a man of strong convictions as well as of good moral character. 
He died in 1909, leaving a family of seven children. John, Benjamin and 
Mrs. Nancy Lawhead are deceased; Mrs. Eliza Garrett is the wife of Lewis 
Garrett, of Adams township; Mrs. Julia Bright is the wife of John Bright, 
of Adams township; Courtney married Mr. Kanouse, and Mrs. Arminda 
Boicourt is the wife of George Boicourt, who lives near Letts in Sand 
Creek township. 

Mrs. Courtney Kanouse was born in 1850 in Adams township and 
educated in the common schools of Decatur county. She grew to woman- 
hood at home and there lived until her marriage in 1871. She is a woman of 
keen business judgment, well able to care successfully for the business 
with which she was left at the time of her husband's death. She is a mem- 
ber of the Christian church at St. Paul, of the Order of the Eastern Star 
and the Rebekahs. 

After their marriage in 1871, Mr. and Mrs. John R. Kanouse started 
in life at St. Onier in Decatur county, where he was engaged in the mer- 
cantile business. He was very successful there, but after two years, in 
1880, he and his wife removed to St. Paul, where he engaged in the mer- 
cantile business and in which he continued until two years before his death. 

An unusually successful business man, the late John R. Kanouse owned, 
at the time of his death, not only the large store in St. Paul, but three hun- 
dred acres of land as well. 

Mr. and Mrs. John R. Kanouse had eight children, seven of whom are 
now living, as follow: Roy K. is a merchant in Greensburg; Mrs. Daisy 
Bewley lives in California; George is in the automobile business in Indian- 
apolis; Mrs. Rose Hill, wife of Oscar Jay, prosecuting attorney of Elkhart, 
Indiana; Mrs. Nelhe Hill is the wife of James Hill, of Westport; Mrs. 
Edna Wolf is the wife of Carl ^\''o!f, of St. Paul; Frank lives at home. 

No duty, public or pri\ate, was neglected by the late John R. Kanouse. 



776 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

A man of deep religious convictions, he was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Fraternally, he was identified with the Masonic frater- 
nity and the Knights of Pythias. He was also a Red ]\Ian. His acquaint- 
ances and friends were not confined to Decatur count}'. He had a host of 
friends in Shelb}' county as well. His beloved widow is a woman of refine- 
ment and of splendid Christian character. She has a beautiful home in St. 
Paul, where, with her son and his wife, she is living. 



JOHN T. PAVY. 



No family in the western part of Decatur county has exerted a more 
widely marked influence for good throughout that section than has the 
Pavy family, which has been active in the good works of the Milford 
and the Burney neighborhoods for the past four or five generations and 
is one of the most substantial and well-established families in this part 
of the state. The late John T. Pavy, whose death at his home in Burney 
on March 21, 1914, was widely mourned throughout the section of the 
county in which he so long had been one of the leaders in the religious 
and social life thereabout, was an able, upright and influential citizen; a 
man who created a distinct impress upon the life of his time in the com- 
munity in which for years he had gone about doing good, and it is but 
fitting and proper that in a history of the county covering the period of 
his activities here, there should be presented a modest sketch of his useful 
career, together with some of the salient points relating to his interesting 
family. Though a quiet, unassuming man, John T. Pavy ever was fore- 
most in the good works of his neighborhood and none therein was held m 
higher esteem and respect than he. Generous and kind-hearted, he ever 
was willing to lend a helping hand and many there are in the part of 
the county to which his labors were devoted who have cause to cherish 
his memon' with feelings of gratitude and warmest admiration. A devout 
Christian, he imparted to all his relations with his fellow men a spirit of 
sincerity that left no doubt regarding the noble and disinterested motives 
that animated his course of action. In his daily walk and conversation, 
John T. Pavy was frank and direct, open and aboveboard ; and all men 
knew where he stood on questions affecting the general welfare. Being 
one of the most substantial farmers in the western part of Decatur county, 
he very naturally and by proper right took his place among the leaders of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 'J'J-J 

thought and sentiment thereabout and his judgment on local issues or on 
questions of right and policy exerted a fine and enduring influence upon 
the neighborhood. He and his wife were members of the Baptist church 
and their children were reared in that faith, the family being among the 
most active workers in the various beneficences of the church. He was 
an ardent Republican, though not of the ofiice-seeking class, and his sound 
judgment and keen knowledge of affairs gave to his political opinions no 
light weight with the managers of the party in this county. He was an 
ideal husband and father, his in\'ariable and unswerving devotion to his 
family having been beautiful to see, and his death created a vacancy in 
the family circle which time does not fill, his widow and children being 
devoted to his memory, cherishing the same as a priceless legacy, for he 
left a stainless name'; the record of a blameless life, than which there can 
be no more fitting phrase used in eulogy. 

John T. Pavy was born on a farm in Clay township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, a short distance west of the village of Burney, in the year 1848, a 
son of J. J. and Nancy (Deem) Pavy, both members of pioneer families 
in this county, further details of the genealogy of this family being pre- 
sented elsewhere in this volume, these families having been prominent and 
influential in the days of the county's early settlement. Reared on the 
home farm, receiving the most careful training in the rudiments of agri- 
culture, a vocation to which he was destined to devote his life, John T. 
Pavy attended Hartsville College for a time and completed his education 
at Franklin College. He entered upon his life as a farmer with charac- 
teristic energy, giving to the details of the farm a studious attention which 
was productive of results and he became cjuite successful, leaving a valuable 
estate at the time of his death. 

On March 28, 1878, at Milford, Decatur county, Indiana, John T. 
Pavy was united in marriage to Anna Jackson, who was born on a farm 
in Clay township, this county, daughter of William T. and Margaret (Miers) 
Jackson, the former of whom was the son of William D. and Amelia (Hill- 
man) Jackson, who settled in this county in 1840. William D. Jackson was 
a Virginian and his wife was a native of Maryland. Shortly after their 
marriage they located in Cincinnati, where William D. Jackson became a 
prosperous real estate dealer. In 1840 they came to Decatur county, set- 
tling on a quarter-section of land in Fugit township, removing thence, in 
1847, to Clay township, where they lived until 1853, in which year they 
moved to a farm two and one-half miles west of the town of Greensburg, 
where they spent the rest of their lives. An interesting story of the life 



7/8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

■of this pioneer family is presented elsewhere in this volume in the bio- 
graphical sketch relating to William E. Jackson, a brother of Mrs. Pavy. 

William T. Jackson was about eighteen years of age when his parents 
moved from Cincinnati to this county. He married Margaret Miers, daugh- 
ter of Thomas Miers, one of the most substantial of the pioneer farmers of 
Decatur county, and to this union were born eight children, namely : Anna, 
the widow of Mr. Pavy; James, deceased; Edwin, a well-known farmer of 
Clay township, this county; Benjamin J., deceased; Adelaide, who married 
Henry Barnes; William E., a prominent farmer of Washington township, 
this count}', who married Alta Moore; Charles J., who died in infancy, anci 
Harry, who lives in Colorado. William T. Jackson died at the age of 
sixty years and his wife died at the age of sixty-eight. 

Anna (Jackson) Pavy was born in a log cabin on what is now known 
as the Miers farm in Clay township, then owned by her father, previously 
by her grandfather. She was educated in the schools at Milford, this county, 
and at the old academy at Danville, Indiana, her father having been for 
a time engaged in the dry goods business at Dan\ille. Upon her marriage, 
in 1878, to Mr. Pavy she entered seriously upon the life of farming and 
was an earnest and devoted helpmeet of her husband. When she was 
married she was a member of the Methodist church, but changed her church 
affiliation to the Baptist in order to conform her faith to that of her hus- 
band, he having been reared in the Baptist faith, and for years they were 
among the most active and influential members of the congregation to which 
they were attached. A woman of broad mind and sterling character, Mrs. 
Pavy has always been an influence for good in the Burney neighljorhood 
and her home in the pleasant village of Burney is a center from which 
radiate only the blandest and most salutary promptings. 

To John T. and Anna (Jackson) Pavy were born two children, a son 
and a daughter, Harry, who was born in 1882, is operating a part of the 
home farm, and Lena, who married Ewing Arnold, lives on the William F. 
Smiley farm, one and one-half miles south of Greensburg. Beside his 
wife and children, John T. Pavy left several brothers and sisters to mourn 
his death, to his parents having been born the following children : Susan, 
who lives on the old Pavy farm south of Burney ; Elizabeth ; Dorcas, whn 
married Felix Gartin, a prominent live stock dealer of this county, died 
hi 1915; Matilda, who lives on the home farm; John T.. deceased, the 
subject of this sketch; James, a farmer of the Forest Hill neighlrarhood; 
Rev. William A., pastor of the Baptist church at \\'aldron ; Nannie, who 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 779 

married Daniel Harker; Mary J., who married John Templeton, and Mi- 
ner\a, wlio was born blind and who is li\'ing at the old home. Minerva 
Pavy was educated in the Indiana school for the blind at Indianapolis and 
became a proficient musician, being not only a fine singer, but an accom- 
plished pianist, having supplemented her course in the state school by a 
finishing course in the Indianapolis Conservatory of Music. She is a 
woman of much charm and grace of manner and of a highly cultivated 
mind. Despite the afliiction which has shut her out from a sight of all the 
beauties and the wonders of the world, she is possessed of a charmingly 
cheerful disposition and is a great favorite with her many friends. 



OTTO F. DIETRICH. 

Among the prosperous and well-established enterprises of Burney, Clay 
township, Decatur county, Indiana, is the saw-mill, owned and operated 1)y 
Otto F. Dietrich, which was established in 1902 with an invested capital 
of three thousand dollars. This mill has a capacity of eight thousand feet 
■daily and Mr. Dietrich, while he does some commercial custom work, is 
largely engaged in cutting and sawing his own timber. He buys timljer in 
large tracts, has the logs cut and saws them in his own mill. He employs 
the minimum of six hands and sometimes as many as twenty. The mill 
consists of the very latest ecjuipment. 

Otto F. Dietrich was born on April 8. 1876, in Germany, and is the son 
of Ferdinand and Marie (Weber) Dietrich. On May 9, 1888, Otto F. 
Dietrich, at the age of twelve years, arrived in America with an aunt, 
Pauline Dietrich. For some time he resided with an uncle, Charles Dietrich, 
in Tipton county. Although he had received a liberal education in Ger- 
many, he attended school for four years after coming to America and 
mastered the English language. For five years he worked as a farm hand 
in Tipton county, Indiana. In 1893 his parents and brothers and sisters 
came to Bartholomew county, Indiana, and began farming one and one- 
half miles west of St. Louis. They purchased a farm near Hartsville and 
there the father died in 1895. • After his death, the mot\jer and sisters 
moved to Cincinnati, where the mother purchased a home. 

]\Ir. Dietrich, however, remained in this state and engaged in farming 
and in saw-mill business. He took charge of the old mill at Burney and 
in 1905 tore out all of the old machinery and installed new. Mr. Dietrich 



780 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

rents land extensi\ely on which he raises crops to feed the horses which 
he uses in the mill and for hauling logs to the mill. 

On October 8, 1902, Mr. Dietrich was married to Lillie Aton, who 
was born on a farm, one and one-half miles southwest of Hope in Bar- 
tholomew county. They have had two children, Frank, who died at the 
age of nine years in the fall of 191 3 of diphtheria, and Paul, who is now 
six years old. 

Air. Dietrich is a Democrat and he and his wife are members of the 
Lutheran church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Loyal Order of 
Moose. Formerly, he was a member of the Knights of Pythias. 



ANTHONY B. MULROY. 

Anthony B. Mulroy, a substantial citizen and business man of Decatur 
county, Indiana, and a resident of St. Paul, was born in 1859, in this town, 
the son of Richard and Bridget (Barrett) Mulroy, the former of whom was 
a native of County Mayo, Ireland, born in 1825. 

On the day that Richard Mulroy was twenty-two years old, he took 
passage on a sailing boat, "Star of the North," for America, landing in 
New York city after an eventful voyage in 1847. When the ship on which 
he came to America was three days out of port, a terrific storm was encount- 
ered and the experiences of all on board was something to be remembered 
during their entire lives. For three days the ship was completely lost, and 
at times those on board almost gave up hope of ever seeing land. However, 
the "Star of the North" was a good, seafaring boat and successfully with- 
stood the severe storm. When Richard Alulroy landed in New York city, 
he was withuut funds or friends. Starting out in life in the new world, he 
obtained employment on a farm in New York state, and after working a 
year there removed to Pennsylvania, where he remained for three years. 
He made three unsuccessful attempts to enlist as a soldier in the Mexican 
War. 

After three years in Pennsyhania, Richard Mulroy left Pittsburgh and 
caiue to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, by boat. From Lawrenceburg he walked 
to Indianapolis where he remained for four or five years, during which time 
he was engaged in railroad construction work, making Indianapolis his 
headquarters. 

In 1857 Richard Mulroy was married to Bridgett Barrett, who was 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 78 1 

born in 1823 in Ireland in County Mayo within forty miles of the birth- 
place of her future husband. Born on the west coast of Ireland, she came 
alone to America in 1856, and after landing in this country came direct to 
Greensburg, Decatur county, Indiana, where she had a sister living, Mrs. 
John Riley, with whom she made her home until her marriage in 1858. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Mulroy came to St. Paul in 1858, where her 
husljand lived until her death in 1906. He died on June 2, 191 5, at the age 
of ninety years. During his entire active life he had been engaged in rail- 
road construction work and in stone quarries. He had been retired only 
live years. In fact, in 1914, at the age of eighty-nine, he planted and culti- 
\'ated a large garden. He was a stanch Democrat in politics, and a member 
of the Catholic church, as was his good wife also. They had four children, 
Anthony B., the subject of this sketch, of St. Paul; Edward, of St. Paul; 
Anna, who lives at home, and Margaret, who died in infancy. 

Anthony B. Mulroy, who was born in St. Paul one year after his par- 
ents removed to this town, was educated in the common schools and when 
he was thirty-two years old, engaged in stone quarry work. At this time 
he was married to Henrietta Avey, the daughter of Daniel Wilson and 
Melissa (Pence) Avey, natives of Shelby county, Indiana, and old, well- 
established and highly respected citizens of this section. 

xA.s late as 1914 Anthony B. Mulroy was engaged in railroad construc- 
tion and stone quarry work. In October of 19 14 he purchased the grocery 
and mercantile business of William Kelso, of St. Paul, and is today engaged 
in business for himself. He handles a complete line of dry goods and gen- 
eral merchandise. Within a comparative!}'' short time he has built up a 
large trade in this community. Mr. Mulroy is a popular citizen and one 
with whom the people of this community naturally like to trade. He has 
been honorable and upright in all his relations with the pulilic, and upon 
this basis his business has grown since he took possession. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mulroy have had one son, John A. Mulroy, who was 
born on January i, 1899. He was born on Sunday morning, the first day 
of the week and the first day of the year. Luck seems to have lieen with 
him, as he has never been sick a day since his birth. He is a young man 
of rare promise and is popular in this community. Having graduated from 
the common schools in 1914, he is now a student in the freshman year at 
the high school at St. Paul. 

In a beautiful residence of St. Paul, Mr. and Mrs. IMulroy have their 
home. Formally speaking, Mr. ?iIulroy is a Democrat, but he is not quite 
so stanch a Democrat as was his father in his earlier years. ]\Ir. 2^Iulroy 



782 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

places the welfare of his country above the success of his party. He is a 
progressive citizen of the substantial and solid type and has a host of friends 
in this community. All his life has been spent in St. Paul. As a conse- 
quence of his industry and good management he has accumulated a sub- 
stantial competence and now owns considerable property in this section. 



JAMES B. DAMS. 

An enterprising and successful farmer of Decatur county, Indiana, 
who lives three miles southeast of Burney, now living retired, and who has 
succeeded in life as a consequence of his own persistent industry and good 
management, is James B. Davis, a man who believes strongly in principles 
of right and justice, and who during his long life in this county, ha^s been 
regarded as one of its very best citizens. 

James B. Davis, who was born in 1848, in Union county, Indiana, is 
the son of Isaac and IMartha (Barr) Davis, the former of whom was born 
in Butler county, Ohio, in 1803, the son of James Davis, Sr., who married 
Mary Taylor. They were natives of New Jersey. Alary Taylor was of 
Scotch-Irish origin, and James Davis was of German parentage. They were 
among the earliest settlers in Union county, Indiana, and lived the greater 
part of their lives in that county. They were very prosperous farmers, and 
at the time of his death, he owned approximately one thousand acres of 
land. They had eight children, of whom Isaac Davis, the father of James 
B., was the seventh child. He was born in Butler county, Ohio, and about 
1803, when Isaac was born, the famil}- removed to Union county, and there 
entered land, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Isaac Davis 
was a successful farmer and owned several hundred acres of good land 
at the time of his death. Until 1856, when the Republican party was organ- 
ized, he was a Whig, and he affiliated with the party of Lincoln, and remained 
loyal to it all the rest of his days. He was more of a patriot than a partisan 
and always had at heart the best interests of his country. 

Isaac and Martha (Barr) Davis had eight children, of whom James B. 
is the fifth child. The father died in 1S58. James B. Davis lived at home 
and worked on the farm until he was twenty-two years? of age, when he 
removed to Decatur county, Indiana, and purchased a farm in Jackson 
township. In 1873 Mr. Davis was married to Martha C. Ewing, who was 
the daughter of Patrick and Lydia (Morgan) Ewing. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 78^ 

The Ewing family is one of the oldest and most prominent in Decatur 
county, and is descended from one Patrick E. Ewing, who emigrated to 
America from Ireland some time during the War of the Revolution. On 
the voyage a son was born, and on account of kindness shown to him by 
General Putnam, he was named for the general and to this day the name 
has been kept in the family. On Patrick's arrival in America, he settled in 
Maryland, near the Susquehanna river, some forty miles from Baltimore, 
where he died. His family consisted of four sons, Samuel, Joshua,. 
Nathaniel and Putnam. The first three settled in Virginia, where they 
became prominent citizens. Their descendants have since migrated to Ten- 
nessee and Missouri, and have attained considerable prominence in different 
states. Putnam Ewing remained in Maryland until some time after his 
marriage to Miss Jennie McClelland, the daughter of Doctor McClelland, of 
that state, and then came to Bourbon county. Kentucky, in iSo6. Subse- 
quently, he settled in Bath county and there lived and died. He had ten 
children, namely : Robert, Patrick, Joshua, Polly, Samuel, Jennie, James, 
Eliza, George McClelland and Andrew Jackson. It was the Patrick Ewing 
of this family who was the father of Mrs. James B. Da\is. He was born 
in Cecil county, Maryland, in 1803, and was three years old when brought 
by his father to Kentucky. He remained on the farm in Kentucky until 
after his marriage to Lydia Morgan, of Montgomery county, Kentucky. 
He was a member of the state militia of Kentucky and was married in 
September, 1826, to Miss Morgan. About 1827 he came witli his wife and 
infant daughter to Decatur county. He was a hardy son of illustrious 
ancestors and was a man of exceptional native ability. He accumulated a 
large tract of land in this county. 

Mrs. James P.. Davis is a woman of rare intelligence and one whose 
conversation sparkles with wit and humor. She had only the meager 
advantages of the pioneer public schools as far as an education is concerned, 
Init she is a woman of great native ability, and one does not have to listen 
to her conversation long before discovering this wonderful native ability. 
Her children can be justly proud to have for their mother a woman of her 
intelligence. 

After the marriage of Mr. and Airs. Davis, they lived in Jackson town- 
ship on a farm until 1883, when they sold out and inuxhased the farm they 
now live upon, three miles southeast of Burney. In the early years of their 
married life they had the usual experiences of the pioneer citizens. They lived 
in a log cabin for the most part, and both remember keenly the hardships- 
of this early life. 



-784 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davis ha\e had tliree children, George -was born in 
1874, and is a farmer in Decatur county; William, in 1875, and is engaged 
in farming with his brother, George, and Delia is the wife of Samuel Hanks, 
who li\'es three miles northwest of Burney and who is a prosperous farmer. 
Delia has one child, Mary C. Hanks. George and Will Davis lived on 
the farm at home until George was twenty-eight years old, when he decided 
to begin life for himself. At that time the parents gave to the sons, George 
and Will, a farm of one hundred and twenty acres with an incumbrance 
of some two or three thousand dollars. This was no small load, even for 
mature shoulders, but by industry and shrewd management they cleared the 
farm of indebtedness in sixteen months' time. They have prospered pro- 
portionately ever since, and are now large dealers in live stock. Their home 
is called "Bachelors' Hall." 

James B. Davis had always been identified with the Republican party 
until 1912, when the new Progressive party was formed, with which he 
affiliated. He is a man who is little impressed by political parties or party 
emblems, but believes it is his duty, as a citizen, to support superior men 
and superior measures, rather than to cast his vote blindly without regard 
to platforms or principles, or the moral standing of the party's candidate. 
The sons are like their father in this respect. They are well respected in 
this community and fa\'orably known. 

Mr. and ]\Irs. Davis have lived honorable and upright lives and have 
set a worthy example for their children and for their friends in this com- 
munity. No word of suspicion has ever attached to the character of James 
B. Davis. He is a manly man and a true Christian gentleman. 



GEORGE S. CRAWFORD, M. D. 

In the historical and biographical annals of any section, a review of 
the lives of leading physicians is interesting not only because of the pro- 
fessional service which this honorable body of men perform, but because, 
as a general rule, physicians attain the rank of leadership in public move- 
ments and public enterprises. This may be true because, aside from their 
professional education, their standard of intelligence and their breadth of 
information and sympathy are such as to uphold ideals which the various 
members of the community emulate. No one can ever take the place of the 
physician in the affection of the family or in the home, neighborhood, town or 





s^./a^^^^i^t^i/i/^^^ CH/Q, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 78 S 

•city. To some extent the physician is the arbiter between Hfe and death 
and upon his skill depends frequently the very endurance of human life. 
When the art of the good physician fails and life flows out, he, neverthe- 
less, remains as the comforter of loving and dear friends in times of sorrow 
and distress. No one can measure his influence, since it is of a most inti- 
mate and personal kind. Dr. George S. Crawford, a well-known physician 
of Milford, this county, who has practiced his profession forty-one years 
in this community, is the very type of man to attain a position of proud 
eminence in the community life. Day by day, week by week and year by 
year, he has gone about the homes of Clay and adjoining townships doing 
his duty in a professional way; but, what is far greater and grander, doing 
his duty as a sympathetic-minded friend and man. 

George S. Crawford was born, on December 23, 1832, in Lawrenceburg, 
Dearborn county, Indiana, the son of Rev. James and Hannah F. (Robinson) 
Crawford, natives of New York and Madison, Indiana, respectively. When 
Doctor Crawford was an infant only three days old, he was bereft of the 
loving tenderness and care of a fond mother by her untimely death, and 
he was taken in charge by Mrs. Owensby, who had just lost her baby by 
death, and was reared by her until he was two years of age, the Owensby's 
home having been in Crawfordsville, this state. Subsecjuently, Rev. James 
Crawford remarried, his second wife having been Kate Woodfill, a sister of 
James M. Woodfill, of Greenslnirg, and after his death his widow made her 
home with Doctor Crawford, in Milford, for twenty-five years. Rev. James 
Crawford was a pioneer Methodist minister, had a large circuit in this section 
of the state and, during his life, filled many appointments. He was a man 
of noble and generous impulses, whose life seemed to be devoted to the 
service of his fellowmen. 

When he was old enough George S. Crawford attended the typical 
Hoosicr schools and there obtained the rudiments of a liberal education, 
later pursuing his education in Moores Hill College. At the age of twenty- 
one he was graduated from the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, 
and upon his graduation, came to Decatur county, locating at Milford, where 
he established himself in the practice of his profession. There he has 
remained for forty-one years, during which time he has luiilt up one of the 
largest practices of any physician now living in Decatur county. 

Doctor Crawford was not married until rather late in life. His wife, 
to whom he was married on July 6, 1898, before her marriage was Frances 
Olive Blackmore. who was born on October 19, 1867, on a farm five miles 
(50) 



786 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

west of Greensburg, the daughter of Lawrence O. and Frances \\'. (Wallace)- 
Blackmore, natives of Shelby county, Kentuck}-, and Rockbridge county, 
Virginia, respectively, the former being the son of Owen W. Blackmore, of 
Shelby county, Kentucky, who came to Decatur county, Indiana, in 1S35. 
Mrs. Crawford's wife's mother was the daughter of John and Jane (Quig- 
iey) Wallace, natives of Virginia, who moved to Decatur county in 1837 and 
settled in Washington township. This, was only two years after the coming 
of the Blackmores, who lived only a mile east of the Wallace farm. 

Doctor and Mrs. Crawford have had no children. They are prominent 
in the social life of Clay township and both are well known in Greensburg 
and popular there. Both are members of the Presbyterian church at Greens- 
burg. Dr. Crawford is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having joined 
this lodge at Milford many years ago. He is a member of the Decatur 
County Medical Society and the Indiana State Medical Association. He is 
a Republican and one of the most uncompromising of men as far as his 
political belief is concerned. He believes in the principles of the Republi- 
can party and believes that this party is best equipped from tradition and 
from its record of past usefulness to administer the affairs of this govern- 
ment. A man who believes this as strongly as does Doctor Crawford is 
naturally well settled in his political belief. He is a grand and useful figure 
in the community where he has lived and worked so long and enjoys the 
universal confidence and esteem of the people. 



JAMES M. SHORTRIDGE. 

Among the better known and older citizens of St. Paul, Indiana, is 
James M. Shortridge, formerly a well-known hardware merchant of this 
community, who is now living retired. However, he devotes considerable 
time to the business of W. W. Townsend, a dealer of this place, and acts as 
a bookkeeper for him. 

James M. Shortridge was born on November 6, 1849, in Johnson 
county, Indiana, the son of John and Ellen (Smock) Shortridge, the former 
of whom was born in 1822 and who died in 1899. The father was a native 
of Wayne county, Indiana, the son of George Shortridge, Sr., a native of 
Kentucky and an early settler in Wayne county. The parents of Ellen 
Smock were also natives of Kentucky. Her mother died in 1885 at the 
age of over ninety years. 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 787 

The parents of James AL Shortridge moved to Greenwood and retired 
late in life and there died. The farm located near Greenwood, Johnson 
county, was purchased by James M. and his brother, George, and was 
farmed by the latter until his death. There were three children in the Short- 
ridge family, George, now deceased ; Airs. Vandelene Washard, of Green- 
wood, and James M., the subject of this sketch. 

When a lad of twenty-two years, James j\I. Shortridge became a brake- 
man on the Pennsylvania railroad and followed this occupation for four 
years. He then took up carpentering and house building in his home local- 
ity and also worked for the railroad as a carpenter. He was for four years 
employed by the Lake Erie & Western railroad as a bridge carpenter. 

On November 26, 1879, Mr. Shortridge was married to Allie Martin, 
of St. Paul, the daughter of Ralph Martin, an early settler of Decatur 
county. After his marriage, Mr. Shortridge engaged in the hardware busi- 
ness. He bought out the store owned by John Buell and remained in busi- 
ness for thirty years, having been very successful. In 1909 Mr. Shortridge 
sold out the business. He has extensive .real estate holdings in St. Paul, 
owning a two-story brick building on Main street, a one-story stone build- 
ing and residence property. He also has two lots and fifty-five acres of 
farm land, beside other personal investments. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shortridge have had four children, Elmer, who is a 
motorman on the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction line and is a machinist 
by trade; Mrs. Hazel Clark, of Indianapolis; Irene E., who is a teacher in 
the public schools and lives at home, and Helen, who also lives at home and 
is a student in the high school. 

James M. Shortridge was reared a Republican as was his father before 
him, but late in life the father voted the Prohibition ticket. Mr. Short- 
ridge voted for Horace Greeley and was a Democrat until 1896, when he 
refused to subscribe to the free-silver doctrine of the Democratic party and 
voted the Republican ticket, which he has voted ever since. Mr. and Mrs. 
Shortridge are members of the Christian church, in which he is a trustee. 
Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and is a mem- 
ber of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Masons of Indianapolis and 
also the Murat Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Indianapolis. He 
is a member of the Baldwin commandery and the Knights Tem])lar at 
Shelbyville. In May, 191 5, he attended the golden jubilee of the Scottish 
Rite Masons at Indianapolis. In addition to these fraternal relations, Mr. 
Shortridge is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks No. 475, at Greensburg. 



788 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Of Mr. and Mrs. Shortridge's children, Elmer married a Miss Hess 
and has one child, Priscilla. Mrs. liazel Clark also has one child, June 
Ellen. 

It will have to be admitted that the life of James M. Shortridge has 
been a distinct and unqualified success, that he has accomplished a reason- 
able measure of the things he set out to do, and that, in his declining years, 
he may enjoy the comforts of life without the necessity of the toil which 
characterized his earlier years. 



JOHN JOHNSON. 

The Union soldier during the great war between the states builded 
wiser than he knew. Through four years of suffering and wasting hard- 
ship, through the horrors of prison-pens and amid the shadows of death, 
he laid the superstructure of the greatest temple ever erected and dedi- 
cated to human freedom. One of Decatur county's highly respected citizens 
who had a part in this memorable struggle is the venerable John Johnson, a 
retired farmer of Burney. He remembers very well the I'olk and Tyler 
campaign. 

John Johnson is the son of Richard and Fannie (McKee) Johnson, 
the latter of whom was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1805. Richard 
Johnson was born in Kentucky in 1799, and, after emigrating to Indiana, 
settled near Vevay, Indiana, in Switzerland county, the home of Colonel 
Welsh and Edward Eggleston. He died in 1857 in Decatur county, Indi- 
ana, thirty-two years after coming to Decatur county, where he entered land 
near the town of Burney. He made the trip with an ox team in a covered 
wagon, camping in the woods on the way. At the side of a giant poplar 
tree he and his wife built a log cabin, where they lived when John Johnson 
was born. Decatur county was an unbroken forest at the time, there being 
no roads and scarcely any paths. Such as were used and passable were 
designated by marked trees. The wolves were thick in this county at the 
time and many a time chased the father of John Johnson into his cabin. On 
one occasion a deer came up to the Johnson cabin with the cows. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War the venerable John Johnson tried 
to enlist under Colonel Welsh in the Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer 
Infantry, but was rejected on account of his eyesight, being blind in one eye. 
He then joined the Se\enty-sixth Regiment. Indiana A'olunteer Infantry, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 789 

by resorting to a trick. In order to get past the inspection officer he changed 
sides with a man ne.xt to him and was successful. The Seventy-sixth Regi- 
ment performed vahant service in Kentucky. Mr. Johnson for the most 
part performed scouting and picket duty. 

After the war, Mr. Johnson came back to Decatur county, and resumed 
farming on the okl Johnson homestead, entered from the government by 
his father. This tract, originally comprising one hundred and sixty acres, 
was later enlarged by the addition of forty acres, making two hundred acres 
in all. He has always been a farmer and very successful in a business way. 
At the present time he is living with his youngest daughter. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Johnson was married to Sarah Jones, a daughter of the 
Rev. Preston Jones, and a native of Decatur county. Mr. and ^Irs. John- 
son have had two children, namely : Mrs. Lilly (Johnson) Miers, the wife 
of Willard Miers, and Fannie, a teacher in the Burney schools, who lives 
with her father. 

Mr. Johnson's father was a Whig politically, but upon the organization 
of the Republican [jarty identihed himself witli that political organization. 
John Johnson, who was formerly a Republican, now is a Prohibitionist. 
For many years he has been prominent in the fraternal circles of this sec- 
tion, being a member of the Masonic lodge at Milford and a charter member 
of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Burney, Indiana. On March 4, 1913, 
Mr. Johnson had the misfortune to lose his wife, who passed away quietly, 
and whose remains are buried at Milford. At the present time he is in fair 
health only, but nevertheless his mind is clear and active and he has a vivid 
and accurate memory of the many stirring incidents of his life. He has 
been a useful citizen in this county and a man who well deserves the respect, 
which, in his declining years, is showered upon him by the people of Clay 
township. 



JOHN T. CUSKADEN. 



John T. Cuskaden, postmaster at St. Paul, Decatur county, Indiana, 
farmer, school teacher and real estate dealer, prominent Democrat and 
public-spirited citizen, was born on July 6, 1858, in Clay township, south- 
east of Milford, the son of George W. and Charity (Bartley) Cuskaden. 

The paternal ancestry of John T. Cuskaden came to America from 
Ireland. George W. Cuskaden was a native of County Donegal, Ireland, 
who came to America about 1850. He landed in New Orleans, and after 
some wandering located in New York city, where he became an Irish linen 



790 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

peddler. This was the foundation of his business fortune, which has been 
one of more than ordinary success. After peddHng and walking across the 
country he finally landed in Greensburg, where he abandoned his pack and 
went to work on a farm for Hi Alley, for whom he worked some one or 
two years, after which he was married to Charity Bartley in Jasper county, 
Illinois. 

After his marriage George VV. Cuskaden purchased eighty acres of land 
in Illinois. He came back to Decatur county and began the usual life of a 
man on a rented farm in Clay township. After renting land for about two 
years, he purchased a farm just west of Milford, comprising one hundred 
acres, and located on the Shelby county line. Here, he lived for about ten 
years, when he sold out and moved to Oregon. After remaining in Oregon 
a year, he came back to Indiana and purchased a large farm in Shelby 
county, Indiana. A few years before his death, which occurred in March, 
1914, he traded the Shelby county farm for city property in Shelbyville, 
where he lived the last years of his life. 

George W. Cuskaden was a prominent Democrat in Shelby county, 
and was honored with four terms as county commissioner of that county. 
He was a man of keen perceptions and had a broad knowledge of human 
nature. He was a member of the Episcopalian church. His good wife. 
Charity Bartley, was a native of Shelby county, born near St. Paul and 
the daughter of Jonathan and Elsie (Allen) Bartley, of Shelby county. 
The Aliens of Shelby county are descended from early settlers in this part 
of the country who came from Massachusetts. They brought with them 
from old England considerable pewter plate which was later molded into 
bullets for self-defense. The present Cuskaden family has in its posses- 
sion only one plate of this original collection. George Washington is sup- 
posed to have been served on this plate while in Trenton, New Jersey, some 
time during the Revolutionary \\'ar, by Mrs. Cuskaden's Grandmother .\llen. 

John T. Cuskaden grew to manhood in Shelby -county, and was mar- 
ried in 1880 to Orpha Wright, a daughter of John Wright, who was an 
emigrant from Derbyshire, England. Her mother, Annie Ridlen, was a 
native of Shelby county. After Mr. Cuskaden was married he and his wife 
lived on a farm in Shelby county until about si-xteen years ago, when he 
removed to St. Paul. Mr. Cuskaden taught school for twenty-two years. 
He has always taken an active interest in politics and is allied with the 
Democratic party, a stanch and true adherent of this party. He was 
appointed postmaster of St. Paul on .August i, 1914. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 79 1 

I 

Mr. and Mrs. Cuskaden have had two children, Charit}- Ann, who was 
born on August 30, 1881, and who married Charles F. Mitchell, of Shelby 
county, has four children, Mildred M., Allen Wright, John William and 
Malcom F., and Ora Wright, on October 26, 1887, married Dora E. Rob- 
erts, of Shelby county, and they have one child, Clarice Winifred. 

There is no doulit that Mr. Cuskaden, who has always been prominent 
in public atTairs in Shelby and Decatur counties, owes much of his success 
to the splendid equipment he was permitted to obtain in the common schools 
of Shelby county and later in the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. 
It was at the latter school he prepared for teaching. It was there that he 
developed his native capacity for learning and became a student of history 
and politics. John T. Cuskaden is a good man and a good citizen. 



LONDA WRIGHT. 



Londa Wright, one of the prominent farmers and citizens of Sand 
Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, now living one and one-half miles 
north of Westport, was born on the old Richard Wright homestead in Clay 
township, near the Libert}- church, and is a son of Richard and Luvica 
(Stark) Wright, the latter of whom was a daughter of Caleb and Anna 
(Boone) Wright. The genealogy and family history of the Wright and 
Stark families may be found in the biographical sketch of Caleb Stark 
Wright, contained elsewhere in this volume. Richard and Luvica (Stark) 
Wright had a number of children, of whom Londa was the youngest. 

Born on the old Wright homestead in 1864, Londa Wright lived at 
home until he reached the age of twenty years, at which time his father died. 
He supplemented the education he received in the common schools of his 
home township in Decatur count}' by some fifty weeks spent at the Northern 
Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso. From the time he was twenty years 
old until he was twenty-three, Mr. W'right was engaged in teaching school. 

In 1888 Londa Wright was married to Minnie May Smiley, a daughter 
of Harvey and Serilda (Rol)bins) Smiley, who was born on May 17, 1870, 
in Sand Creek township. Decatur count}-. Indiana. Her father was a native 
of Franklin county, Indiana, and when a lad came to Decatur county, where 
he became a prosperous farmer. He was a son of William Smiley, whose 
family history is contained elsewhere in this volume. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Wright began life together on a 



792 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

farm of one hundred and eight acres, one and one-half miles north of Hor- 
ace, in Sand Creek township. His present farm, which comprises two hun- 
dred and seventeen acres of fine land, is known as the old Robert Armstrong 
farm and is one of the l^est to be found in Sand Creek township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wright are the parents of five children, Arthur, born 
on April 5, 1890: Robert C, December 13. 1891 ; Lois Victoria, December 11, 
1894, and Marshall and IMargaret, twins, .\pril 26, 1906. 

A Democrat in politics, Mr. W^right is progressive in his ]joliticaI 
ideas and principles, and is in no sense a hide-bound partisan. Both he 
and his good wife are members of the Baptist church at Westport. For- 
merly he was a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Greensburg, 
and during his memliership there, passed through all the chairs. Init some 
time ago dimitted on account of his inability to attend lodge meetings. 



JOSEPH CORY. 



In the history of the agricultural life of Decatur county, Joseph Cory,, 
the proprietor of "Sulphur Springs Farm" of one hundred and sixty-eight 
acres, four miles from Greensburg on the Vandalia pike, occupies a conspicu- 
ous place. During almost a half century he has been one of the repre- 
sentative farmers of Decatur coinU}', progressive, enterprising and perse- 
vering. Such qualities always bring a satisfactory reward. While Mr. 
Cory has benefited himself and the community in a material way, he has also 
been an influential factor in the educational, political and moral life of Wash- 
ington township. 

Joseph Cory was born in Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, on 
December 26, 1845, ^ son of James and Martha (Dorton) Cory, the former 
of whom was born in 181 7, coming to Decatur county about 1844, at which 
time he purchased the farm now owned by George Logan, where all of his 
children, except the eldest, were born and grew to manhood and womanhood. 
Mrs. Martha (Dorton) Cory, who was born in 1822, and whose parents came 
from New Jersey to Union county, Indiana, where their children were Ijorn, 
died in June, 1899. James Cory owned two hiuidred and forty acres of 
fine land in Decatur county, and was a Republican in politics. He was a 
successful farmer and a stockman of ability and promise. Mrs. Martha 
Cory's brother and sisters were John, Matthew, Ann and Belle. 

James Cory was a son of Joseph and Nancy (Baker) Cory, the former 




o 




DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 793 

of whom, born in New Jersey, in December, 1788, came to Ohio on horse- 
back in young manhood. The Cory family is of Scottish and EngHsh origin. 
Nancy (Balcer) Cory was a daughter of Daniel and Hannah (Westfield) 
Baker, the latter of whom was a daughter of Joseph and Alary (Halsey) 
Westfield. Daniel Baker was one of eight children born to Nathaniel and 
Abigail (Hendricks) Baker. Nathaniel Baker was born in Scotland in 171 6, 
and came to America in 1735. He died on January 17, 1786, in his seven- 
tieth year, and his wife died on Octol,)er 3, 1775, in her fifty-si.xth year.. 

At the age of twenty-one years, Daniel Baker, who had enlisted as a 
soldier in the Revolutionary War, attracted the attention of Gen. George 
Washington, and served on his personal staff. It was Daniel Baker who 
piloted General Washington through the British lines to a silversmith for 
the purpose of having the general's field-glasses repaired. Daniel and Hannah 
(Halsey) Baker were the parents of nine children, Rhoda, Mary, Jacob, 
Joseph, Patrick, Philip, Elizabeth, Hannah and Nancy. In 18 14 Daniel 
Baker and wife, wdth their children, came west to Ohio, where his death 
occurred in 1830, and there was inscribed upon his tombstone the fol- 
lowing words: "A companion of Washington." 

To James and Martha (Dorton) Cory si.x children were l:)orn, those 
besides the subject of this sketch being: Ephraim, who is a resident of 
Missouri; Henry, living in Iowa; Mrs. Sarah Carter, widow of Elijah 
Carter, living at Alexandria, Indiana; James, a resident of Clay township, 
living south of Burney, and Mrs. Belle I'leak, wife of Charles Pleak, living 
in Iowa. 

Joseph Cory lived at home on his father's farm until his marriage on 
November 14, 1871, to Leanora Deem, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah 
(Riner) Deem. Thomas Deem was born in Ohio in 1796, and came with his 
family from Ohio to this county, about 1831, locating on the farm where 
Joseph Cory now lives, where he died in 1853. His family remained there 
until about 1865, when they removed to Adams, where Mrs. Deem, widow 
of Thomas, died in 1895. Of their ten children five are still living, namely: 
Mrs. Catherine Daily, the widow of .\. G. Daily, living in Greensliurg at 
the age of eighty-five years; John W. Deem, of Greensburg, is eighty-four 
years of age; Mrs. Elizabeth Whitlow, wife of John Whitlow, a resident 
of Topeka, Kansas, eighty-one years of age; Oliver Deem, seventy-four 
years of age, a resident of Greensburg, and Mrs. Joseph Cory, the wife 
of the subject of this review. The deceased children of Thomas Deem 
and wife were Mrs. Eliza .\nne Steward, who was the wife of Barney 
Steward, jjoth of whom are now deceased: Lemuel, deceased: William 



794 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Henry, who died while in the service of his country during the Civil \\'ar; 
Thomas Henry, also a soldier of the Civil War, who died while in the ser- 
vice, and Mrs. Mary Anna Heaton, widow of Thomas Heaton, who died 
on March 6, 191 5. The mother of these children, who, before her mar- 
riage, was Sarah Riner, was born, on October jo, 1809, in \'irginia, and 
removed with her parents to Butler county, Ohio, in 1846. She was mar- 
ried to Thomas Deem in 1825, and they removed to Decatur county in 1833. 

To Joseph and Leanora (Deem) Cory two children have been born, 
Walter B., deceased, and Irma, who married John M. Douglas, a native of 
this county, who is farming the old home place for Mr. Cory. 

"Sulphur Springs Farm" in Washington township, consists of a fine 
quality of soil, \\hich is gently undulating, and there general farming and 
stock raising are carried on. The farm is lieautifully situated and the 
buildings are kept in a first-class state of repair. Hogs, corn and clover 
are the chief products of the farm, and Joseph Cory has always been rated 
as a successful farmer and business man. 

The part which Joseph Cory has played in the agricultural development 
of Decatur county, Indiana, cannot be overestimated, but he has been no 
less prominent as a farmer than as a business man and citizen, and today, 
surrounded with all the material comforts of life, he enjoys the respect of 
Tiis neighbors and the esteem of everyone with whom he has ever come in 
contact. 



WILLIAM H. MOBLEY. 

In Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, one mile east of Harts- 
ville and about five miles southwest of Burney on the Columbus and Greens- 
burg pike, lives William H. ^lobley, a distinguished citizen, farmer and 
mule dealer, who it may be truthfully said, had he been born and reared 
under the shadow of and influence of Wall street, would certainly have 
become one of America's foremost captains of industry and millionaires. A 
.comparati\'eIy young man but a man who is today known in all of the leading 
mule markets of the world, he could, if he decided to convert his per- 
sonal property into cash and liquidate whatever indebtedness he has, have, 
besides his twelve hundred and eighty-five acres of rich farming land in 
Decatur county, at least twenty thousand dollars in cash. He is one of 
the largest horse and mule dealers in the Middle West and buys from all 
parts of the United States and ships to all of the leading markets of this 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 795 

country, mules worth at least a half million dollars every year. Although 
he has expended great muscular and physical energy in his work, he has 
made his brain do most of the work and this is one of the secrets of his 
large success. 

A man who is not yet forty-five years old and who has never had 
a single dollar given to him, his wealth today probably amounts to over 
two hundred thousand dollars. In 1894 he bought forty acres of land 
and in 1901 he had accumulated four hundred and ten acres which had 
cost him fifty-five dollars an acre and upon which he had a loan of twenty 
thousand dollars. Since then he has bought and sold several farms and has 
now twelve hundred and eighty-five acres. 

William H. Mobley, who was born in 1871, is the son of John Henry 
and Mary Ann (Burk) ]\Iobley, natives of Pennsylvania and of Scotch- 
Irish descent and who came to Indiana about 1842 and settled in Bartholo- 
mew county on a farm. His father was a successful farmer and business 
man and died in 1897 at the age of seventy-five years. He was a strong 
Republican in politics and leader in the councils of his party during his life. 
Mrs. Mary Ann Mobley was the daughter of Hunter Burk, who married a 
Miss Hunter, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. JNIrs. Mobley 
lives in Bartholomew county with her youngest son. She and her husband 
had a family of ten children, Lyman, who lives in Kansas; Mrs. Emma 
Wilson, of Bartholomew county; Randolph M., who is a resident of North 
Dakota ; Theodore, who lives in Bartholomew county ; Mrs. Margaret 
^Vright, who li\es in California; Mrs. Ella Loose, who died in Iowa; 
Loren, who died in infancy; Arthur, who died in infancy; William H., the 
subject of this sketch, and James Hunter, who resides in Bartholomew 
county. 

Large successes generally have small beginnings. It was so with the 
career of William H. Mobley. Beginning in a small way, his rise to for- 
tune has become a matter of remarkable interest to the people of this county. 
The home farm and outbuildings are well kept and present a pleasing home 
appearance, nevertheless, an air of large and important business. The sale 
1)arn is eighty by one hundred and thirty-two feet and the cattle laarn, fifty 
by eighty feet. Mr. Mobley holds auction sales attended by buyers from 
all parts of the country. The size of tlie Iniildings on his home farm and 
the Ijusiness-like appearance of the estaljlishment, suggest the auction liarns 
of the large cities. Besides the two large barns on the farm, there is also a 
l)lacksmith shop and a garage. The owner of this great business enterprise 
has been offered one hundred and fiftv dollars an acre for his home farm, 



796 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

comprising four hundred and fifteen acres, and, according to the tax dupli- 
cates of Decatur county, is the highest-priced land to be found in the county. 
Mr. Mobley thinks real estate, and especially farm real estate, is the best 
investment in the world. The annual sales of the Mobley farm amount to 
between thirty and forty thousand dollars for every sale and at least one 
sale amounted to sixty-one thousand dollars. William H. Mobley buys one 
carload or ten carloads of mules in as many minutes and makes a thousand 
or two dollars quite as quickly. The expenses of his business are enormous 
for an enterprise of this kind. Ordinarily his telephone rent amounts to 
fifty dollars a month and he pays high wages to all of his employees. One 
man worked for him for ten years and received sixty dollars a month dur- 
ing the entire time. There are six tenant houses on the farm and the tenants 
rent land for one-third of the annual production. Men regularl}' employed 
on the farm, however, live at Hartsvillc. On September 25. 1914, the date 
of Mr. Mobley "s annual sale, five hundred mules were sold. He has from 
one hundred to one hundred and fifty head of mules on hand at all times of 
the year and raises about two hundred head of cattle every year. 

As a matter of fact, the large capacity for business with which Will- 
iam H. Mobley is endowed is not surprising when it is remembered that his 
deceased father was a large speculator, having the same active instinct 
regarding business. 

In 1903 Mr. Mobley was married to Grace Pearl Mj'ers, of Decatur 
county, the daughter of George M. and Mary Alice (Taylor) Myers, the 
former of whom lives one mile east of Forest Hill on a farm of one hun- 
dred acres, and who is a son of William Myers. Mary Alice Taylor was 
the daughter of George and Hannah (Wise) Taylor. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Mobley have been Ijorn two children, Mary b^lorine. in 1904, and Franklin 
Wayne, in 1908. 

William H. Mobley has made good because he has given strict atten- 
tion to his business. His striking personality has been no small factor in 
his success. He believes in taking chances and. moreover, he believes in 
taking big chances. To begin with, he is a man of highly progressive ideas. 
His mind is always at work. Although he received a good common school 
education and additional training in Hartsville College, there is nothing in 
his educational experience which would account for his magnificent success 
in life. While talking to you he leaves the impression of a man who knows 
what he wants and how to get it. He has always been a heavy borrower of 
money and is a stockholder in the Burney State Bank and a director of the 
Hope State Bank. He is a firm believer in his home county and believes in 



DF.CATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 707 

investing in land in this county rather than in other states. Everything that 
Mr. Mobley buys, he buys at home, if it is at all possible to do so. 

.Although a Republican, he is interested in politics only as a citizen, 
and would not have the best office within the gift of the people if it were 
offered him. Any community is indeed fortunate to have as one of its 
citizens a man of the temper and ability of William H. Mobley, who is widely 
and favorably known. 



CLARENCE E. GREELEY. 

The Greeley Stone Company of St. Paul, Indiana, is one of the large 
and flourishing enterprises of Decatur county and one in which the people 
of this county have every reason to take great pride. This enterprise is the 
conception of a father and two sons, the latter being Clarence E. and R. E. 
Greeley, both of whom have been residents of St. Paul since the beginning 
of the industry in 1908. 

In the first place, the Greeley Stone Company, which was incorporated in 
1908, with a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars, is the largest plant 
of its kind in Decatur county, employing twenty-five men and 'producing 
twelve hundred carloads annually of stone for road building and concrete 
work. The plant is located on sixteen acres of land on the bank of Flat- 
rock and has a capacity of one thousand tons per day. The stone is exca- 
vated to a depth of thirty feet and elevated for grinding. The crusher 
which is of the Gates design, breaks the stone into different sizes and 
delivers the product into waiting cars on a special track owned by the com- 
pany. The plant is operated by a one-hundred-and-fifty-horse-power engine, 
which derives its power from two hundred-and fifty-horse- power boilers. 
Besides crushing all sizes of stones for road purposes, the company crushes 
and puherizes limestone dust for fertilizer. This dust is obtained jjy 
screening and is a by-product of which about one carload daily is produced. 
By chemical analysis it shows about ninety-four per cent, calcium carbide 
and magnesia, and is valuable for fertilizer and is extensively used in this 
section. The pay roll of the company is from eight hundred to one thou- 
sand dollars per month and in 191 4 amounted to nearly sixteen thousand 
dollars. 

The geniuses who are l)ehind this industry, actively, are Clarence E. 

Greeley, secretary and treasurer, and R. E. Greeley, general manager. 

Albert Greeley, of Muncie, Indiana, the father of Clarence E. and R. E., 

is the vice-president of the company. Clarence E. Greeley is a native of 



798 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Warren county, Ohio, being born on the Little Miami river in 1879, the 
son of Albert and Tena Greeley, both of whom were born in Ohio. Albert 
Greeley was engaged in the saw-mill and flour-milling business at Foster 
Crossing, Ohio, until the beginning of the gas boom in Delaware county, 
Indiana, when he moved to this state. After moving to Muncie, Indiana, 
he engaged in the lumber business, in which he has been very successful. 
He is now rated as one of the substantial business men of Delaware county. 
In 1908 the Greeley Stone Company was incorporated and another industry 
added to the interest of the Greeley family. Albert Greeley was president 
of the Indiana Lumber Dealers' Association and is, at the present time, one 
of the directors of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company pf Indiana. 

Born in Warren county, Ohio, Clarence Greeley was educated in the 
public schools of Muncie, Indiana. When twenty-four years of age, he 
engaged in the lumber business at Selma, a small town east of Muncie, and 
there he was very successful. From Selma, he moved to Illinois, where he 
was also engaged in the lumber business. He sold out in 1908 at the time 
of the organization of the Greeley Stone Company. 

Clarence E. Greeley was married to Louise Bantly Kirk, a native of 
Muncie, Indiana, and the daughter of John and Bertha Kirk, also natives 
of Muncie. Mr. and Airs. Greeley have one daughter, Helen, who was 
born in 1903. 

R. E. Greeley, who is the general manager of the Greeley Stone Com- 
pany, was born in Ohio in 1881 and was educated at Muncie, Indiana, and 
at Culver Military School. Before the organization of the Greeley Stone 
Company, he was also engaged in the lumber business. In 1901 H. E. 
Greeley was married to \'elma Keltner, a daughter of Dr. F. M. and 
Rebecca Keltner, of Muncie. Mr. and Mrs. Greeley have four children, 
Mildred, thirteen years old ; Roljert, ten years old ; Francis, se\-en vears old, 
and \'irginia, six years old. 

Both Clarence E. and R. E. Greeley have been active in politics since 
coming to Decatur county. They are ardent and active Republicans as is 
their father also. R. E. was a member of the Benevolent and Protective 
Order of Elks at Muncie, but has since transferred his membership to the 
Greensburg lodge, and R. E. Greeley is a member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons. 

Here in Decatur county, the Greeley brothers have come to be recog- 
nized as among its most aggressive and capable young business men. The 
industry which they helped to establish and which they manage, has brought 
thousands of dollars to this county and the people here are highly pleased 
with their great success. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



JOHN W. BURNEY. 



799 



The careers of men who have been successful are instructive as guides 
and incentives to those who are just beginning hfe. The examples which 
successful men furnish, patient purpose and consecutive endeavor, strongly 
illustrate what each and every man may accomplish. John Burney, a model 
citizen of Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, is a man whose life is a 
conspicuous example of industry, courage as a citizen, wise and frugal 
living, cordial relations with the public generally. As a farmer he has 
enjoyed a large measure of success. He owns two large tracts of land, 
one a farm of two hundred acres, two miles northwest of Burney, and 
another of two hundred and eight acres, three and one-half miles southwest 
of town on the Columbus and Greensburg pike. The latter is known as the 
Graham farm. 

John W. Burney was born on the old Burney homestead now owned 
by Edward Jackson, son-in-law of S. M. Burney, in 1849. He is the son of 
S. M. and Sarah (Pumphrey) Burney, old citizens of this county. S. M. 
Burney was born in 1814 in North Carolina, and came to Decatur county 
with his parents in pioneer times when Clay township was nothing but a 
howling wilderness. The family settled on the farm that Edward Jackson 
now owns, and which is known as the old Burney farm. The parents of 
S. AI. Burney spent the remainder of their lives in Milford, the mother 
having died at the home of her son, S. M. He was a very successful farmer 
and owned several hundred acres of land in this county. He gave five hun- 
dred dollars to the town of Burney when it was founded and purchasecf stock 
in the railroad when it was built. Burney was named for him. A progres- 
sive, broad-minded man, his word was as good as his bond. A puljlic- 
spirited citizen, he donated several hundred dollars to the building of the 
?^Iethodist church at Milford and at Burney. He was a stanch Democrat 
and true to his party. While he never asked for office, he always held at 
heart the welfare of his party and country. He left the impress of his char- 
acter and influence upon the life of this community, and died full of honors 
as only a private citizen who has done well his duty can die. He passed 
away in 1901 at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Edward Jackson. The 
Pumphreys are an old family in this section. 

John W. Burney began life for himself when about twenty-five years 
old. He had a small start from his father, but has accumulated most of his 
land and property by his own efforts. 

In 1875 Air. Burney was married to Mary Sharp, daughter of James 



SOO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Sharp, a native of Decatur county, and an old and well-established family 
in Sand Creek township. The Sharps were early settlers here, and promin- 
ent in the social and agricultural life of the county. 

Eleven children have been born to Mr. and INIrs. John W. Burney, 
of whom Samuel, Annie, Opal and Orlif are deceased; Lula, Clara, Arthur. 
Clifford, Bertha, Mattie and Ethel. x\rthur lives in Adams; Bertha is the 
wife of Charles Gilliland. of Hope; Mattie married Clarence Thompson, of 
Burney; Ethel lives at home; Clifford married Blanche Horner. Although 
Mr. Burney is a stanch and true Democrat, he is, nevertheless, a progressive 
thinker, and is somewhat independent in his political thought and action. 
In 1890 he was elected trustee of Clay township, and gave a most efficient 
and satisfactory administration. He is a man well respected in this com- 
munity and well known. Fraternally, Mr. Burney is a member of the 
Knights of Pythias lodge at Burney. He is a charter member of this 
organization. 

Mr. Burney's success as a farmer he attributes to raising corn and 
hogs, because from these he has derived his greatest profits. 



ALBERT BOEING. 



The ancestral history of the Boling family in Decatur county goes 
back to the time when Benjamin Boling, a native of \"irginia and the scion 
of a very old family of the Old Dominion, emigrated to Decatur county in 
1818, four years before the city of Greensburg was laid out. and here 
homestead a farm of eighty acres, now owned by Albert Boling, the 
present treasurer of Decatur county. The Boling family have been promi- 
nent property owners in Decatur county 'for at least three generations and 
they have also been prominent in the ci\'ic and political life of this section. 
No case can be cited where they have ever failed to discharge worthily 
the sacred trusts imposed upon them by their neighbors and fellow citizens. 
Albert Boling has conscientiously and faithfully performed the duties of 
treasurer of Decatur county, and the efficiency and honesty with which 
he has managed this olfice were rewarded in 1914 by his election to a 
second term. 

Albert Boling. who was born on October 4. 1867, on a farm near the 
Decatur and Franklin county line, is the son of William W. and Hannah 
•(Humphrey) Boling, the former of whom was born on October 8, 1828, and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 80I 

■died in 1898, and the latter of wliom was born in 1857 and is still living at 
Adams, in this county. William VV. Boling was the son of Benjamin and 
Elizabeth Boling, natives of Virginia, who, after coming to Decatur county 
in 18 18 and homesteading the farm of eighty acres now owned by Albert 
Boling, lived in an Indian wigwam for a time, or until they could clear a 
place for and erect a house. Benjamin Boling died at the age of twenty -eight, 
a few years after coming to Decatur county. His widow, who lived to be 
ninety-two years of age, died near Crawfordsville, Montgomery county, 
Indiana. William \\'. Boling spent the whole of his life on the ancestral 
farm. 

To William W. and Hannah (Humphrey) Boling were born five daugh- 
ters and seven sons, two of whom, Alice, the first born, and Jasper, the 
seventh born, are deceased, the former dying in January, 19 14. Of the 
surviving children, ]\Iary lives in Clay township; Mrs. Martha Carr lives 
at Frankfort; Ada is the wife of Wilbur W. Wright, of Adams; Edna lives 
in Indianapolis; Albert is the subject of this sketch; George is engaged in 
the hardware business at St. Paul, this county; Walter also lives in St. 
Paul; Clyde, Elmer and Owen live in Indianapolis, where the latter is 
an attorney. 

Educated in the district school of his neighborhood, located near the 
Decatur and Franklin county line, and in the Stubbs high school, Albert 
Boling was engaged in farming until he was thirty years of age. He then 
engaged in the grain lausiness at Adams, and remained there for seventeen 
years, or until his election as treasurer of Decatur county in the fall of 1912. 
Having been re-elected in the fall of 1914, he is now serving his' second 
term. Mr. Boling owns the old home farm, which now comprises alto- 
gether a hundred and twenty acres, city property in Indianapolis, and in 
Adams, where he owns a large grain elevator and residence. He is therefore 
entitled to rank as one of the well-to-do farmers, business men and citizens 
of this county. 

Albert Boling was married in April, 1893, when he was twenty-six 
years old, to Carrie Harrison, daughter of Robert Harrison, an early set- 
tler of Adams township. Decatur county, Indiana. To this union two chil- 
dren have been born, Dorothy and Robert, both of whom are attending 
school. 

For three generations the politics of the Boling family has been 
■decidedly Democratic. Benjamin Boling was a Democrat, W^illiani W. Boling 
■was a Democrat, and the son and grandson, Albert, the subject of this sketch, 
(51) 



802 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

is and has always been an ardent and enthusiastic Democrat and has been 
for years a leader in the councils of his party. Mr. and Mrs. Boling and 
family are members of the Christian church, and the former is a member of 
St. Paul Lodge No. 368, Knights of Pythias. Honorable in all the rela- 
tions of life, private as well as public, Albert Boling has a host of friends 
in Decatur county, men who have stood valiantly at his side and fought the 
battles waged for the political success that is now his. He is a man who 
never forgets and never fails to cherish his obligations to a friend and to 
those who have stood by him in a common thought and for a common cause. 
He well deserves the confidence of the people of the citizenship of this 
county. 



RICHARD T. STOTT. 



That the Stott family was among the first to settle in the state of Indi- 
ana is proved by a tax receipt now owned by the venerable Richard T. 
Stott, of near Westport, Sand Creek township, Decatur county, which shows 
that his father, Louis Lunsford Stott, in 1813, paid taxes in Indiana for 
the years 1810, 181 1 and 1812. Of course this was before Indiana was 
admitted to the Union, and before in reality it was a state at all. The 
family was founded in America by the great-grandfather of Richard T. 
Stott, who emigrated from Germany to Scotland, and from Scotland came to 
America. Raleigh Stott, the grandfather of Richard T., was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary War, who migrated from one of the Eastern states to the 
Middle West. Raleigh Stott's son, who was Richard T.'s father, was a 
soldier in the War of 1812, and Richard T. Stott was a soldier in the Civil 
War, so that with the possible exception of the Mexican War, members of 
this family have fought valiantly in behalf of individual and personal free- 
dom in all of our great wars. 

Richard T. Stott, who was born on November 14, 1842, in Jennings 
county, three miles south of Westport, is the son of Louis Lunsford and 
Sallie (Stewart) Stott. the former of wh(.im was born in 1780 and who 
died in 1856. Louis Lunsford Stott had first married Miss Allen, who 
bore him eight children, all of whom are now deceased and the names of 
whom were as follow: Christopher, the father of Capt W. T. Stott, a 
former sheriff of Decatur county; Mrs. Hulda New, Allen, Mrs. Polly 
Griffin, Mrs. Mariah Kirtley, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, Frances Marian and 
Mrs. Sarah Jane Gaston. By the second marriage there were three chil- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 803 

dren: D. W., who is deceased; Richard T., the subject of this sketch, and 
Mrs. Susan Newsome, who hves at Azaha, Indiana. 

After removing to Decatur from Bartholomew county, wiien Mr. Stott 
was four years old, his mother died, and he was taken by an uncle, Willis 
C. Stribbling, who lived near Sardinia, Decatur county, to be reared, together 
with a sister. Here he lived until he grew to manhood, attending, so far as 
possible, the pioneer country schools of the time and receiving a limited 
education. After the breaking out of the Civil War, Richard Stott was only 
nineteen years old. Nevertheless he enlisted on July 8, 1861, in Company 
H, Nineteenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served three 
years, three months and eleven days. Having been assigned to the com- 
missary department on detached service, he was under fire in nearly all of 
the battles and especially was on the firing line in the second battle of Bull 
Run, the battles of Fredericksburg, South Mountain, Antietam and Gettys- 
burg, as well as the Wilderness campaign. 

Returning home at the close of the Civil War, Mr. Stott began farm- 
ing in Jackson township on rented land, and late in 1865 was married. 
During the earlier years of his married life he lived in Decatur and Bartholo- 
mew counties, spending two years in Illinois later on, in 1881 and 1882. 
For seven years he lived in Edinburg after his removal to Decatur county, 
in March, 1907. He now owns a farm of twenty acres adjoining Westport. 

In 1865 Mr. Stott was married to Eliza Ann ChaiUe, who was born on 
April 3, 1844, in Jennings county, Indiana, near Butlerville, and who is 
the daughter of William D. and Hulda A. Chaille, the former of whom was 
a native of Indiana, born on December 26, 1814, and the latter of whom 
was born on February 19, 1806. William D. Chaille was the son of John 
and Jane ( Duncan ) Chaille, natives of Maryland, who came to Indiana 
after their marriage. A brother of Jane (Duncan) Chaille was a soldier in 
the Revolutionary army and was held a prisoner by the British for seven 
years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Stott have six living children, as follow : 
Dora C, who lives at Richmond, Indiana, has one daughter, Leota, by his 
first wife, who was a Miss Davis; his present wife is Birdellia (Rose); 
Hulda Elizabeth is the wife of William A. Knight, who lives near Sardinia, 
and has four sons, James R., Wallace L., George Taylor and John F. ; 
William Preston lives near Auburn in the state of Washington ; Louis 
Eldridge, of Indianapolis, married Ro.sa Smeiser, and they have tlu'ee 
children, Louis Graves, Beryl Taylor and Russell Payne; John Franklin, of 
Colorado, married Mary Wilds, and they have one child, Martha Emily; 






804 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

James M., of Edinburg, married Ethel Russell, and they have one child, 
Loring Russell. 

Politically, Mr. Stott is a Republican. He and his good wife are mem- 
bers of the Baptist church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Improved 
Order of Red Men at Edinburg, and of the Knights of Pythias at West- 
port. He has filled all of the chairs in the Red jNlen's lodge. Mr. Stott is 
also a member of Fred Small Post No. 531, Grand Army of the Republic, 
at Westport. 



RUBER C. MOORE. 



Perhaps no count)- in the state is on a sounder basis as regards its 
banking and linancial affairs than is Decatur county. In the hands of safe, 
conservative men, the banks of the county are noted for their solidity and 
for the careful manner in which the money entrusted to their care is 
handled. For the most part, the men engaged in banking in this county 
have had special training for their work and the mere technical side of 
banking is conducted with a degree of accuracy and a proper regard for the 
most conservative forms of investment, insuring to depositors a feeling of 
safety. Among the banks of more recent origin in this county, few, if any, 
have made larger strides in public confidence than the Burney State Bank, of 
Burney, the pleasant village in Clay township, which in late years has made 
such rapid progress in industrial, commercial and civic development. This 
bank, which was opened for business on December 22, 1913, had a capital 
stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, and has enjoyed an unusual degree of 
success. Surrounded by rich farming territorj^ peopled by substantial stock 
raisers and shippers, the opportunities for modern banking methods were 
awaiting the coming of the gentlemen who organized the Burney bank and 
these opportunities have been promptly and properly utilized, the number 
of depositors of the bank growing from the very first day of the opening 
of the bank, until they now number more than four hundred and are increas- 
ing daily. The officers of this bank are as follow : William G. Smiley, 
president; John W. Corya, vice-president; Huber C. Moore, cashier; the 
other directors being John Gartin, Frank Alexander, W. F. McCullough. 

Huber C. Moore was born at Morgan, Kentucky, in 1890, a son of 
James P. and Sarah J. (Green) Moore, both natives of Kentucky, the latter 
of whom was born in the city of Lexington, a daughter of John Green. Mrs. 
Moore died some years ago and Mr. Moore continues to make his home in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INqiaNA. 805 

Kentucky, being one of the prominent and wealthy citizens of Pendleton 
county, that state. James P. Moore is one of the best-known bee breeders 
in the country, his apiary supplying a demand for cjueen bees in all parts of 
the world. He has been in the business of bee culture for the past twenty- 
tive years and has been very successful, the variety of bees of which he 
makes a specialty having created a wonderful demand. 

Huber C. Moore received his elementary education in the schools of 
Falmouth, Kentucky, following his graduation from the high school at that 
place with a course of one year at the Kentucky State University, after 
which he pursued a thorough course in a business college at Lexington. 
Thus equipped for a business career, Mr. Moore entered the employ of the 
Citizens State Bank, of Falmouth, Kentucky, as assistant cashier, remaining 
with this bank for two years, at the end of which time his services were 
secured by the Indiana National Bank, of Indianapolis, and he moved to the 
Indiana state capital, remaining with the Indiana National Bank at that 
place for a period of four years, at the end of which time his services were 
solicited as cashier of the newly organized bank at Burney, this county. 
]\Ir. Moore accepted this proffer and upon the opening of the Burney State 
Bank was installed as cashier, a position which he since has occupied, his 
skilled and efficient service having proved most satisfactory, not only to the 
directors of the bank, but to the customers of the same. 

On December 25, 1910, Huber C. Moore was united in marriage to 
Olive Ruby Williams, of Whiteland, Indiana, daughter of Dr. Luke P. V. 
and Sarah Jane (Woollen) Williams, the former of whom is a native of 
Kentucky and the latter of whom is a native of Ohio. Dr. Luke P. V. 
Williams was born in 1862, son of Luke P. and Elizabeth P. (Simer) 
Williams, both natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was of Welsh 
descent and the latter of whom was of German descent. Sarah Jane Wool- 
len was the daughter of John W. and Mary C. Woollen, who moved from 
Ohio to Kentucky in 1883, they also being of German descent. 

Dr. Luke P. V. Williams, who is a direct descendant of Roger Williams, 
"that noble champion of religious liberty," of whom Milton thus sang, the 
founder of Rhode Island, who came to America from Wales in 1636, was 
a member of the last Kentucky constitutional convention, having repre- 
sented the counties of Bath and Rowan in that historic gathering. Pie was 
reared in Kentucky and from the days of his young manhood took an active 
part in the aft'airs of his community. He is a man of tremendous energy; 
in fact, a veritable "human dynamo," as some of his friends characterize 
him. He early began to take a prominent part in Kentucky politics and, 



8o6 DECATUR COUIS'TY, INDIANA. 

besides the distinction of being a member of the constitutional convention, 
above noted, served as an elector on the Democratic ticket from his district 
in the second Cleveland campaign. Some years ago he moved to Indiana, 
locating at Whiteland, in Johnson county, where he organized the White- 
land National bank. He also was active in the organization of the Jones- 
ville State Bank, of Jonesville, this state, and was one of the principal pro- 
moters of the organization of the Burney State Bank. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moore are members of the Baptist church at Burney and 
are active in the good works of the community. Though comparatively 
recent additions to the society of that pleasant village, they have entered into 
the social life of the town with characteristic energy and are among the 
most enthusiastic promoters of the various and rapidly growing interests of 
the village. Mr. Moore is a Democrat and takes an intelligent and proper 
interest in the political affairs of the county, being an ardent advocate of all 
measures along the line of good government. He is a member of the local 
lodg'e of the Knights of Pythias and at present is much interested in the plan 
which is being promoted for the erection of a fine new two-story Pythian 
hall in Burney. He is an enterprising and energetic young man and his 
native love for the intricacies of business and financial life has given him 
an interest in his life's work which rapidly is bringing him to the front as 
one of the most prominent young financiers of Decatur county, he having 
displayed an ability in this direction that has inspired in the breasts of his 
business associates the utmost confidence and respect, they having the high- 
est regard for the ability he has displayed in conducting the difficult trans- 
actions which confront him in connection with his important position in 
the bank. 



HENRY CHRIS BOWMAN. 

Henry Chris Bowman, an enterprising farmer of Washington township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, who owns one hundred and sixty acres for which 
he has worked and for which he has himself paid, is a splendid type of the self- 
made American citizen and his career forcibly illustrates what industry, 
economy and good management may accomplish. There is no man living in 
Decatur county who deserves more personal credit for what he has accom- 
plished than Mr. Bowman, since he has by his own hard toil and by his 
systematic and methodical saving, built up his own fortune and obtained for 
himself and his good wife all the comforts whicli they now enjoy. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 807 

Henry Chris Bowman was born on March 9, 1867, in FrankHn county, 
Indiana, the son of Henry and Johannah (Thesin) Bowman, natives of 
Germany,, who were married after coming to this country. Henry C. Bow- 
man left home at the age of twenty-one and came to Decatur county, working 
for twelve years for William Warder Hamilton, a pioneer mule dealer of 
Decatur county. At the end of twelve years' hard toil, he had saved fifteen 
hundred dollars and out of this he paid one thousand dollars down on the farm 
he purchased at this time and used the other five hundred dollars to stock the 
farm. His father, who was born in 1825, was killed in 1870 while working 
as a carpenter on the Enochsburg church. He had come to America in 1841. 

Henry, Sr., and Johannah Bowman had three children, Mary, who is 
deceased ; Lena, who married Clem Rowling, a dairyman, who lives near 
Cincinnati, and Henry C, the subject of this sketch. After the death of Mr. 
Bowman, the mother married again, this time to Martin Frichtman, and they 
had eight children, George, who lives in Decatur county; John, of Washington 
township; Matthew, who lives on the Robinson farm; Kate, the wife of 
Joseph Mincke, of Cincinnati, who died in October, 1914; Lizzie, the wife of 
George Lampe, of Shelby ville; Sophronia, the wife of William Oberlein, of 
St. Louis : Rosa, who married Chester Luther, of Shelbyville, and Celia, of 
Indianapolis. The mother of these children died in Shelbyville, Indiana, at 
the age of seventy-eight years, in 1908. 

At the time Henry Chris Bowman purchased his farm in Washington 
township, the farm was very much run down. He and his good wife lived in 
an old house on the place until they were able to erect a handsome, modern 
farm residence. The house sets back from the road and leading down to it is 
a large, well-kept farm. The barn, which is sixty-four by sixty feet, was 
built in 1908, and a corn-crib built in 191 1 cost five hundred dollars. Alto- 
gether about eight thousand dollars has been spent in various kinds of 
improvements, including fencing and tiling. When Mr. Bowman first pur- 
chased the farm, he sold hogs at tiiree dollars a hundred. He has had a hard 
time to get on in the world and has always been a hard worker. One of the 
secrets of his success, perhaps, is that he never sells any grain, but feeds all 
that he raises to hogs and cattle, selling a hundred head of hogs and from 
twelve to fifteen head of cattle every year. 

On September 2, 1884, Mr. Bowman was married to Bridget Woods, who 
was born on December 4, 1864, in County Clare, Ireland, and who is the 
daughter of John and Bridget (Kerivan) Woods, who came to America in 
1880 and located on a farm three miles from Zenas, Indiana. It is a matter 
of interest to note here the St. Denis's church was named after Denis Woods, 



8o8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mrs. Bowman's uncle, who gave ten acres of ground for the church. Mrs. 
Bowman's father died in 1889 and her mother in 1890, one year later. John 
and Bridget Woods had six children, Mrs. Marie Slattery, who lives in Ire- 
land ; John, who died in Jennings county, in 1913; Sarah, the wife of William 
Vansickle, of Kansas; Thomas, of near St. Denis, who married Margaret 
Duffy; Denis, who died in 1888, and Mrs. Bowman. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Bowman have been born four children, 
Florine, the wife of Samuel Ardery, of Washington township; John, who 
lives at home on the farm; Rosa, who died at the age of twenty-three years, 
on April 6, 1912, and Sophia Lillian, fourteen years of age, is a student in 
the Greensburg high school. 

Mr. and Mrs. Henry C. Bowman have at their command practically 
every convenience which is available to anyone who lives on the farm. They 
are fortunate in having at their disposal a natural gas well, located on the 
farm, and also an artesian well.- They have most comfortable and convenient 
buildings located on magnificent grounds which are always well kept, and 
they themselves are the people who most deserve to enjoy these conveniences. 
Although Mr. Bowman owns an automobile along with the other comforts 
of life, yet he still works very hard and he and his good wife deserve great 
credit and praise for what they have accomplished. Genial and hospitable by 
nature, they are popular in the community where they reside. Mr. Bowman 
is a Democrat. The Bowman family are all members of the St. Mary's 
Catholic church at Greensburg. 



JAMES B. THROP. 



Settlement was just beginning in Decatur county, Indiana, in 182 1, when 
Thomas Throp, a native of New Jersey, who had immigrated to Warren 
county, Ohio, in 1817, came on west to Decatur county, Indiana, and pur- 
chased the northeast one-quarter of section 23, township 11, range 10, com- 
prising one hundred and sixty acres and located in what is now Fugit town- 
ship. The deed for this farm, which was signed by James Monroe, was 
dated on December 17, 1821, and this worthy pioneer had previously entered 
the farm where a daughter, Margaret J., now resides, an entire section which 
he purchased at one dollar and twenty-fi\e cents an acre. It was Thomas 
Throp. the father of the late James B. Throp, who established the family in 
Decatur county. When he came to Decatur county, the land was covered 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 809- 

with heavy timber, but he cleared a place for a home and later built a log 
cabin. His granddaughter, Margaret J. Throp, lives in the first brick house 
which he erected. 

The late James B. Throp, who at the time of his death was one of the 
wealthiest farmers in Decatur county, owning six hundred and eighty acres 
of well-cultivated and fertle land, the son of Thomas and Ellen (Emily) 
Throp, was born on December 22, 181 5, in JNIonmouth county, New Jersey, 
and died April 6, 1864. His father, who was born on October 17, 1776, was 
married on November 29, 1800, to Ellen Emily, who was born on November 
30, 1784, and who died on August 12, 1859. They had ten children, William 
F., who was born on August 7, 1802; Bethany, December 15, 1804, who 
married Daniel Eden, of near Adams: Jane, RIarch 4, 1807, who married 
James Ereeman, a merchant of Greensburg; John I., March 15, 1810; Mary 
Ann, December 23, 1812, who married a Mr. Gilham ; James B., the subject 
of this sketch; Eleanor, February 10, 1818, who married Granville Kindred; 
Margaret Einley, April 26, 1820, married a Mr. Clark; Charles C, December 
6, 1822, and Wesley, November 29, 1825. All of these children erected 
homes in the vicinity of the old home on the Throp land. 

The late James B. Throp was six years old when his parents moved 
from Warren county, Ohio, to Decatur county, Indiana, and when he was 
twelve years old, he moved with his parents to a brick mansion erected about 
1827. In this house he lived continuously until his death, on April 6, 1884. 
Owning six hundred and eighty acres of land, during the latter years of his 
life, and being one of the most extensive farmers in Decatur county, he was 
naturally well known. 

The wife of the late James B. Throp was Mary Kerrick, who was born 
near Fairfield, in Franklin county, Indiana, on August 15, 1830, and died in 
1907, at the age of seventy-six. She was the daughter of Thomas and Phoebe 
Kerrick, of Loudoun county, Virginia. The Kerricks comprised an old 
family of the Old Dominion state and included many teachers and preachers. 
Mrs. Thomas Kerrick's mother was a prominent member of the Quaker 
church. Thomas Kerrick taught a subscription school in Franklin county and 
was paid partly in supplies and partly in cash. He had come from Virginia 
to Ohio, and finally to Franklin county, Indiana, in 1857. After purchasing 
land in Decatur county, he moved here. Rev. Nimrod Kerrick, a son of 
Thomas and the brother of Mrs. Throp, was for many years a prominent 
teacher and minister in Decatur county. He was the eldest child and the 
others were James. W^alter, Armisted, Mrs. Mary Throp, Joanna, Hugh and 
Stephen, fourth child. • ■ 



SlO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The late James B. Throp and wife had three children, Ella, the wife of 
Marshall Xewhouse, who died in 1907; Phoebe A., the wife of George Wirt, 
who lives in Fugit township, and Margaret J., who lives on the old home- 
stead and who owns one hnndred and sixty acres of this farm and one hun- 
dred and eighty acres of her mother's original old home farm, a total of 
three hundred and forty acres. She is an active member of the Mt. Carmel 
Methodist Episcopal church. 

Not only was James B. Throp a prominent farmer, but he was also 
prominent in fraternal and religious circles in his community, being a charter 
member of the Masonic lodge at Clarksburg and a regular attendant at the 
services of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was an ardent 
Republican, who l^elieved strongly in the principles of Abraham Lincoln and 
the principles of the party which Lincoln helped to found. 

No volume purporting to set forth the historical annals of Decatur 
county would be complete which did not contain a record of the life and 
works of James B. Throp, a well-known citizen and farmer during his day 
and generation, one who had a large part in the pioneer development of this 
splendid county now in a high state of development. James B. Throp belonged 
to a family which has never failed to measure up to the opportunities and 
obligations of their time. The Throp family has performed well its duties in 
all the multifarious relations of human existence. 



WESLEY THROP. 



The late Wesley Throp, of Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, 
belonged to one of the oldest families of the county, his father, Thomas 
Throp, a native of New Jersey, who had come to Warren county, Ohio, in 
181 7, having emigrated to Decatur county and entered a tract of land from 
the government in 182 1, at a time when the settlement of Decatur was just 
beginning. Since 1821, therefore, a period of nearly a century, the Throp 
family have been prominent in the agricultural, political and civic life of this 
section, and in all of this period have contributed materially to the progress 
and prosperity of Decatur county. It was so with the original Thomas 
Throp, and also true of the family he left at the time of his death. 

The late Wesley Throp, who, during his lifetime, was a well-known 
farmer of Fugit township, and who owned tw<5 hundred and forty acres of 
land at the time of his death, land which is now in the possession of a son, 
Bruce, and a daughter. Miss Jennie, himself was born on December 29, 1825, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 8ll 

the son of Thomas and Ellen (Emily) Throp, the former of whom was born 
on October 17, 1776, and who was married, November 29, 1800, to Ellen 
Emily, who was born on November 30, 1784, and who died on August 12, 
1859. Of their ten children, William was born on August 7, 1802; Bethany, 
December 15, 1804, and married Daniel Heaton, of near Adams; Jane, March 
4, 1807, married James Freeman, a merchant of Greensburg; John I., March 
15, iSio; Mary Ann, December 23, 1812, and married, first, a Mr. Miller, and 
second, Talbert Gillam; James B. was an extensive farmer of Fugit township 
during his life, December 22, 181 5, and married to Mary Kerrick, who was 
born on August 15, 1830, and who died in 1907, and died on April 6, 1884; 
Eleanor, February 10, 1818, and married Granville Kindred; Margaret Fin- 
ley, April 26, 1820, and married Richard Clark; Charles C, December 6, 
1822, married, first, Kate Roberts, and second. May Sneidiger, and Wesley, 
the subject of this sketch, November 29, 1825. All of the children erected 
homes in the vicinity of the old homestead and owned the Throp land. 

The subject of this sketch, who was the youngest child born to his 
parents, was a native of Decatur county, born after the removal of the parents 
from Warren county, Ohio, to Indiana, and he spent all of his life in this 
section. After his marriage, in 1855, he and his wife began housekeeping in 
a log cabin on his farm, and a few years later removed to a new frame house 
which he built, now occupied by his daughter, Jennie, and his son, Bruce. 
Here the parents lived until their death. Eventually, he became the owner 
of two hundred and forty acres of land, adding to his original tract as he was 
able to do so, and this entire farm is still intact and is still owned by members 
of his family. 

On September 4, 1855, Wesley Throp was married to Nancy M. Ardery, 
who was born on January 22, 1835, in Fugit township, the fifth child born to 
her parents, Thomas and Martha (McKee) Ardery, the former of whom was 
born in 1801, and who died in 1846. The latter was a daughter of Daniel 
McKee. Thomas and Martha (McKee) Ardery were natives of Kentucky, 
who were married in that state and who came with their family to Fugit 
township, Decatur county, Indana, in 1830. Their children were Mrs. Jane 
\\'allace Smith, deceased ; Mrs. Mary Alexander Walters, deceased ; ]\Irs. 
^Martha Thomas Thomson, deceased; Mrs. Eliza Archibald Spear, of Rush- 
ville; David A., a well-known farmer of Washington township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, and John William, who died in youth. 

Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Throp, three are now 
deceased. The living children are Bruce, the eldest child, born on No\'emlier 
22, 1856, and li\'es on the old home farm with his sister, Jennie, April 4, 



8l2 DECATUK COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1873, the sixth child: Alattie, April 11. 1867, who was the fifth child in her 
parents' family, married William R. Pleak, and lives at Culpeper, Virginia. 
The deceased children are Luna, Omer and Bessie. Luna was born, February 
4, 1859, and died on April 25, 1862: Omer, February 10, 1862, and died on 
October 7, 1S63; Bessie, January 24, 1865, married William Schomper, and 
died on November 23, 1890. She left one son, Ralph, born on November 21, 
1890. He lives in Tipton county, Indiana. 

The father of all these children, who passed away quietly at his home in 
Fugt township on August 18, 1881, was a Republican in politics, and a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church at Kingston at the time of his death. He was 
also a charter member of Clarksburg Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. His 
wife sur\'ived him many years, dying on February 3, 1914. 

The only male descendant of the late Wesley Throp is his son, Bruce, 
who is unmarried, and who lives on the home farm with his sister, Miss 
Jennie. Li fact, these two members of the family of Wesley Throp are the 
only ones who now reside in Decatur county. Miss Throp is a member of the 
Kingston Presbyterian church, and for many years has been active in church 
work. Wesley Throp was a man who was highly respected during his life, a 
man of honorable and humane impulses, kind to his family and cordial to his 
neighbors, one of the empire builders, whose work and labors live on, even 
though the author of the work and labors has passed away. 



MAX RUHL. 



It is a distinction of no mean importance to have lived to become the 
oldest living native-born settler of the township of one's residence. This 
distinction belongs to the venerable Max Ruhl, a retired farmer of Marion 
township, now living in Millhousen, himself the son of native-born German 
parents, who settled in this township three-quarters of a century ago. While 
it is a considerable distinction to have attained the rank of the oldest living 
native-born citizen of a township, it is a further distinction to have lived an 
honorable and useful life in this commtmity and this also belongs to the life 
works and career of Max Ruhl. 

The venerable Max Ruhl, a pioneer citizen and farmer of Marion town- 
ship, now living retired in Alillhousen, was born on February 15, 1843, o" ^ 
farm in this township in a log cabin, built by his father, the late Gehardt 
Ruhl. This farm, which now comprises two hundred acres all in one tract. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 813 

is a productive body of land, which, in recent years, has been maintained in a 
high state of cuhivation. A niagiiiliccnt house sets back a quarter of a mile 
from the main road and is reached by a well-kept driveway. Gerhardt Ruhl, 
who was born in Germany, came to America when a young man and, after 
working in Cincinnati and Franklin county for some time, in 1840 settled in 
Marion township, one mile north of Millhousen. It is literally true that his 
farm was cut out of the virgin forest. Here he cleared in all one hundred 
and twenty acres of land and, in the meantime, built a comfortable home. He 
passed away at the the age of sixty-six on February 8, 1875. His wife, who, 
before her marriage, was Mary Ann Peters and to whom he was married at 
Oldenburg, Franklin county, died on March 10, 1872. They reared a family 
of ten children, se\en of whom are now living and three deceased, Mrs. 
Caroline Fischer, who was the eldest ; Christ, the fourth born, and Catherine, 
the youngest. The living children are. Max, the subject of this sketch; Joseph, 
who lives in Cincinnati; Mrs. Mary Henneker, who lives in Millhousen; John, 
of Minnesota; Grefor, who lives on a farm near Batesville; Adam, of India- 
napolis, and Anthony, of Cleveland, Ohio. 

When Max Ruhl was a young man, he worked in various parts of the 
country and, for a considerable period, was engaged in driving a team for a 
miller at Millhousen, Indiana. After his marriage, in 1872, he came back to 
the home farm and eventually purchased the interest of the other heirs to his 
father's and mother's estate in the home farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres and has since added eighty acres to the original tract, making in all two 
hundred acres. When we consider that practically the entire value of this two 
hundred acres has been created by its present owner and that he has had little 
assistance of anybody, we can understand his real work as a citizen, since this 
value could not have been created and this farm could not have been paid for 
and increased without hard and laborious efforts, unfailing determination, 
frugal living and careful management, all of which are distinctive marks of 
worthy citizenship. This venerable pioneer citizen deser-\'es inexpressible 
credit for his many sturdy qualities of head and heart. 

On January 7, 1872, he was married in the state of Ohio to Rosa S]5ander, 
who was born on February 15, 1850, and who has been the companion in all 
of his struggles, trials and tribulations of his early life and the triumphs and 
comforts of his later years. 

In one respect Mr. and Mrs. Ruhl have been exceptionally fortunate, 
since everv one of the six children born to them is still living, is married and 
rearing a family of his or her own. The names of the children, in the order 
•of their birth, are as follow: Marv, ^^^illiam. John, Clara. Anna and Law- 



8l4 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

rence. Mary married Joseph Zapfe, of Jennings county, and has eight chil- 
dren, Luella, Esther, Harry, William, Edward, Olivia, Lawrence and Ray- 
mond. William, who lives on a farm in Marion township, first married Rosa 
Herbert. After her death, he married a Miss Rosczell and has two children, 
Leo and Herbert. John, who lives in Kokomo, in Howard county, Indiana, 
married Julia Ann Zapfe and has two children, Esther and Albert ; Clara 
became the wife of William Fry, of Marion township, and has three children, 
Alfred, Olivia and Ferdinand; Anna, who is the wife of Harry Leuken, of 
Marion township, has four children, Luella, Edna, Frank and Walter, and 
Lawrence, who married Josephine Blankman, lives on the home place. 

Max Ruhl has ne^•er been an office seeker nor has he e\'er been active in 
the councils of the Democratic party, with which he is affiliated in Marion 
township, since he has always preferred to devote his time and attention to his 
home, his family and his farm. The Ruhl family are all members of St. 
Marv's Catholic church at Millhousen. 



WILLL\M HARRISON ISGRIGG. 

In the industrial field there are few names Ijetter known in Decatur 
county than that which the reader notes above. One of the most prominent 
building contractors in southern Indiana, a form of activity to which he 
turned his attention very naturally, following the footsteps of his father, 
who was one of the best-known builders and decorators in this part of the 
state, Mr. Isgrigg has made a name for himself which must be enduring in 
this region, for the buildings which he has erected hereabout stand as impres- 
sive testimonials of the substantial character of his work. 

The firm of W. H. Isgrigg & Son, for Mr. Isgrigg"s son, Isaac J. 
Isgrigg, is associated with him, does a business of not less than one hundred 
thousand dollars to two hundred thousand dollars annually, employing a large 
numlier of workmen. This firm has made a specialty of erecting school 
Iniildings and is well known in this field, ha\ing in tlie last few years com- 
pleted twelve high and grade schools. They have also completed many other 
buildings, such as churches, passenger stations, factories, etc. At the time 
this is being written, the firm is erecting the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tii)n building in Greenslnirg. 

Mr. Isgrigg also has done work in Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, Den- 
ver, W^ichita, Colorado City, Ft. Scott, Dodge City and other cities in Iowa. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 815 

Michigan and Nebraska and in Arkansas City and other cities in the West 
and South. He started contracting in 1873, operating under the firm style of 
Isgrigg & Brown and later under the firm style of Isgrigg & Tumulty, then 
for a time he again operated alone, in 1904 taking his son, Isaac J. Isgrigg, 
into partnership, since which time the firm has been W. H. Isgrigg & Son and 
has been very successful. 

William Harrison Isgrigg was born in the city of Greensburg, Decatur 
county, on April 16, 1853, the son of JetYerson and Martha Rebecca (Morris) 
Isgrigg, natives, respectively, of Ripley and Dearborn counties, this state. 
Jefferson Isgrigg, who was born on November 4, 1828, and died on July 8, 
1859, was the son of Elijah Isgrigg, who came to America with his father, 
Daniel Isgrigg, from England when nine years of age and settled in Ripley 
county, this state. Jefiferson Isgrigg was reared in Ripley county and learned 
the trade of plasterer and stucco worker, becoming very proficient- in that 
line of work. On February 29, 1852. he married Martha Rebecca Alorris, 
who was .born six miles north of Lawrenceburg, in Dearborn county, on 
December 28, 1833, daughter of Isaac and Matilda (Fitzgerald) Morris, 
natives, respectively, of Wayne county, Virginia, and Newcastle, Kentucky. 
Matilda Fitzgerald was a daughter of Joseph Fitzgerald, a native of Ireland, 
who fought in the War of American Independence under General Wayne. 
Isaac Morris was a son of Amos and Rebecca (Tyler) Morris, the latter of 
whom was a sister of John Tyler, tenth President of the United States. 

On March i, 1853, a little more than a year after his marriage, Jefifer- 
son Isgrigg came to Greensburg to perform the ornamental work on the 
Decatur county court house, which was being erected at that time, and liked 
the town so well that he remained, making Greensburg his headciuarters the 
rest of his life, although his work recjuired him to travel extensively over the 
country. To Jefferson and Martha Rebecca (Morris) Isgrigg were born 
three children, Mrs. Nellie Throp, William Harrison, the subject of this 
sketch, and Sarah, who was born on January 26, 1856, and died on Septem- 
ber 29, 1857. 

William H. Isgrigg was educated in the schools of Greensburg and early 
devoted himself to the building trades, following in the footsteps of his 
father. With a view to learning the business literally from "the ground up" 
he begaii at an early age to learn the bricklayer's trade under William Dyer 
and Mr. J. W. Stites. At fourteen years of age he started to carrying the 
hod and served his apprenticeship of three years. Upon completing his trade, 
he started out as a journeyman workman, going westward through Illinois, 
Iowa and Nebraska, .\fter acquiring some very practical experience liy this 



8l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

method, he returned to Greensburg and engaged in contracting on his own 
account. He later was associated with others in the same hne of business, as 
noted above, and in 1904 made his son, Isaac J. Isgrigg. a partner in the 
business, since which time the firm has been known as \\'. H. Isgrigg & Son, 
one of the most successful and energetic firms of building contractors in the 
state of Indiana. 

On December 10, 18S2, William Harrison Isgrigg was united in mar- 
riage to Vira Byrum, of this county, and to this union two children have been 
born, Isaac J., on December 5, 1883, who married Lela Gayette Burke and 
has two children, Lela Florine and William Shelton, and Mary, July 18, 
1885, married Frank Hamilton, a well-known attorney, of Greensburg, a 
biographical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, and has 
one child, a son, William Everett. 

Mr. Isgrigg is a Republican and gives due attention to the political 
affairs of his home county. He is an active, public-spirited citizen and is 
deeply interested in the cause of good government, throwing his influence 
invariably in behalf of such measures as are designed to uplift the common 
cause of the people. He is a member of Greensburg Lodge No. 136, Free 
and Accepted Masons, and is warmly interested in the aitairs of that order. 
Starting at the very bottom of the ladder, so to speak, Mr. Isgrigg has 
created for himself a very distinct position in the industrial life of this part 
of the state and is honored and respected by all who know him or with 
whijm his extensive liuilding operations bring him in contact. 



DR. CHARLES B. GROVER. 

Very likely there are no physicians practicing in Decatur county who 
have had a more general experience in the practice of a profession than 
Dr. Charles B. Grover, the proprietor of the Grover Sanatorium, which is 
located in the Everhart Ijlock, city of Greensburg, and which is fitted up 
especially for treating patients in emergency cases. The hospital has twelve 
beds and two attendant nurses during all hours of the day and night. It is 
quite natural that Dr. Charles B. Grover should be a successful physician, 
since he is descended from a family of medical experts, both his grandfathers 
having been physicians in New Hampshire, the state of his birth. 

Born and reared on a farm in the state of New Hampshire, Dr. Charles 
B. Grover is from every standpoint a self-made man. The parental home, 
which was located near the new Hampshire and Vermont state line, was the 




CTIAKI.KS I'.. (ii;()\Ki;, .M. D. 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 817 

scene of his early labors and the place where his early ambitions began to 
shape themselves. He was born, May 21, 1851, the son of Andrew T. and 
Laura (Kimball) Grover, who were intelligent, progressive and broad-minded 
people, and successful farmers. 

The career of Dr. Charles B. Grover is a striking example of the young 
man, who is led away from home ties and home intiuences successfully to 
seek his fortune in the outside world. At the age of seventeen years he left 
home, parents and friends, and eventually arrived in Boston, where for 
three years he worked at various odd jobs, doing any sort of work which 
presented itself. A man of splendid physique, and powerful build, able to 
perform the most arduous labor, after three years in Boston he was lured 
by the opportunities for work in the Northwest, and for two years was en- 
gaged in various kinds of labor in the state of Minnesota. In the meantime, 
however, he had devoted his spare time to the study of medicine, and had 
spent almost two years continuously in grounding himself in the funda- 
mentals of medicine and surgery. When scarcely past twenty-two years of 
age he returned to his New Hampshire home, and was there engaged in the 
practice near his old home for seven years. During this period he was 
associated with a well-known physician of that community. Doctor Weeks. 
Subsequently, however, he went from New Hampshire to Chicago, and for a 
short time was there engaged in the practice with a Doctor Wilson. Later 
he practiced medicine for seven years at Frankfort, Lidiana, with a Doctor 
Saylor, and during all of this period was improving his medical education 
and enlarging his information by home study. He had come to be known 
by the medical profession in the various communities where he had practiced 
as a profound student of medical science. 

In 1894 Doctor Grover came to Decatur county, locating at Greens- 
burg, and one year later established the Doctor Grover Sanatorium, which 
had met with a very satisfactory measure of success. He is known today as 
•one of the hardest-working physicians in Decatur county, and one who prac- 
tices medicine for the love of the work, rather than for the desire of gain. 
Patients are welcome to his office and to his sanatorium. No questions are 
asked regarding their ability to pay for the treatment they receive. Fitted 
up with the latest appliances, devised for present-day practice, the sana- 
torium is especially equipped for the successful treatment of tubercular 
patients, and many of them have been cured under Doctor Grover's care and 
treatment. A self-made and a self-educated man, not only in medicine, but 
along broad and general lines of information, his entire evening periods are 
now devoted to the acquisition of the latest knowledge available to practi- 

(52) 



8l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tioners of the medical profession. Genial, whole-souled, and indifferent to 
pecuniary success, Dr. Charles B. Grover has established for himself a 
place in the hearts of the people of the county seat, which no one is 
likely very soon to take away. Earnest and sincere in his life's vocation, 
he deserves to be classed among the citizens of Decatur county as one of 
nature's own noblemen. Doctor Grover is not only a member of the De- 
catur County Medical Society, and of the American Association of Pro- 
gressive Medicine, but formerly he was a member of the American Medi- 
cal Association. 

In 1909 Dr. Charles B. Grover was married to Ethel demons, daughter 
of Henry demons, a well-known citizen of Greensburg, to which union 
two children have been born, Gladys and Laura Margarette. 

A member of the Christian church since 1885, Doctor Grover is one of 
the leading members of the Greensburg congregation, and takes a reverent 
interest in the affairs of the church. Fraternally, he is a member of the 
Knights of Pythias at Faribault, Minnesota. A Republican in politios^ 
he has been honored by the people of this county to election as county 
coroner of Decatur county, and served four years in this office, from 1908 to 
19 1 2. During his residence in Clinton county he was deputy coroner there 
for eight years. 

Men of Doctor Grover's type are so few that a community which num- 
bers one among its citizens is fortunate indeed. When his work is finished 
he will have what money cannot buy, the respect and esteem of this county. 



EDGAR EARL HITE. 



The lawyer's training is vastly different now from what it was a genera- 
tion ago. Today the best law schools are within the range of opportunity of 
every young man who aspires to the legal profession. Most of the younger 
lawyers have been trained efificiently in the standard law schools of the coun- 
try. One of the well-known younger attorneys of Greensburg, Lidiana, who 
enjoys the advantages of a splendid preparation for the law and a splendid 
training in the law, is Edgar Earl Hite. 

Mr. Hite was born on October 3, 1881, on a farm near Clarksburg, in 
Decatur county, the son of Lewis E. and Elizabeth (]\liller) Hite. the former 
of whom was born in 1849 in Rush county, and the latter of whom was born 
in 1851 in Fairfield, Franklin county, and who died in 1904. Lewis E. Hite 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 819 

is the son of Nicholas Hite, who married Sarah Fisher. The latter was born 
in 1819 in Pennsylvania, and came overland with her parents from that state 
in 1830. She died in 1913. The former is a native of Virginia, and was an 
early settler in Rnsh cmnty. Nicholas Hitc, who was born at Staunton, 
Virginia, owned a large tract of splendid farming land on the Rush and 
Decatur county line. Edgar Earl Hite is one of three children born to his 
parents. The others are Albert M., a farmer, and Charles C, who is fifteen 
years old. 

Edgar E. Hite, after having received a common school education, and 
having been graduated from the Clarksburg high school, spent the year 
1900-01 in Butler College at Indianapolis, and then three months at the 
Indiana Law^ School at Indianapolis. Subsequently, he spent four years in 
Indiana University, from which he was graduated in ic;o5 with the degree of 
Bachelur of Laws. From 1905 to 1906 Mr. Hite was associated with Judge 
Douglas Morris, now on the Indiana supreme court. Coming to Greensburg 
in October, 1907, he began the practice of law here, and served one year as 
deputy prosecuting attorney. 

Since 1910 Mr. Hite has served as city attorney of Greensburg, having 
been elected by the city council of that year for four years. He was re-elected 
in 1914 for a term of four years. In 1904 he was a candidate for prosecuting 
attorney of Decatur and Bartholomew counties, and has always been active 
in politics. Recognized as one of the leaders of the Democratic party in this 
county, he served for two years as secretary of the Democratic central com- 
mittee in Rush county, from 1905 to 1907. From 1908 to 19 14 he was secre- 
tary of the Democratic central committee of Decatur county. He has also 
been secretary of the Democratic city committee since living in Greensburg. 

Edgar E. Hite was married on October 19, igo8, to Eva M. Cartmel, 
daughter of Joseph A. and Susan Cartmel, formerly of Clarksburg. Mrs. 
Hite's father is now deceased. She is the mother of one daughter. Hazel 
lone. 

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar E. Hite are members of the Christian church. 
Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He is at 
present chancellor commander of the Greensburg lodge. Knights of Pythias, 
and exalted ruler Greensburg Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of 
Elks. 

A young man of afifable and agreeable personality, well learned in the 
law, Edgar E. Hite not only enjoys a comfortable practice in Decatur county, 
l)ut is a highly respected citizen of the county, and one who enjoys to the 
fullest degree the confidence of the Decatur county ])eoplc. 



820 DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 

GEORGE M. SCHEIDLER. 

All success in this life represents progress, and thuse who laid duwn 
their Ijurden in the dangerous days of the wilderness, planted the seeds that 
have, by careful pruning and scientific grafting, grown into trees whose 
fruits have benefited, not only the new country, for which they braved the 
])erils of the seas to reach, but have reached far beyond our own shores, back 
to the homes of their native soil, and in fact over the entire civilized world, 
in many instances. For those of its who are interested in evolution and 
scientific progress, it is a matter of deep regret that we cannot know what will 
be accomplished along tliese lines after we are put away under our six feet 
of ground. The prosperous looking farm wagon of today bears l)ut little 
resemblance to the oxen-drawn wagons of pioneer days. 

George M. Scheidler, wagoninaker, of Marion township, was born on 
December i, 1853, in Cincinnati. He is a son of John and Kunigunda 
(Steger) Scheidler. At the age of fifteen, he began to learn wagon making- 
and repairing and machine repairs, and now conducts a general machine and 
repair shop at Millhousen, Marion township, which was established in 1862 
by his father, and now is operated as the John Scheidler estate. He is a 
stanch Democrat, was elected trustee in 1908, and served si.\ years. He was 
justice of the peace from 1878 to 1898, twenty consecutive years, and was 
notary public from 1898 to 1908, and is a member of St. Mary's church at 
Millhousen. His present farm covers two hundred acres of land in Marion 
township. 

John Scheidler was born in Waldthurn, Bavaria, on June 19, 1826, and 
died on December 18, 1898. His wife, Kunigunda (Steger) Scheidler, was 
born on November 6, 183 1, in Bavaria, Germany, where she was reared to 
young womanhood. He learned the wagon maker's trade in Germany, where 
he served three years as journeyman wagon wright. He came to America in 
1849, ^"d was married at Cincinnati in 1850, to Kunigunda Steger, who had 
come over with her parents. John came with his two sisters, Mrs. Hager, of 
Marion township, and Mrs. Anna Haubner. who lives near Cincinnati. In 
1862 John came to Millhousen and established the business now carried on 
by his sons. Of their children there are only five who are now living, 
Adam died at the age of sixty years, at Earl Park; George, subject : John is a 
blacksmith at Millhousen; Catherine, Michael and Joseph died in infancy; 
Louis is a blacksmith; Joseph is in the employ of Herbert & Son, millers, at 
Millhousen; Herman is a farmer and lives in Ripley county; Edward, Francis 
and Anthony are all dead. John established his shop :ind dwelling in a little 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 821 

farm building still standing in INIiUhousen. The business grew to considerable 
proportions, and in 1870 Mr. Scheidler erected a brick wagon, blacksmith and 
general machine repair shop, as well as a handsome brick dwelling, in the 
town, and in addition to this, he owned several pieces of valuable town 
property. The shop is yet the property of the estate. Mr. Scheidler is a 
member of St. Mary's Catholc church at Millhousen. He was drafted in the 
Civil War, but paid a substitute to take his place. 

George M. Scheidler was twice married, first to Catharine Koelker, on 
June 4, 1878. She died on September 10, 1S83, leaving one daughter, Olivia 
(Heidlage) Oldenburg, who has a son, Victor. Mr. Scheidler's second mar- 
riage, on May 26, 1885, was to Josephine Huber, who died in April, 1895, 
leaving three sons, namely: Paul L., Lawrence J., and Carl R. Paul L. is 
married to Clara, daughter of Joseph Herbert, and has two sons, Norbert and 
Urban. He is a farmer; Lawrence attended the Terre Haute College, and 
graduated n 191 5, and married Anna Moorman. He is a teacher in the high 
school, and Carl R. is in a clothing store at Greensburg. 



MICHAEL HEGER. 



Few farmers living in Marion township deserve greater credit for their 
achievements and their accomplishments than Michael Heger, the largest 
individual land owner in Marion township, and a man who has earned every 
dollar of his wealth by his own indomitable energy, frugal living and careful 
management of his agricultural interests. The Heger estate comprises four 
hundred and thirty-five acres of which one hundred and fifty acres is creek 
bottom, and very rich soil. The remainder of the land is fairly level, and is 
an ideal farm, taken as a whole, for mixed farming, and stock raising. As 
the passerby approaches Cobb's Fork there may be seen, overlooking the 
wide valley and situated on a prominent eminence, the Heger homestead, 
which is reached b)' a gravel driveway one-fourth of a mile from the road. 
The spacious lawn surrounding the house is bounded by a large stone wall 
built in 191 1. This wall also surrounds the spacious barnyard, where there has 
been erected a large bank barn, forty-four by fifty feet, and which is thirty- 
two feet to the eaves. Equipped with two sets of buildings and this large 
acreage, the farm is admirably adapted to the purposes and methods of its 
owner and proprietor. Not only is he the largest individual landowner in 
Marion township, but he likewise takes a very high rank among the farmers 



822 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of this townsliip in the number of head of hve stock raised and sold on the 
farm. 

Michael Heger was born on January 5, 1859, in Oldenburg, Franklin 
county, Indiana, the son of Michael and Josephine (Scheidler) Heger, the 
former of whom was born in 1826, and who died on January 26, 1899, and 
the latter of whom was born in 1S31, and who now lives at Millhousen. 
Both natives of Germany. Michael Heger, Sr., after coming to America, 
settled in Cincinnati, and when a young man married there, and removed to 
Franklin county, where he engaged in farming and manufacturing brick. 
Michael, Jr., Was a mere child when the family moved to the Millhousen 
neighborhood. He is one of a family of nine children born to his par- 
ents, of whom eight are herewith named. John lives in Decatur, Illinois; 
Michael is the subject of this sketch; Jacob is deceased; Joseph lives in Mis- 
souri; William lives in Oklahoma; Frank died in infancy; Mrs. Wanner lives 
in Millhousen, and Mrs. Margaret Hardeback lives in Kokomo, Indiana. 

Patience it may be said is the keynote of Mr. Heger's success. Until he 
was thirty-two years old he lived on the old home farm of his parents, and 
then invested first in the S. T. Lowe farm on February 2, 1891. From his 
savings since that time he has invested in additional land until he now owns 
four hundred and thirty-five acres, the largest single farm in Marion town- 
ship. And with the able assistance of his good wife and his family he has 
personally earned all the money which has been in\ested in this large tract of 
land. 

On October 30, 1880, Michael Heger was married to Cassilda Witt, 
who was born on April 10, 185S, in Decatur, Illinois, and who is the daughter 
of Xavier and Marian Schott, natives of France, who died in Decatur, Illi- 
nois. They had been farmers by occupation. Mr. Heger journeyed to 
Decatur, Illinois, to meet and to marry his wife. 

The parents of Michael Heger, Jr., having been natives of Germany, 
and the parents of Mrs. Heger having been natives of France, the Heger 
children combine the sturdy character of their Germany ancestry with the 
cjuick, adaptable and keen intelligence of their French ancestry on- the 
maternal side. Mr. and Mrs. Heger have had six children, as follow : Mary 
Josephine, who was born on August 29, 1883, married William Cahill, of 
Indianapolis; Francis Xavier, who was born on December 6, 1884, lives at 
home on the farm; Mary Conacunda, who was born on September 16, 1886, 
married Albert Fry, a son of Henry Fry, and since their marriage in the fall 
of 1914 they have lived on a farm in Marion township; Mary Philomena, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 823 

who was born on October i6, 1888, died on July 11, 1891 ; John Anthony, 
December 27, 1890, hves at home; Ruth Cassilda, May 13, 1894, also lives 
at home. 

Mr. Heger has been identified with the Democratic party during his 
entire life. The Heger family are members of St. Mary's Catholic church, 
and are active in the affairs of this denomination. 



GEORGE S. PERRY. 



George S. Perry, a well-known farmer of Washington township, who 
owns one hundred and fifty acres of land three miles east of Greensburg, 
which was entered in 1825 by his grandfather, was born on April 6, 1866, 
and is the son of Leonard and Cinderella (Boyce) Perry, the former a native 
of Kentucky, who had come with his father, Dan S. Perry, Sr., from Ken- 
tucky to Washington township, Decatur county, in 1824, and the latter of 
whom was a native of Indiana and reared in Decatur county. After settling 
in Decatur county, Dan- S. Perry, Sr., cleared a small tract and erected a log 
cabin. He was a soldier in the War of 18 12, who had moved from the 
ancestral home in Virginia to the state of Kentucky, and it was his father, 
Frederick Perry, who was a member of the personal body guard of General 
Washington during the Revolutionary War. Leonard Perry, who lived on 
the ancestral farm for sixty years, was born in 1824 and died in 1909. His 
wife, who died in 1873, left a family of nine children, all of whom except 
George S., are residents of Greensburg, Mrs. Dinah P. Craig; Will L. and 
Louisa; Squire D., farmer; Mrs. Chester Edkins; Allen M. and Pierce, 
deceased, and Dan S., Jr., the cashier of the Greensburg National Bank. 

George S. Perry was born on the old home farm where he now lives and 
where both his father and his grandfather had lived and died. Educated in 
the McCoy schools, he has been engaged in farming the ancestral farm of the 
Perrys his whole life. He raises a great number of cattle and hogs and 
specializes in Poland China hogs and Shorthorn cattle. 

On August 16, 1892, George S. Perry was married to Retta Brodbeck, 
who was born in Lawrenceliurg, Indiana. They were married in Los Angeles, 
California, and have one child, Jean, who was born on January 16, 1895. and 
who is now attending a girls' seminary at Nashville, Tennessee. 

Mr. Perry is a Democrat. Pie is a member of the Free and Accepted 
Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protecti\'e Order of 



824 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Elks. He is a worthy citizen of Decatur county, a capalile farmer and one 
who has added new distinction to the family whose name he bears. Mr. and 
Mrs. Perry are popular socially in \\ashington township and in Greensburg, 
where they are so well known. 



JOHN W. DeMOSS. 

In every community may be f(.)und men who are especially deserving, 
the respect and admiration of their neighbors on account of the severity 
of the struggle they have had for success and on account of the large 
measure of attainment which has attended their efforts. John W. De- 
Moss, the present sheriff of Decatur county, is a man who belongs to this 
class of citizens. Left an orphan at a tender age by the untimely death 
of his father while serving as a soldier in the Union army, he has had to 
make his own way in the world practically since he was ten years old. By 
the hardest kind of labor, by diligent and intelligent application to this 
labor, by economical living, consistent saving and careful management he 
has attained a position of high influence in this county, and no better evidence 
of the respect and admiration he enjoys can be cited than his election in 
1912, and his re-election in 1914, to an office which was practically unsought. 

John W. DeMoss was born on August 27, 1856, in Sand Creek township,, 
Decatur county, Indiana, the son of Benjamin Lewis and Harriet (Masters) 
DeMoss, the former of whom was born in 1832 and died in 1863, and the 
latter of whom was born in 1840 and died in 1901. Benjamin L. DeMoss, 
the son of William and Elizabeth DeMoss, early settlers in Decatur county, 
came with his parents to this county in the late thirties of the last cen- 
tury. His wife, who was the daughter of John and Hannah (Byrum) 
Masters, was a native of Kentucky, and her parents also settled in Decatur 
county, with a colony of citizens, in the early thirties. 

Enlisting in the Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 
at the breaking out of the Civil War, despite his physical weakness, because 
he believed it was his duty to go, Benjamin L. DeMoss became ill and died 
of pneumonia at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He left a widow and three 
children, John W., Edward Wallace, now deceased, and Belle, who married' 
Andrew Martin, of Marion township. The widow and children had a hard 
time to get along after the death of the father and husband. With the 
kind assistance of tlie children's grandparents and the neighbors, however,. 




JOHN W. DeMOSS. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 825 

they were able to live. Eventually, the mother married again, her second 
husband being E. E. Goodwin, and to this second union one child was 
born, Cortez, who is a carpenter. 

John W. DeMoss has always worked hard. He began earning his own 
way in the world at a tender age, taking employment in a stone quarry when 
ten years old, carrying water for the men, and gradually worked himself 
into a good position. He saved his money and, from doing ordinary day's 
work has bought and paid for two hundred acres of excellent land in Sand 
Creek township. A highly qualified and skillful superintendent during his 
employment at the Harris- City quarries, he used not only his muscles, but his 
brain as well, and this combination of muscular and mental energy is largely 
responsible for his success. In 1904 he began devoting himself to farming, 
choosing this rather than the foremanship of the quarries. 

On April 12, 1877, John W. DeMoss was married to Martha A. Jack- 
son, of Sand Creek township, daughter of William B. and Amanda Jackson, 
who was born on October 4, 1856, in Kentucky, her parents having come 
to Indiana during the Civil War .times. To this union three sons and three 
daughters have been born. Of these children, Benjamin, a farmer, is oper- 
ating the home farm. He married Euphemia McFarland and they have six 
children. Mrs. Bird Borden lives in Sand Creek township and has three 
children. Her husband is foreman for the contracting firm of Craig & Son, 
of Greensburg. Mrs. Delia Styers has four children. Her husband owns 
a farm in Sand Creek township. Grover, who married Lena Hamer, and 
has one child, is the deputy sheriff under his father; Mrs. Belle Vandiver 
lives on a farm in Jackson township, and has three children. Irdo is a farmer 
in Sand Creek township. 

In the fall of 1912 Mr. DeMoss was elected sheriff of Decatur county, 
and was re-elected to the same office in the fall of 1914. The office was 
practically unsought and came to him largely as a reward for his service 
in the past in behalf of Democratic principles and Democratic candidates. 
Sheriff and Mrs. DeMoss and family are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic lodge, which he 
joined in 1896, and the Knights of Pythias, which he joined in 1887. 

Many men who have the advantage of a good start in life achieve a 
large measure of success, but the man who starts with nothing and who 
acquires a comfortable home, a competence in life, and rears a family of 
children, is undoubtedly entitled to the very greatest praise. Sheriff John 
W. DeMoss is a man of this character. Naturally he is very popular in 
Decatur county where he is so well known. 



826 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JOSEPH B. KITCHIN. 

That there are enormous differences in the casual power exerted by 
different minds, depending on their place of \antage in the social system, is, 
of course, true. Alost men merely echo the prevailing opinion or swell the 
general tide of passion. Even so, such men in the aggregate give to opinion 
its tendency to pre\ail, and to passion its tidal and overwhelming power. 
But the contribution of a single member of the mass is not comparable with 
that of the individual who occupies a place of prominence or authority. Such 
a mind operates at a source, coloring all that springs from it, or at a crucial 
point where every slight deidection is enormously magnified in the consecjuence. 
There are not a few such men of initiative in Decatur county, one of the best 
known of whom is Joseph B. Kitchin, secretary and treasurer of the Greens- 
burg Water Company and a man of very wide influence for good in the com- 
munity in which his whole life has been spent, the subject of the following 
interesting biographical review. 

Joseph B. Kitchin was born on a farm 'in Washington township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, on December 29, 1850, the son of Thomas and Sarah L. 
(Boone) Kitchin, natives, respectively, of Ohio and Kentucky, the former of 
whom was a son of Joseph Kitchin, a native of Pennsylvania, and who 
migrated to Ohio, coming thence to this county at an early day in the settle- 
ment of this section of Indiana. Joseph Kitchin was a farmer and blacksmith 
as well as a pioneer minister of the ^Methodist church. He came to this county 
from Pennsylvania after his sons had established homes here. He was the 
father of five children, Thomas; John; Bryce, who is still living at the age of 
eighty-six, making his home at Arkansas City, Kansas; Sarah, who married 
Michael Shera, a merchant of the early days in Greensburg, and ]\Iaria, who 
married James JNIunns and became a jsioneer settler in the state of Iowa. 

Thomas Kitchin, who was born in Ohio in the }-ear 181 8, emigrated to 
Decatur county with his brothers in the year 1839 and settled on a farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, two miles south of Greensburg. To this farm 
he added, by purchase, until he had three hundred acres in one tract. He sold 
this and for a few years made his home in Greensburg, later mo\-ing to 
Lebanon, Indiana, where he resided for seven years, at the end of which time, 
in 1902, he returned to Greensburg, whre his death occurred in 1904. Thomas 
Kitchin married Sarah Luffborough Boone, a daughter of Brumfield Boone, 
who was born in Kentuckv, a son of Thomas Boone, a soldier in the patriot 
army during the Revolutionary ^^'ar, and to this union seven children were 
born, Rachel, the wife of Charles I. Ainsworth, of Greensburg; Joseph B., the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 82/ 

immediate subject of this sketch, and Frantc B., formerly a farmer in a large 
way in this county, who lived in Greensburg until it became time to give his 
children the advantages of higher education, when, some years ago, he moved 
to Irvington, at Indianai^olis, the seat of Butler College; the remaining four 
died in infancy. 

The Boones are of Norman origin, the name at the time of the Norman 
invasion of England having been spelled Bohnn. The first family of the 
Bohnns to cross the channel into England settled in Lincolnshire and after- 
ward some of the same name settled in Devonshire. It is from this latter 
family that the American Boones are descended. The Bohnn coat-of-arms 
was used before the fourteenth century, probably having been granted by an 
Anglo-Norman king. Not until the sixteenth century are the names Bohnn 
and Boone found in the same document. The first of this family to come to 
America was George Boone, who was born about 1670 at the old familv seat, 
Brodwick, about eight miles from Exeter, England. There he married Mary 
IMauridge, by whom he had nine sons and two daughters. The entire family 
emigrated to America, landing at Philadelphia on October 10, 17 17. George 
Boone purchased a tract of land in what is now Bucks county, Penns^•l\•ania, 
and called it Exeter, in memory of the town in England from which he had 
emigrated. In this review it will be necessary to name but two of the sons 
born to the union of George and Mary ( Mauridge) Boone, Joseph and Squire. 
Joseph Boone was the father of Thomas Boone, Mr. Kitchin's Revolutionarv 
ancestor, and Squire Boone Avas the father of Daniel Boone, thus establishing 
the relationship of Thomas Boone and the immortal Daniel Boone, showing 
indeed that they were first cousins. 

Thomas Boone ser\'ed in the Revolutionary War as a private in Capt. 
James Murray's company of the Tenth Battalion of Lancaster County Militia, 
state of Pennsylvania, Robert Elder, colonel; having enlisted on April 12, 
1 781. He was born in the town of Reading, Pennsylvania, on August 21, 
1759, and married Susannah Brumfield, a Pennsylvania Quakeress, being 
compelled to elope with her on account of the objections raised by the Quakers 
at that time to any of their number marrying outside the faith. After the 
war, he moved to Upper Sandusk}-. Ohio, where he lived for a short time, 
after which he moved to Limestone, \\hich is now Maysville, Kentucky, and 
in the year 1791 moved to Bryant's Station, entering the blockhouse there, 
where Brumfield Boone was born in the same year. In 1794 Thomas Boone 
mo\ed to a point on the little iNIiami ri\er, just above Cincinnati, where, for a 
time, he operated a tavern, later going to Cincinnati. The Boone and Kitchin 
families still have old deeds showing Thomas Boone's ownership of property 



825 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

in what is now the Bay street section of Cincinnati and some of the property 
owned by him is still in the possession of the family. In 1807 Thomas Boone 
moved to Oxford, Ohio, where he and his wife spent the remainder of their 
lives, their bodies now resting in the old Baptist cemetery, four and one-half 
miles south and a little west of Oxford, near what was the old Boone farm. 

Joseph Brumfield Kitchin was reared on the home farm in Washington 
township, this county, receiving his education in the home schools. Upon 
reaching manhood's estate he began farming on a tract of one hundred and 
sixty acres in the same township, near the town of Greensburg. He prospered 
and as the years passed he increased his land holdings and also became actively 
interested in other enterprises. He now owns two valuable farms near Greens- 
burg and has other extensive investments. Mr. Kitchin aided in the organiza- 
tion of the Greensburg National Bank in lyoo and for five years served this 
excellent financial institution in the capacity of cashier, still retaining a direc- 
torship in the bank. He is president of the Workingmen's Building and Loan 
Association and for some time has been secretary and treasurer of the Greens- 
burg \\'ater Company. 

On July 26, 1S71, Joseph Brumfield Kitchin was united in marriage with 
Nancy Elmira Robbins, a daughter of John E. and Nancy (Hunter) Robbins, 
a member of one of the oldest and most prominent families in Decatur 
county. Mrs. Kitchin also is of Revolutionary descent, tracing from William 
Robbins, a distinguished soldier in the war which secured to America the 
independence for which the patriots fought seven long years. William Rob- 
bins married Bethiah Vichery, who was born on December i, 1760, and to this 
union there were born three children, Abel, Charity and Benjamin. The 
father of these children was killed in the Revolutionary War soon after 
enlisting in the service of the patriots and his widow subsequently married 
the second \\'illiam Robbins, the scene of the wedding being in Guilford 
county, North Carolina. To this latter union there were born nine children, 
namely: Elizabeth, on February 5, 1788: Marmaduke and John, twins. May 
15, 1789: Polly, April 9, 1791 : Nathaniel, April 5, 1793; John, February 8, 
1795; William, Augtist 6, 1797. and Dosha, May 20, 1804. 

The father of the children above named was born in Randolph county, 
North Carolina, on October 21, 1761, and in October, 1777, when sixteen 
years of age, enlisted as a ])ri\ate in the army of General Washington, remain- 
ing in the ser\ice until .\ugust, 1781, during which time he had but one cap- 
tain, Capt. Josejih Clark, and two colonels. Colonel Dugan and Col. Anthony 
Sharp. Following the war, William Robbins moved from \'irginia to Ken- 
tucky and in 182! again moved, this time locating in Decatur county, Indiana. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 829 

He entered a iarm from the government, about nine and one-half miles south 
of Greensburg, where, amid the hills, he carved a home out of the virgin 
forest. The first home which he set up for his family consisted of but one 
room, the house being constructed of hewed logs, to which was attached a 
lean-to, in which the family loom was set up. Presently he also erected a 
rude blacksmith shop of logs nearby and thus life in the new coimtry was 
begun, the wife busy with her loom and other household duties and the 
husband busy in his smithy. On September ii, 1834, thirteen years after 
settling in this county, William Robbins died, his body being laid away in Mt. 
Pleasant cemetery, about six miles south of Greensburg. 

The third William Robbins mentioned in this sketch, son of above, was 
born in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia on August 6, 1797, as noted 
above, and was taken by his parents to Henry county, Kentucky, to which 
point they emigrated. When, in the year 1821, they moved to the New Pur- 
chase, the name applied to that part of the new state in which they settled, 
William Robbins, then twenty-four years of age, accompanied them and 
selected a site for a farm for himself about one and one-half miles north of 
that selected by his parents. In 1822 he returned to Kentucky, where he mar- 
ried Eleanor Anderson, one of the pioneer belles of the neighborhood in which 
he formerly had lived. With his bride at his side, he returned to his new 
Indiana home and during that year his three sisters, together with his 
brothers, John and Nathaniel, settled in the same vicinity. In a short time 
other relati\-es of the Robbins family arrived in the same township and the 
Robbinses became prominent, both numerically and in the matter of the large 
influence they exerted in the early affairs of that part of the county, Nathaniel 
Robbins being the first justice of the peace in Sand Creek township. 

William and Eleanor Robbins lived on the farm originally selected as 
their home during the remainder of their days, he dying on February 3, 1866, 
his widow surviving him until the year 1872. To William and Eleanor 
(Anderson) Robbins were born four children, namely: Sarilda, in October. 
1823. who married William Styers; John E., February 20, 1825, who mar- 
ried Nancy Hunter; James G., June 10, 1827, married Elmira Stout, and 
Merrit H., in 1829, married Janet Gilchrist. 

John E. Robbins remained on the paternal farm until November 7, 1844, 
the date of his marriage with Nanc}^ Hunter, daughter of Nathaniel and 
Elizabeth Hunter, at which time the young couple began housekeeping on a 
farm of forty acres given them by the bridegroom's father. They remained 
on this farm until February 15, 1848, by which time they had accumulated 
enough to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of land one nu'Ie south of 



830 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Greeiisburg, on \\hich place they made their home the remainder of their 
hves. To this purchase they subsequently added large tracts of land and other 
valuable interests, until their possessions consisted of about three thousand 
acres of land in Decatur county and two hundred and forty acres in Bartholo- 
mew county, besides personal property of large value. In 1882 John E. Rob- 
bins helped organize the Third Xational Bank of Greensburg, of which he 
was director and president until his death. Under his direction and manage- 
ment this bank grew to be one of the most substantal and successful institu- 
tions in the county. Mr. Robbins died on July 22, 1896. His widow, who 
had shared all his interests and labor, proving in all things a most willing and 
efficient helpmeet, continued to live on the home farm until her long and useful 
life closed on May 2, 1905. 

To John E. and Nancy (Hunter) Robbins were born fourteen children, 
namely: EHzabeth Ellen, deceased; Charlotte Adaline died on February 11, 
1869: Sarilda Ruth. wh<j married H. K. Smiley; Minerva Jane, who married 
Archibald Gilchrist ; Nancy Elniira, who married J. B. Kitchin : Sarah Jane, 
deceased : William Hunter, who married Cora Sef ton ; Clara Alinda, who 
married Frank B. Kitchin; Olive Ida, who married Robert McCoy; John 
Everman, who married Louisa Elder ; Frank Rosco, who married Kate Sef- 
ton; Eliza Angeline, who married Will O. Elder, and two who died in infancy. 

To Joseph Brumfield and Nancy Elmira (Robbins) Kitchin were born 
three children, Maud Elmira, on October 18, 1872, who married Charles H. 
Johnston, of the firm of W. H. Robbins & Company, wholesale grocers, of 
Greensburg, to which union four children have been born, Mildrd Elmira, Jo 
Charles, Marjorie and Thomas Ludlow; Otta Pearl, September 16, 1874, 
who married Charles Woodfiil, of Greensburg, and has two children, daughters, 
Helen and Sarah, and Hal T., August 3, 1878, who married Iva Lanham and 
has one child, a son, Hal Thomas. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kitchin are members of the Centenary Methodist churchy 
in the various beneficences of which they always have taken an active interest 
and their children were reared in that faith. 'Slv. Kitchin is a member of the 
Greensburg lodge of Elks. His large business and financial interests in and 
about Greensburg give to his position in that community a degree of stability 
second to none in the county and he naturally exerts a wide influence in the 
affairs of the community. Both he and Mrs. Kitchin are deeply concerned in 
all matters having to do with the general social welfare of the city and 
county and are held in the highest regard by all. Mrs. Kitchin and her 
daughters are members of the society of the Daughters of the American 
Revolution and are regarded as among the leaders in the social life of the city 
of Greensburg, their active influence ever being exerted in behalf of all move- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 83 1 

ments looking to the general betterment of conditions in this section of the 
state. Airs. Kitchin's daughters are eligible to the Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution from three different ways. Hal T. is a j\Iason and has filled 
all chairs in the local lodge, and is a Knight Templar and a member of the 
Nobles of the ]\I_vstic Shrine at Indianapolis. 



HENRY FRY. 



Reared under primitive conditions, and of German parentage, whose 
ancestors knew Indiana while the Indians still roamed her forests, Mr. Fry 
has advanced, step by step, making capital of every opportunity that crossed 
his pathway, until now, he stands at the top step of his desires, and, wisely 
enough, he knew when to stop and enjoy the fruits of his long years of labor. 
He has put aside enough of this world's goods to enable himself and wife to 
live in ease and comfort the remainder of their lives, in addition to which he 
has the satisfaction of knowing that he has been in a position to provide his 
own with the means whereby they have escaped the many struggles exper- 
ienced by himself as a young man. 

Henry Fry, a farmer of Millhousen, Marion township, Decatur county, 
was born on April 17, 1841, at Cincinnati, and is a son of John and Mary 
(Barger) Fry. Mr. Fry was reared in a log cabin, under very trying condi- 
tions and times, and was but nine years old when his mother died. He began 
life as a young man, with fortv acres of land, wdiich he soon increased to one 
hundred and eighty acres. This he sold, in 1904, to his sons, and moved to 
jNIillhousen, where he bought four acres of land, containing a good brick 
house, where he now lives. In 1865 Mr. Fry enlisted in Company C, Thir- 
teenth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, served until the close of the 
war, and did general duty at Goldsboro, Raleigh, and throughout the South 
after the war. His political policies are strongly Democratic, and he is a 
members of St. Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen. 

John and Mary Fry were natiA'cs of Germany. They came out to the 
Millhousen settlement in 1841. and chopped a home from the woods, where 
they both died. After the death of his first wife (mother of our subject), 
Mr. Fry later was married to a Mrs. Moggert. 

Henry Fry was united in marriage, in 1870, to Theresa Verekamp. who 
was born in 1851, on a farm in Marion township. She is a daughter of 
Frank and Theresa (Snyder) Verekamp. natives of Germany, who came at 
an early day to settle in ]\larion township, whose children were Frank, 



832 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

deceased; John, deceased; Mrs. Anna Rolfes lives in Marion township, and 
has six children, Nora, Hilda, Martin, Harry, Richard and Clarence ; George 
is a farmer in Marion township, and has been twice married. His first wife 
was Lucy Herbert, and his second wife was Mrs. Leda (Hutterbach) Her- 
bert, by whom he has had five children, Virgie, Walter, Raymond, Sylvia and 
Herbert; William was married to Clara Ruhl, and lives on the home farm. 
They have three children, Alvin, Lillian and Ferdinand ; Edward was united 
in marriage to Rosa Lucken. They live in Marion township, and have four 
sons, Oscar, Oswold, Lawrence and Edmund ; Mrs. Laura Kroeger lives in 
Marion township and has two sons, Maurice and Charles. 



HENRY H. LOGAN. 



During nearly three-quarters of a century of residence in Decatur county, 
Indiana, various members of the Logan famil)- have occupied many posi- 
tions of trust and responsibility in the political life of this county. Not 
only is the Logan family one of the older families of this section, but they 
have always been noted for their high ideals, sterling integrity and large 
business capacity. Many of the members of the family have been farmers 
and their infiuence has greatly enriched the agricultural life of this county, 
making it wholesome and progressive, honorable and independent In a 
material way, the earlier members of the family helped to clear the forest 
and drain the swamps. They had a most commendable part in the trans- 
formation of a wild and unbroken forest into fields of growing grain which 
now yield abundant harvests. Henry H. Logan, the eldest son of the founder 
of the Logan family in Decatur county, has himself had a most interesting 
and fruitful part in the development of this splendid community. 

Born on September 17, 1841, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, 
Henry LI. Logan was only one year and three months old when brought here 
by his father and mother, Samuel H. and Millie (Hice) Logan, in 1843. 
Arriving in Decatur county in April of 1843, Samuel H. Logan settled on 
land entered from the government by his father, John Logan, the farm now 
occupied and owned by Will W. Logan, a younger brother of Henry H. 
Samuel H. Logan, a native of Indiana county, Pennsylvania, born on Febru- 
ary I, 1 819, was the son of John and Isabel (Graham) Logan, who came 
to America from Ireland late in the eighteenth century and located in In- 
diana coimty, Pennsylvania, where they spent the remainder of their lives. 






W 

X 

K 

H 

a 



o 




DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 833 

They had four children: Samuel H., Mrs. Hanna Hice, born on June 17, 
1822; Mrs. Margaret Elliot, February 20, 1825, and JMrs. Ann Baker, July 
12, 1827. The last named lives four miles from Greensburg, in this county. 

Three years before coming to Decatur county, on November 26, 1840, 
Samuel H. Logan was married to Millie Hice, a native of New Jersey, born 
on October 20, 181 8, the daughter of Henry Hice, who had come to America 
from Germany. Shortly after their marriage, or in 1843, they came to 
Decatur county. Samuel H. Logan was a clear-headed man, enterprising, 
public-spirited and an excellent farmer, and became one of the heaviest land 
holders in Decatur county. For some time he .served his fellow citizens 
efficiently as a member of the board of county commissioners, and was hon- 
ored and respected by the citizens of this community at the time of his 
death on October 19, 1904. His wife had died a quarter of a century 
previously, on October 15, 1879. 

To Samuel H. and Millie (Hice) Logan ten children were born, of whom 
Henry H. is the eldest. The others are Isabella G., born on September 22, 
1843, who is the widow of Samuel Applegate and resides in Greensburg; 
Mary S., November 26, 1845, the widow of Will Murray, who resides in 
Nevada, Missouri; John B., October 8, 1847, who is a traveling salesman 
and li\-es at Indianapolis; \\'illiani \V., who is a well-known farmer of 
Decatur county and lives on the old homestead; Sarah, October 19, 1852, the 
widow of Joseph Ketchum, lives in Cincinnati; Marine R., March 6, 1855, 
who died on May 22, 1885; Samuel, September 16, 1857, died on April 18, 
1893; Emma J., August 20, i860, died on August 16, 1865, and George M., 
September 13, 1862, who is the general agent of the International Har\'ester 
Company at Richmond, Indiana. 

Like other members of the family, Henry H. Logan recei\'ed the rudi- 
ments of an education in the local schools of Decatur county, principally 
at the Tarkington school house, which was located on his father's farm. 
His youth was not especially eventful but it may be said here that he per- 
formed with diligence and a willing spirit the tasks that fell to his lot 
as a young man in a pioneer community. He lived on the old homestead 
with his parents until his marriage and afterward moved to a farm of 
eighty acres given to him by his father. Later he purchased an additional 
eighty acres from his father. As a matter of fact, Mr. Logan has lived 
■on the farm he now occupies, comprising one hundred and sixty acres in 
Washington township, since October 10, 1865, a period of just a half cen- 
turv. From time to time he has made additions and repairs to the houses, 
(53) 



834 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

barns, and outbuildings located on the farm and now owns a completely 
modernized residence, the equal of any in this community. 

Henry H. Logan was married on the same date that he moved to his 
present farm, October 10, 1865, to Eliza Sidwell, who was born near 
Greensburg, in this county, on December 11, 1844, the daughter of Hugh 
and Eliza (English) Sidwell, early setders of Decatur county. On October 
10, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Logan will celebrate their golden wedding anni- 
versary. They have reared several children, among whom is a nephew. 
Forest M., who lived with them from the time he was five years old. 
He was graduated from Purdue University and later attended the Uni- 
versity of Illinois at Champaign, completing a course in civil engineering, 
and is now engaged in the practice of this profession in Chicago. He mar- 
ried Rein Robertson, of Lafayette, and they have one child, Alice Marie, who 
is eight years old. 

For many years Henry H. Logan has been prominent in Masonic cir- 
cles in Greensburg, being a member of Greensburg Lodge No. 36, Free and 
Accepted Masons. Both Mr. and Mrs. Logan are memljers of the Pres- 
byterian church and he is a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Logan spent the 
winter of 1914-15 in Florida, returning in the early spring, thoroughly 
imbued with the idea that "there is no place like home," and that Indiana, 
good old Hoosierdom, is the best place in the universe, after all. 

Few farmers in this county are better or more favorably known than 
Henry H. Logan, and few have done more than he to win the confidence and 
esteem of the people of this county. By careful regard for the rights of 
his neighbors and friends, he has maintained cordial relations with the 
people of Decatur county and is today one of its most popular farmers 
and citizens. 



JACOB C. GLASS, M. D. 

Physician, farmer, postmaster and ex-school teacher, Jacob C. Glass, 
M. D., of Millhousen, Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, is one of 
the most versatile men in his community. A product of Decatur county soil, 
he had always been a successful farmer and at the present time, owns a 
splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the township of his resi- 
dence. For eleven years a teacher in the public schools of Decatur county, 
during this period of his life, he was known as one of the foremost educators 
in the county. Since 1907 he has been engaged in the practice of medicine^ 



I 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 835 

first in the state of Arkansas and later in Decatur county. Postmaster since 
1908, he has tilled this important office with credit to himself and has attained 
a high mark of proficiency in the management of the postal business. His 
career is a notable exception to the philosophy of the old saw, since he has 
not only followed many occupations, but he has and is following them with 
efficiency. His father and grandfather, having served in the Civil War, it 
may be truthfully said that he comes from militant and patriotic stock, and 
from a family which has been well known in this county for many years. 

Dr. Jacob C. Glass, physician and surgeon of Millhousen, Indiana, was 
born on September 21, 1873, in Decatur county on the old Glass homestead 
in Adams township, the son of John T. and Susan Jane (Grant) Glass, the 
former of whom was a native of Decatur county, born on February 14, 
1845, •1'"'^ who now resides in Greensburg, Indiana. A private soldier in 
Company E, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, John T. 
Glass served more than three years in the Civil War and, attached to the 
Army of the Cumberland, he fought at Stone's River, Chattanooga, Kenesaw 
Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, also in the beginning 
of the Atlanta campaign, when he was transferred to another part of the 
army to meet Beauregard at Knoxville. His father, William A. Glass, a 
native of Ireland, born in 1832 and died in 1900, came to America when a 
young man. He was a soldier in the Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indiana Volun- 
teer Infantry, and served with distinction during a greater part of the war. 

Reared on a farm in Adams township, Decatur county, Indiana, Dr. 
Jacob C. Glass was educated in the common schools of the township and in 
the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana. In the earlier years of his 
life, he taught school for eleven years in Decatur county and subsequently, 
when he decided to study medicine, took the first year of his work in the 
Illinois Medical College at Chicago. His second, third and fourth years' 
work were taken at Kentucky University at Louisville, at which time he was 
graduated from that institution with high honors. For some time after his 
graduation, he practiced at Cotton Plant. Arkansas, having passed the 
Arkansas medical registration examination three months before his gradua- 
tion. After one year's practice in the South, he settled at Millhousen, where 
he has been engaged continuously in the practice of his profession since 1908. 
Professionally, he is a member of the Decatur County Medical Society, the 
Indiana State and the American Associations, a prominent member in all of 
these organizations, one who not only attends, but takes a prominent part in 
their proceedings. 

In 1908 Dr. Glass was appointed postmaster at Millhousen and took 



836 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

charge of this office on Decemher 15, of that year. He has served continu- 
ously as postmaster since 1908, a period of seven years. For some time he 
has owned several farms in Marion township and devotes considerable atten- 
tion to supervising the work on the farm. 

In 1895 Dr. Jacob C. Glass was married to Ida May Crist, of Adams, 
the daughter of Abram and Kiturah Crist, who were early settlers in Decatur 
county, the former coming here from Franklin county on horse-back with 
only a small supply of pewter spoons and pie pans, the nucleus of the home 
which he established in the Decatur county wilderness. 

Dr. and Mrs. Jacob C. Glass are members of the Presbyterian church, 
which is the family faith. Fraternally, he is prominent in Decatur county, 
being a member of seven fraternal societies. He is a member of Knights of 
Pythias Lodge No. 341, at Burney; the Adams lodge of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows; the Greensburg lodge. Free and Accepted Masons; 
the Fraternal Order of Eagles ; the Improved Order of Red Men ; the Mod- 
ern Woodmen of z\merica, and the Loyal Order of Moose. 

Dr. Jacob C. Glass is a man of splendid professional attainments, and, 
being equipped with strong intellectual powers and native Aggressive attain- 
ments, naturally has become a leader in all public movements in Marion 
township. He is a man who has never been known to waver in the slightest 
degree from the strict code of ethics maintained by the medical profession 
and who, in private life, has been quite as strict in the code of principles 
governing his relations with the public. He is not only a well-meaning citi- 
zen, but he is a man who is capable of carrying that perquisite into effect. 
Naturally, he is popular in Marion township, where he enjoys the confidence 
and esteem of a large number of friends. 



JESSE H. STYERS. 

The late Jesse H. Styers, who, until his death, on January 15, 1910, was 
one of the most prominent farmers and citizens of Decatur county, owed his 
large success in life to the fact that he was generally willing and able to do 
the right thing at the right time. A man of more than average attainment, 
he knew the tendency of farm values during his life, and from time to time 
invested his savings and profits in land. A man of large vision and one who 
knew how to get the ^•ery largest returns from an acre of land, he naturally 
became wealthv, and at the time of his death owned seven hundred and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 837 

twenty acres of land in this county. But the greatness of the late Jesse H. 
Styers, as a man and a citizen, did not consist wholly in his prosperous career 
as a farmer. He took a commendable interest in politics and served six years 
as a member of the Decatur county board of commissioners. In this office 
he was able to perform \-aluable service in behalf of public improvements, 
and his vote and his influence could always be depended upon in their behalf. 
He was not only a successful financier and a capable and efficient manager, 
but he was a man of scrupulous integrity, whose relations with his fellows 
was founded upon an inflexible and unyielding determination to do the right 
thing. He had at the time of his death many friends in Decatur county. 
Few men have passed away in recent years whose loss has been more gen- 
erally mourned than this honored citizen of Sand Creek township. 

Jesse H. Styers. who was born on February 4, 1844, and died on 
January 15, 1910, at the age of sixty-six years, was born in Greensburg, 
Decatur county, Indiana, the son of William and Sarilda (Robbins) Styers, 
the former of whom a nati\'e of North Carolina, came to Greensburg when 
a young man and here engaged in carriage making, at which he worked for 
several years. Without friends and without resources he saved his money 
and, subsequently, at the time of his marriage, was able to purchase a small 
farm south of the cit\'. There he engaged in the dairv business, and later 
extended his operations to general farming, in which he was very successful. 
He was able to give each of his children a farm and a good start on the high- 
way of life. A prominent citizen during his life, he was a man of especially 
quiet and unassuming manner, a man wlnj had an enviable reputation in the 
community where he lived. His home farm was just across the road from 
the farm owned by Frank and John E. Robbins. 

William and Sarilda (Robbins) Styers had five children, three of whom, 
including Jesse H., are now deceased. William G. died lately in Sand Creek 
township : Evermont died on the old homestead, and his widow is now living 
in Greensburg with Mrs. Privit ; Evermont left one daughter, Mrs. Earl Rob- 
bins, at the time of his death ; Charles, the last son, lives in Indianapolis. 

The mother of the late Jesse H. Styers, who, before her marriage to 
William Styers, was Sarilda Robbins, the daughter of ^^'illiam and Eleanor 
(Anderson) Robbins, was born in 1823. Her father, William Robbins, was 
born in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, and was taken bv his parents 
to Henry county, and later to Indiana in 1821. At the time of the removal to 
Indiana, \\^illiam Robbins was twenty-four years old. He selected a site for a 
home for himself about one and one-half mile north of his father's home in 
Decatur countv, and the next vear returned to Kentuckv and was married to 



838 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Eleanor Anderson, of that state. Upon their return to Indiana, they were 
accompanied by his three sisters and two brothers, John and Nathaniel, who 
settled in the same vicinity. A short time later, other relatives of the Rob- 
bins family came to the same township, which family became prominent, both 
as to numl:iers and influence, in the early affairs of the county. William and 
Eleanor Robbins lived on the farm originally selected as their home, during 
the remainder of their lives. They had four children, of whom ]\Ir. Styers' 
mother was the eldest. The other three children were, John K., born on 
February 20, 1825. who married Nancy O. Hunter; James G., June 10, 1827, 
and who married Elmira Stout, and Holman, in 1829. who married Jeannette 
Gilchrist. William Robbins died on February 3, 1868, and his wife four 
years later. 

Of the earlier history of the Robbins family, it may be said that the 
family begins with Bethiah Vickery, who was born on December i, 1760, and 
who married William Robliins. They had three children, Albe, Charity and 
Benjamin. W^illiam Roljljins was killed in the Revolutionary \Yar soon after 
enlisting, and his widow married a second William Robbins in Guilford 
countv. North Carolina. This couple had the following children : Marme- 
duke and Jacob, born on May 15, 1783; Elizabeth, February 5, 1788: Polly, 
April 9, 1791 ; Nathaniel, April 5, 1793; John, February 8, 1795; William, 
August 6, 1797, and Dosha, May 20, 1804. \Villiam Robbins, the second 
husband of Bethiah Vickery, was born on October 21, 1761, in Randolph 
county. North Carolina. In October, 1777, when sixteen years of age, he 
enlisted in the Revolutionary army, ser\'ing until 1781 under Capt. Joseph 
Clark and Colonel Dugan and Col. Anthony Sharp. He left Virginia for 
Henry county, Kentucky, and in 1821 came to Decatur county, settling nine 
and one-half miles south of Greensburg, where he made a home among the 
timbered hills. Trees were cleared away and a new log house of one room 
was erected with a shed, in which was built a room for carpet weaving and 
the weaving of many kinds of cloth. On September 11, 1834, William Rob- 
bins passed away and was buried at Mt. Pleasant cemetery. The third Will- 
iam Robbins, heretofore referred to in the children born to the second Will- 
iam Robbins and Bethiah Vickery. was the father of Mrs. Sarilda (Robbins) 
Styers. 

The late Jesse H. Styers was married in 1872 to Emma C. Blume, who 
was born on February 28, 1844, near Hope, in Bartholomew county, and who 
is the daughter of Calvin and Maria (Warner) Blume, natives of North Caro- 
lina and Ohio, respectively. The father, who was born in 1824, came to 
Indiana with his father, John Philip Blume, in 1834. John Philip Blume was 
of German ancestrv and had onlv fiftv cents when he came to Bartholomew 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 839 

•county. He brought all his belongings in a covered wagon. During his life 
he accumulated a farm of two hundred acres of well-improved land. He was 
many years a justice of the peace in Bartholomew county. Calvin Blume 
was also a prosperous farmer and succeeded quite as well as his father before 
him. He had four children by his marriage to Maria Warner, two of whom 
are living and two of whom are deceased. Rufus, the first born, and Albert, 
the youngest, are deceased. Mrs. Emma C. Styers and Mrs. Mary Seiss are 
living. The latter is a resident of Missouri. 

After their marriage, in 1872, Mr. and Mrs. Styers settled on the Styers 
farm, south of Greensburg, where they lived for one year and later removed 
to a farm of three hundred and ten acres in Sand Creek township, which farm 
is located in a beautiful section of Decatur county, where the ground is slightly 
rolling and where some of the land is very rich. There were very few 
improvements upon this property when Mr. and Mrs. Styers purchased it. 
Subsequently, they bought another farm and still other land until he owned, 
at the time of his death, seven hundred acres of land. 

Mr. and Mrs. Styers had six children, three of whom are deceased and 
three of whom are still living, John died in September, 1914, leaving a widow 
and three children. Vera May, Carson and Maletta, lived on the home farm; 
George H., who lives on a farm given him by his father, has four children, 
Howard, Harold, Lawrence and Louise; Mrs. Hannah Moore, the wife of 
Delgar Moore, near Forest Hill, in Jackson township, has two children, 
Bernice and Arthur; Mrs. Nellie McGee lives near the Liberty church; and 
two of the Styers children, Loyley and Alpha, died in infancy.' Before his 
death, Mr. Styers gave to each of his sons a farm of two hundred acres and 
reserved a three-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm for the daughters. 

The late Jesse H. Styers, at the age of eighten, enlisted in Company C, 
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and 
served for eighteen months as a soldier in the Civil War. At the time of his 
death he was a member of the Pap Thomas Post, Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic. A Republican in political affiliations, he served six years as county com- 
missioner. He was a member of the Baptist church, and loyal and active in 
this faith. For manv years he was a deacon of the First church at Greens- 
burg. 

The late Jesse H. Styers was a man of large vision and of wonderful 
capacity as a farmer, and of wide influence in the community where he lived. 
He was a man who was affectionately devoted to the interests, welfare and 
comfort of his wife and family. His first interest was his home and his 
family, and next to these was the conscientious performance of his dut\' as a 
citizen. 



840 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JOHN W. HOLCO:\IB. 

Among the ablest of the younger members of the Indiana bar, is John 
W. Holcomb, an attorney of Westport, Indiana. With the blood of Revolu- 
tionary ancestry coursing through his veins, and the overshadowing influ- 
ence of the Puritanic thought of his progenitors, it is not surprising that we 
find him not only a prominent lawyer, but a leader in the aftairs of the state. 
With other honors gathered in his comparatively short lifetime, this young 
man has the distinction of having been the youngest member of the Indiana 
Legislature during, the session of 1899, when he represented Decatur county, 
having been elected the preceding fall. When a man transcends the average 
of attainment, a look into the history of his ancestors often reveals hidden 
forces which play an important part in his own life. In the present instance 
this is eminently true, and we shall find a brief study of the family record 
of unusual interest, especially from a psychological viewpoint. The attorney 
whose name forms the caption of this article was born on a farm in Marion 
township on February 27, 1874, but he did not stay on the farm. 

The earliest progenitor of the Holcomb family in America was Thomas, 
who came from Devonshire, England, to America in 1630, locating at 
Dorchester, Massachusetts. Born in 1590, he came to this country for the 
same reason that actuated his other Puritan friends, and it was his descend- 
ants who fought in the Revolutionary War. After five years' residence at 
Dorchester, he went to Connecticut to live, and here it was that he passed 
away in 1639. His son Nathaniel became the paternal ancestor of John W. 
Holcomb. 

Next in the line of descent, is Rufus, whose father, Luther, was a 
Revolutionary soldier. Rufus was a native of Connecticut, born in 1786. 
Stirred by the desire for adventure, he came west at an early day, locating 
near Aloore's Hill, Dearborn county, where Eli, grandfather of John W. 
Holcomb, was born in 1823. When a young man he moved to Ripley 
county. His wife, Emcline Hall, was of the true type of pioneer mother, 
presenting her husband with six children. These were Daniel, father of 
our subject, Emma Williams, of Kansas; Albert, also of Kansas: Benson, 
who lives in Arizona: Walter, a resident of California, and Dora Oldham, 
who lived in Kansas until her death in 1903. Eli Holcomb and his wife 
left their pioneer home in Indiana for a home farther West, in Kansas, and 
it was here that the aged man died in 1899. Daniel W. Holcomb, father of 
our subject, was born in Ripley county in 1852. About the year 1870 he 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 84I 

came to Decatur county. He settled in Marion township on a farm in 1873, 
and it is here that he stih hves. The tract of land which he first purchased 
consisted of forty acres, but the energetic farmer added to this as his 
success permitted until he has acquired two hundred and thirtv-five acres. 
He gave especial attention to stock raising besides the usual agricultural 
enterprises. He is still hale and hearty and is active in politics, being a 
strong Republican. He is at present township trustee, and has been for 
many years a member of the Baptist church. Mrs. Holcomb, Sr., was form- 
erly Mary E. Evans, and was born in September,, 1855. Their children are 
John W., the subject of this sketch; Albert, A retired farmer of Westport ; 
Ada Mozingo. who died in Deceml.ier, 1914: Lewis, of Oklahoma; Janie 
Mozingo, wife of Edward Mozingo, of near Greensburg; Margaret Brown, 
of North \'ernon, and Joseph B., who lives upon his father's farm. 

John W. Holcomb received a good general education before he special- 
ized in the studies which prepared him to become the successful lawyer that 
he is. ^\'hile he was brought up on the farm, he attended first the common 
schools, and then the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana. At the 
age of eighteen, when many young men are still in college, he began teaching, 
and for the following eight years, taught in Marion township and Jennings 
county. He was admitted to the bar in 1897, and practiced for two years in 
Greensburg, and later spent five years in Indianapolis. Locating in M'^est- 
port in 1908, he began to build up the practice which now makes him a leader 
in his profession, and entitles him to a place among the best-known lawyers 
of the county. 

On September, 1899, Mr. Holcomb was married to Margaret Owen, 
daughter of Thomas and Margaret Owen, of Marion township, and to them 
two children have been born. These are, Mary, whose birth date is January 
26, 1906, and Mabel, born on June 7, 1908. 

Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb are prominent members of the Baptist church. 
Mr. Holcomb belongs to the Odd b'elliiws lodge, and also to the Modern 
Woodmen of America of Westport. 

Mr. Holcomb has not been active because of the fact that his profession 
has led him into political fields, but because here he finds the kind of activity 
that is congenial to his tastes. The Republican party in his part of the state 
is stronger because of his leadershi]), and the fact that he was elected town- 
ship trustee in 1914 and a representative of his county in the Indiana Legisla- 
ture of 1899, attests to the measure of confidence and popularity which his- 
constituents accord him. Bnth positions he has filled with credit Ijoth to 
himself and to those who elected him. Although a vouthful member of the 



842 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Assembly, he was an able representative, and his county had no reason to 
regret its choice. Mr. Holcomb has a keen, penetrating mind, called perhaps 
more technically, a "legal mind," yet his character has the elements of 
strength that are intellectual, for his nature is at once judicial and sympa- 
thetic. He is a good husband and father, a kind friend, a genial neighbor 
and an upright, loyal citizen. 



ALFRED M. ARMSTRONG. 

For nearly a century the Armstrong family has been prominently identi- 
fied with the financial, commercial and agricultural life of Decatur county, 
Indiana. Sprung from a family of worthy ideals and ambitions, it is not 
surprising that the present generation of the Armstrong family in Decatur 
county is prominent in various spheres to which its representatives have 
turned their attention. Several members of the family are prominent farm- 
ers in Decatur and adjoining counties and, at least, one is a prominent banker. 
The career of Alfred M. Armstrong, of Sand Creek township, is interesting 
particularly since it discloses ambitions and ideals formed early in life in the 
neighborhood where he now lives and where they are more fully realized 
on the farm, in the happy, independent and wholesome life of the country- 
side. His career discloses in particular how he has, from a small start in 
life, increased his wealth until now, when the period of his active endeavor 
is nearing a close, he has a magnificent farm of four hundred and thirty acres 
in Sand Creek township, a comfortable house and all of the conveniences 
which present-day country life affords. 

Alfred M. Armstrong, who was born on November 17, 185 1, in Sand 
Creek township, one and three-fourths miles north of his present home, is the 
son of Robert and Rebecca Jane (Hamilton) Armstrong, the former of whom 
was a well-known citizen of this county. Robert Armstrong, a native of 
Pennsylvania, born in 181 7, was brought by his parents to Decatur county 
Avhen three years old, the family settling in Sand Creek township east of 
Westport. His father having died shortly after their arrival in Decatur 
county, Robert was reared in a pioneer log cabin and experienced both the 
hardships and the joys of pioneer life. Early in life he was married to 
Rebecca Jane Hamilton, who was born in 181 8 and who was the daughter of 
James Hamilton, a relative of the Hamiltons of Fugit township. He came to 
Decatur county early in its history and here spent the remainder of his life, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 843 

his wife living to the ripe old age of ninety-seven. After his marriage, 
Robert Armstrong settled on a farm near Letts and later moved to near 
Westport, having, by the time the Civil War began, accumulated three huiv 
dred acres of land. He early manifested an interest in civic affairs and 
politics and served many years as justice of the peace and two terms as town- 
ship trustee. He was a charter member of the Free and Accepted Masons 
at \'Vestport and a prominent man during his day and generation. He died 
in 1S78, while his brother James liad died one year previously, and his other 
brothers and sisters, William, Mrs. Sallie Barnes, Mrs. Jane Singleton, Mrs. 
Alary Falkenberg and Mrs. Rebecca Boicourt, are all now deceased. 

Robert and Rebecca Jane Armstrong had several children, James W., 
deceased, lived in Sand Creek township; John H., lives in Marion township, 
south of Greensburg: Oliver P.. who is a resident of Fayette county, Illinois; 
George W., who is a well-known farmer; Albert M.,'the subject of this sketch, 
and Francis D., who is president of the First National Bank at Westport. 
After the death of his first wife, Robert Armstrong was united in marriage 
to Eliza Jane McDonald and had three children by this second marriage, 
Robert F., of Letts; Mrs. Mary Jane Harding, of Westport, and Mrs. Louisa 
Helen Updike, also of Westport. 

Alfred M. Armstrong, who was educated in the district' schools of 
Decatur county, spent his boyhood as most boys of his neighborhood, in 
grubbing, planting, sowing and reaping. He assisted his father on the farm 
until the latter's death in 1878, and, after his death, he and his brother James 
operated a farm near Letts for two years. Alfred M. then purchased eighty 
acres, south of Letts, and to this original purchase he has added from time 
to time until he now owns four hundred and thirty acres. Some years ago 
he erected a barn, forty by sixty feet, and for more than ten years has gotten 
his light and fuel from a gas well which flows on his own farm. In front 
of the Armstrong residence, an attractive country farm house, is a large 
stone monument erected by the Chicago Herald in commemoration of the 
spot being chosen as the center of population in 1890. 

On July 4, 1886, Mr. Armstrong was married to Hettie M. Dixon, born 
on July 23, 1862, in Lewis county, Kentucky, the daughter of Levi and Mary 
(Toler) Dixon, natives of Kentucky, who came to Jennings county in 1865 
and four years later to Decatur county. Farmers by occupation, they owned 
a large tract of land in Sand Creek township south of Westport. Alfred 
Armstrong was a stockholder in the First National Bank of Westport. 
Indiana and carries on general farming and stock raising. The fatlier died 
in 1878 and the mother, who was born in September, 1837, died on May 30, 



844 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1915, at the age of eighty-seven years. Airs. Armstrong, who was a teacher 
in the puljhc schools of this county, attended Hope and Butlerville academies. 
Airs. Armstrong also taught school in Jennings county, having begun as a 
school teacher at Sherwood. She taught five years in all, the last year at 
the home school. 

Mr. and Mrs. Alfred M. Armstrong have been the parents of ten chil- 
dren, one of whom, Roxina, the second born, is deceased. The other chil- 
dren are, Dewitt Talmage, born on April 17, 1S87; Cassius Dixon, January 
30, 1890: Forrest Eugene, December 12, 1891 ; Giant Leland, June 20, 1893; 
Oakleigh, February 14, 1895: Lotus Lowell, June 30. 1898: Winifred, March 
28, 1899; Mary Elma and Martha Elva, twins, July 15, 1903. Of this family. 
Giant Leland is a student at Purdue L'niversity and one of tlie well-known 
leaders in college life at that institution. 

Like his father before him, Alfred AI. Armstrong is a loyal and faithful 
adherent of the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong and family are 
members of the Baptist church. As a farmer, Alfred M. Armstrong is not 
excelled anywhere in the township where he lives. As a citizen he has always 
taken a commendable interest in public affairs and, at all times, has given 
loyal and valuable support to worthy public enterprises. The Armstrong 
family is well known throughout Sand Creek township and are popular with 
all classes of people. 



JOHN LOGAN. 

The late John Logan, who, during his lifetime became one of the fore- 
most farmers of Decatur county, Indiana, was born on August 14, 1829, in 
this county and died, July 16, 1912. The son of early pioneers of this county, 
John Logan's father, Samuel Logan, a ntitive of Pennsylvania, and his 
mother, Susanna (Howard), a native of Ohio, in 1818 came down the Ohio 
river bv flat-boat and, after stopping a while in Kentucky, settled in Decatur 
county when tlie land was covered with forests. After assisting in the con- 
struction of the first log cabin ever erected in Greensburg, he entered land 
from the government and l^ecame very prosperous. A leader of his fellow 
citizens during his day and generation and a man who attended strictly to his 
own business. Of the thirteen children born to Samuel and Susanna Logan, 
there were the following: James, deceased; Samuel, Jr., of Letts Corner, 
Decatur countv; John; Aaron, who lives west of Greensburg, in \\''ashington 
township: Frank, of Topeka, Kansas; Alartha Ann, who married a Doctor 



DF-CATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 845 

Hitt, now both deceased; Mrs. Margaret Jane Deem, deceased; Mrs. Mary 
Hamilton, deceased, and Mrs. Rachel Hobbs, who was the wife of Reverend 
Hobbs a Christian minister, and who died in Des Aloines, Iowa, in January, 

1915- 

The late John Logan lived at home with his parents until his marriage, 
January 24, 1856, to Eliza E. Hungate, after which he and his wife settled on 
a farm in Clay township, ii\e miles west of Greensburg. This farm, which 
was improved and where he and his wife lived until September, 1886, is now 
occupied by his son. In the meantime, they had prospered and accumulated 
seven hundred and forty acres of land. Having first begun with a small 
competence, he had at first purchased two hundred and fifty-seven acres on 
credit and, after paying for this, by hard work and careful management, he 
continued buying land, purchasing sulisequently four large farms. 

Eliza E. Hungate, to whom Mr. Logan was married in 1856, was born 
in Jefferson county, Kentucky, on June 2"], 1838, and was the daughter of 
John and Eliza (Gregory) Hungate, natives of Kentucky, who immigrated 
to Shelby county in 1840 and later settled in Noble township, Shelby county, 
Indiana, where they died. He was born in 1798 and died on September 21, 
1 89 1, his wife ha\-ing died previously, at the age of sevent^^-seven vears. 
Their children were as follow : Andrew Jackson, deceased ; George Wash- 
ington, deceased : Mrs. Cynthia Jones, deceased ; John, who lives on the old 
homestead in Shelby county; Mrs. Eliza Logan, and Catherine, the wife of 
Thomas Vaughn, deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. John Logan were born three children, Orange H., 
George Andrew and Eliza E. Orange owns the old home farm and is a 
prosperous farmer. He was born June 10. 1857, and married Emma Gregory, 
a nati\-e of Kentucky. They ]ia\e three children. Earl C, Clem and Nellie. 
George Andrew, born on March 7, 1862, who is a farmer in Clay township, 
married Artemus Hayman and has one son, Harry. Mrs. Eliza E. Covert, 
born on February 23. 1870, resides with her mother. She owns a farm of 
two hundred acres in Washington township. 

A Democrat in politics, the late John Logan took an active part in the 
councils of his party and was known as one of the leaders in this section of 
the state. Nevertheless, he was a man of strong domestic temperament and 
loved his home and friends. One of the largest stock raisers and dealers in 
Decatur county, Mr. Logan in his lifetime dealt in mules, cattle, horses and 
sheep. He was accustomed to buying them through the countr}-, then fatten 
them on his farm and ship them to distant markets. 

Mrs. Eliza E. Covert and her mother are active workers in the Chris- 



846 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

tian church, of which botli are incniljers. Mrs. Covert is a meniljer of the 
Department Chib of Decatur county and is prominent in tiiis organization. 
Mrs. Logan has one great-granddaughter, Lela Emma, the daughter of Clem 
and Freda (Simmons) Logan. Clem is the son of Orange and Emma 
(Gregory) Logan. On January 24, iyo6, Mr. and Mrs. Juhn Logan cele- 
brated their golden wedding annixersary. It was more than six years after 
this that Mr. Logan passed away. 

As a man well known in the C(.ininnniity, the late John Logan will be 
rememljered as of modest and unassuming manners and a man, who durmg 
his long and useful life, was interested in the welfare of his neighbors and 
devoted to the cause of a wholesome and healthful community spirit. His 
beloved widow is a woman of most pleasing manners, intelligent, cultured 
and refined, whose life reflects the high order of womanhood in this county. 



GEORGE W. METZ. 



George \V. Metz, for many years a successful merchant at Xewpoint, 
Salt Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, and the son of John Henry 
Metz, of Fugit township, is the proprietor of a business which was estab- 
lished in 1890. During the past quarter of a century, he ; has built up an 
enormous trade in the village and surrounding country and is one of the best 
known citizens of Decatur county. In September, 1909, the building in 
which his store was housed was destroyed by fire and shortly thereafter he 
erected a large brick building in the place of the one destroyed. This is a 
building forty by sixty feet and has two floors, with the family residence on 
the second floor and the stock of merchandise on the first. Two rooms on the 
ground floor, however, are devoted to the kitchen and the laundry. Mr. Metz 
who has a large trade in country produce, has two show-rooms, and a stock of 
goods valued at thirty-five hundred dollars. 

George W. Metz was born on May 18, 1862, on a farm near Springhill 
in Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, son of John Henry Metz, who, 
a poor German lad of twenty-two, came to this county in 1854 and, after liv- 
ing two years in Ohio, settled in Decatur county, Indiana, where, four years 
later he was married to Louise Huber, a native of Franklin county, this state, 
who was born on July 16, 1836, and who died on July 10, 1895, the daughter 
of Gottfried and Margaret (Ziegler) Huber, natives of Germany. From 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 847 

twenty-five cents, whicli was all the money that John Henry Metz had on his 
arrival in America after a tedious voyage across the Atlantic, his fortune has 
grown from year to year until he now, at the age of eighty-three, owns six 
hundred acres of land in Fugit and Salt Creek townships, this county, and is 
regarded as one of the wealthiest men in this section of the state. Although 
George W. Metz was one of a family of eight children, he, nevertheless, 
remained at home until his marriage at the age of twenty-eight and assisted 
his father on the farm. In the early part of 1890 he left the farm and moved 
to Newpoint, where he engaged in business. On Thanksgiving Day, 1890, 
Mr. Metz was married to Katie Rabenstein, of Cincinnati, Ohio, the daugh- 
ter of George Rabenstein, for nlany years recorder of Hamilton county, Ohio, 
a position he held at the time of the celebrated court house riot, and a very 
prominent citizen not only of Cincinnati. Init a man who was well known 
throughout the state of Ohio. He was holding the office of county recorder 
at the time of his daughter's marriage to Mr. Metz. To this union nine 
children have been born, all of whom are living: Amanda, the wife of 
McClelland Wolfe, of North Berne, Ohio, who has two children, Neola and 
Oren ; Elma, the wife of Howard Starks, who resides on the F. B. Kitchin 
farm in Fugit township, this county, and has two daughters, Bessie and 
Audrey, both of whom are graduates of the Greensburg high school; Chris- 
tine, who is at home and works in her father's store; McKinley, who is a 
student in the Greensburg high school, and Louise, Marguerite, Cora May, 
George Henry and Katherine, who are at home and attending school. 

George W. Metz has always been an ardent believer in Republican prin- 
ciples and a warm supporter of Republican candidates. Appointed post- 
master at Newpoint in 1896, during President McKinley's administration, 
■he served eighteen years in that office, or until 1914, two years after the 
inauguration of President Wilson. He is proud of the various commissions 
he holds from President McKinley, President Roosevelt, President Taft and 
President Wilson. All of the members of the Metz family attend the Presby- 
terian church. 

Many of Mr. Metz's most sterlmg traits, the traits of character which 
have made him one of the leaders in the business life of Salt Creek town- 
ship, he. no doubt, has inherited from his worthy father. Careful in his 
business methods, honorable in his relations with his patrons, he has enjoyed 
their unqualified confidence and support since his business was first estab- 
lished at Newpoint. No one has ever been disposed to question the intel- 
lectual sincerity or personal honor of Mr. Metz. While he has been promin- 



848 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ent in the life of the community, he is, nevertheless, a man of domestic tem- 
perament, who is devoted primarily to the interests of his home and his 
family. He deserves credit in a large measure for what he has accomplished 
and especially for the worthy example he has set for his children. 



ISAAC SHERA. 



There is no positi\e rule for achieving success and yet in the life uf the 
successful man there are al\va)'s lessons which might well be followed. The 
man who attains success is he who can see and utilize the opportunities that 
come in his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same, 
the surroundings of individuals differing but slightly. When one man passes 
another on the highway of life it is because he has the power to see and to 
use the advantages which probably fall within the vision and opportunities 
of every man. Today among the prominent citizens and successful farmers 
of Decatur county Isaac Shera, of Westport, stands out as a conspicuous 
example of what the farm may yield up to a man if he is possessed of dis- 
crimination, sound judgment and executive ability. Altogether he owns 
seven hundred and twenty acres of land, in four farms, on which have been 
erected six sets of buildings. On September 10, 1912, Mr. Shera moved 
from his farm in Jackson township to Westport, where he has a beautiful 
town residence on West Main street, which he has remodeled and modern- 
ized, spending over six hundred dollars on the town property. WHien a lad 
Isaac Shera cultivated ground occupied by what is now a part of old Sardinia, 
his father's farm having adjoined that ^'illage. 

The story of Isaac Shera's rise to fortune is a most interesting cha]:)ter 
in the history of Decatur county. He began his farming operations when a 
young man of twenty-one years, and in 1880. shortly after his marriage, 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres, which tract is now looked on as the 
family homestead. From time to time he has added to this land from the 
fruits of his industry, his toil and his good management. In 1890 he bought 
fifty-two acres across the road from the original one-hundred-and-twenty- 
acre tract and the next year bought twenty-eight acres, the remainder of the 
eighty-acre tract. The next year he purchased one hundred and sixty acres 
one mile east of the homestead in what is known as the Big Horn neighbor- 
hood, and adjoining the Big Horn high school. In 1904 he liought eightv 
acres adjacent to the Big Horn high school, and a few vears later one bun- 




ISAAC' siii;i;a. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 849 

dred and twenty acres one mile south of Sardinia. A little later he added 
forty acres to the Sardinia tract, making one hundred and sixty acres, and in 
the meantime purchased eighty acres one mile west of the homestead. In 
a way, there is no complex chapter in his rise to success, except that he has 
fed all the grain he raises to live stock and has always striven to do the right 
thing at the right time and in the proper way. Although his farms are all 
rented they are kept in lirst-class condition, Mr. Shera devoting his time to 
looking after repairs and keeping up the land. In 1914, for instance, he had 
eight barns painted. 

Isaac Shera was born on August 25, 185 1, near Sardinia, in Decatur 
county, Indiana, the son of Caleb and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Shera, the former 
of whom was born in 1815 and died in 1883, and the latter of whom died in 
1868. Caleb Shera was a native of Ireland, who at the age of twenty-five 
came to America and settled in Bartholomew county, this state, moving 
westward to Decatur county after his marriage in Franklin county. Eliza- 
beth Shera was reared in Franklin county, the daughter of John and Cath- 
erine Shaffer, of Pennsylvania-German stock. Of the eleven children born 
to Caleb and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Shera, six are living and five are deceased. 
The deceased children are Mary Elizabeth; Isabelle, who died at the age of 
fifteen; John Wesley; William, who died in the service of the Union army in 
a hospital at Nashville, Tennessee; and Thomas M., who was a farmer. 
The living children are Catherine, of Lebanon, Indiana ; James, of Lebanon ; 
Isaac, the subject of this sketch; Wilson M., a farmer of Jackson township; 
Sylvester C, who lives in Kansas; and Mrs. Martha A. Watkins, a widow 
who resides at Wellington, Kansas. The late Caleb Shera was a Republican, 
but had never aspired to office. 

On November 28, 1878, Isaac Shera was married to Mary A. Updike, 
who was born on October 23, 1852, the daughter of Elijah and Matilda 
(Gilbert) Updike, the former of whom was born on August 4, 1818, and 
died on May 10, 1893. Peter Updike, the father of Elijah and grandfather 
•of Mrs. Shera, was a native of Pennsylvania, who packed up his household 
goods in wagons and brought his family to the rough timber lands of Indi- 
ana, looking into the uncertain and dangerous future with faith in himself 
and in the God of his fathers. Nor was this pioneer's faith misplaced, as the 
after years have proved. It was in Franklin county that Elijah LTpdike 
began life and when he had reached manhood he married and made his home 
■on a farm two miles north of Westport, in this county. His wife, whose 
maiden name was jNIatilda Gilbert, was twice married, being at the time of 
(.54) 



850 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

her marriage to Elijah Updike, the widow of a Mr. Liise, who had a daugh- 
ter, Nancy J. Liise. Matilda Updike was a daughter of James Gilbert, 
whose enterprising spirit and ambition brought him from bonnie Scotland 
to this country in the days of his young manhood. He had a reputation m 
all the country around for his honesty and integrity, and his good business 
ability. His daughter, Matilda, was born in 1834 and passed away on July 

1, 1889. On the farm on which Elijah Updike and wife settled in i8'6i 
they spent the rest of their lives. They were the parents of four children, 
namely: Wilham G., former commissioner of Decatur county; Mary Ann, 
who is the wife of Mr. Shera; Frank M., of Butler county, Ohio, and John 
Riley, who died in Franklin county when two years of age. 

To Isaac and Mary A. (Updike) Shera have been born two children, 
the youngest of whom, Elmer Ray, was born on November 4, 1887, and 
died on April 22, 1889. Earl Leroy, the eldest, was born on November 

2, 1885, and is a farmer in Jackson township. He married Mamie Clark and 
thev have two children. Glen G. and Lucile. 

Isaac Shera has one of the most beautiful country homes in Decatur 
county. His residence sets back fifty feet from the road, and is reached 
through an avenue of shade trees and shrubbery by a graveled driveway, the 
lawn being surrounded by a beautiful iron fence. Flowers are to be found 
everywhere, and everything is kept in the very neatest condition. There are 
two gas wells on the Shera farms. Isaac Shera erected all the buildings on 
his farm and is proud of his place and achievements, as he has a right to be. 
He has improved and remodeled more farms in Jackson township than any 
other resident thereof. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shera are members of the Baptist church, Mr. Shera hav- 
ing joined that church at Westport on February 10, 1913. He is treasurer 
of the congregation and a trustee of the church. He gave land valued at 
sixteen hundred dollars on which the new church is to be erected, and also 
presented the congregation with a house and lot for a parsonage. In addi- 
tion he also donated the cash for the erection of the church and in this com- 
munity he is known as one of its most liberal citizens. He is a member of 
the Knights of Pythias lodge at Letts, and he is a Republican, althnugh he 
has never aspired to office. 

A man who believes in pulalic im]:)rovements and who believes not only 
in public improvements, but in private improvements : who is industrious, 
frugal and business-like in habits ; who is honorable and upright in his deal- 
ings with his fellows, Mr. Shera is entitled to the profoundest respect of the 




JUDGE SAMUEL A. KONNKK 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 85 1 

public. Isaac Shera has been all of these things and today he not only is 
one of the more well-to-do citizens of the county, but he has also, in his race 
for fame and fortune, attained what is even more valuable, the good will of 
the people with whom he has come into contact. 



JUDGE SAMUEL ALEXANDER BONNER. 

The late Samuel Alexander Bonner, one of the judges of the common 
pleas court of Decatur county during the Civil War and a later judge of the 
circuit court, was one of the leading citizens of Decatur county for many 
years. Inheriting a love for righteousness and justice from his distinguished 
father, who left his home in Alabama in 1836 to escape the iniquities of 
slavery, Judge Bonner lived up to the high ideals of his worthy father in all 
things. 

The late Judge Samuel Alexander Bonner was born on a plantation in 
^^'ilcox county, Alabama, on December 5, 1826, the son of James and Mary 
(Foster) Bonner. His parents were both of Scotch-Irish ancestry and 
descended from families who first settled in South Carolina. About 1830 
the serious agitation against slavery was beginning in this country, started by 
men and women, first called fanatics, it was carried forward during a period 
of thirty years, culminating in the most serious civil crisis in the history of 
the world. James Bonner was bitterly opposed to the institution of slavery, 
and, finding that he could accomplish nothing against it in the state of his 
residence, he left the Southland in 1836 and came to the North, where slavery 
was an illegal institiUion. There were six children, four sons and two daugh- 
ters, who came North with the parents, w^hen they located in 1836 near 
Springhill in Fugit township in the old United Presbyterian settlement. Of 
these four sons, James Foster died in 1913 at the age of ninety-two, in the 
city of Greensburg; Rev. John Irwin settled in Due West, South Carolina, 
and died in 1881, in the midst of eminent usefulness in ecclesiastical, editorial 
and educational service, as leader from 1847, ^^ every department of church 
activity, and, for many years, ed^itor of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian, 
and president of the Due West Female College; William Harvey died in 1874: 
Samuel A., is the subject of this sketch; two daughters, Margaret E. and 
Mary J. died in 1858 and 1864. respectively, while visiting a brother in South 
Carolina. The father, James Bonner, passed away in 1S44. 



852 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Any student of history will know that the educational advantages in 
pioneer settlements of the Hoosier state during the forties, were exceedingly 
limited. Fortunately, Samuel A. Bonner was not compelled to rely upon 
the pioneer schools for his education. He was able to attend the Richland 
Academy in Rush county, and, subsequently, Miami University, at Oxford, 
(Jhio. Still later he was a student at Central College at Danville, Kentucky, 
and was graduated there in 1849. These two institutions, ]\liami University 
and Center College, at this period, offered perhaps the widest educational 
advantages west of the Alleghany mountains and it would be difficult to esti- 
mate what they did for the pioneer educational life of Indiana, Ohio and 
Kentucky. Samuel A. Bonner was only one of the young men of this early 
period who came under their protecting aegis. 

After studying law in the office of Judge Andrew Davison, in Greens- 
burg, he was graduated from the law department of Indiana Universit^' in 
1852. He then began the practice of his profession in Greens!:)urg with 
Barton W. Wilson. Two years later he was elected a member of the Indiana 
General Assembly and was re-elected for a second term. About this time he 
was elected judge of the common pleas court of Rush and Decatur counties 
and served four years. In i860 he became a law partner of the late Will 
Cumback, which ]3artnership continued until Mr. Cumback retired from prac- 
tice. In 1877 Judge Bonner was elected to the circuit bench and served twelve 
years, when, upon his retirement from the bench, he became the senior part- 
ner of the law firm of Bonner, Tackett & Bennett, which firm continued for 
several years, with a few changes in the partnership meanwhile. It is note- 
worthy and shows the estimation in which he was held as a learned and 
impartial jurist that he was unopposed for his second term by both parties, 
and that no decision of his was ever reversed by a superior court. Judge 
Bonner loved the bench and cared little for the active practice of law, either 
as a counselor or as a solicitor. In fact, he rarely went into the court room 
after retiring from the bench. For nine years Judge Bonner was a member 
of the board of trustees of the Indiana School for the Deaf. 

Having been elected a ruling elder in the Greensburg Presbyterian 
church in 1862. he served in this capacity imtil his death on April 5, 1904. 
He was always prominent in church work an*d six times was commissioner to 
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church, an exceptionally high 
honor for any layman and a fitting testimonial to his service in the church. 

Judge Samuel A. Bonner was twice married, the first time in 1852 to 
Ella M. Carter, a niece of John I. Morrison, who was prominent in the pioneer 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 853 

educational affairs of the state. She died on October 2-j, 1861, leaving two 
daughters, :\lrs. Lizzie C. Wampler, and Mrs. Minnie E. Dechant, a widow, 
both of Richmond, Indiana. The latter has one son, Frederick Bonner 
Dechant, a student at Kenyon College, at Gambler, Ohio. The former also 
has one son, John Bonner Wampler, a graduate of Purdue University, a civil 
engineer by profession, who is employed by the Chicago Lift Bridge Com- 
pany. He was married in June, 1913, to Hester Light, of Chicago. 

Judge Bonner was again married on August 22, 1867, the second time to 
.\bbie A. Snell, who was born at East Randolph, now Holbrook, Massa- 
chusetts, the daughter of Alvan and .\nna ( Holljrook) Snell. Both the Hol- 
brook and Snell families were pioneers in the Old Bay state. Mrs. Bonner 
is descended from eight persons who came over to this country on the "May- 
flower," among them being Miles Standish, John Alden, Priscilla Mullins and 
Governor Bradford. On the Snell side of the family, several members fought 
in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Bonner is a direct descendant of both 
Joseph and Sarah Alden, children of John and Priscilla Alden. One child 
born to Judge and Mrs. Bonner, Anna Bingly, died in infancy. 

Mrs. Abbie Bonner lives in her home in Greensburg, where the family 
located in 1869. She has traveled extensively during her lifetime. Edu- 
cated in Maplewood Institute at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, she began teaching 
in 1859 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, leaving there in June, after war was 
declared. After teaching in Massachusetts until 1865, she came to Greens- 
burg and was employed for two years as a teacher in the public schools. For 
six years after her marriage, she taught a private school in Greensburg at the 
solicitation of a number of residents. For thirty-five years she has been 
officially identified with the women's miLjionary work of the Presbyterian 
church in both Presbytery and Synod, being president for seven years in the 
latter and thirty-five years in the former. 

Judge Samuel A. Bonner will be remembered in this county, not only as 
an eminent jurist and lawyer, but as one of the organizers of the Third 
National Bank at Greensburg, one of the leading financial institutions in the 
city. He was a director of this institution at the time of his death. Legis- 
lator, lawyer, jurist and banker. Judge Bonner was more than all of these, 
since he was an eminent, trustworthy and honorable citizen, a man who had a 
part in the best interests of the great county and state in which he lived. 
His life's career reflects high credit upon the personnel of the Decatur citizens 
during the last century, in which most of Judge Bonner's work was done. 
Whether he ruled o\"er rich or poor, he administered justice conscientioush- 
and impartially. 



854 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

WILSON M. SHAFER. 

Among the earlier settlers of Ohio and Indiana we find none with 
sturdier ambition and more forceful character than those of Dutch lineage. 
Here was combined a spiritual ideal, along with a sense of the necessity of 
the material, the two making such a balance that such progeny was almost 
universally progressive and constructive, and consequently successful. It 
was a common phrase among the earlier inhabitants of these states, that "who- 
ever carries within his veins Dutch blood, carries a key to success," and this 
rule seems not to hav been altered when, on June 27, 1850, Wilson M. Shafer 
was born down in Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana. 

Wilson M. Shafer was the son of Rev. John Shafer, whose father was 
of Dutch ancestry born and reared in Pennsylvania, but who afterward 
removed to Butler county. Ohio, where, on Christmas day, 1813, John Shafer 
was born. 

Rev. John Shafer, after spending his boyhood days in Butler county, 
moved to near Hamilton, Ohio, and after some years residence there, moved 
to Springfield, Indiana, in Franklin county, where he met and later married 
Ada McCaw, which union proved a most helpful and happy one, lasting until 
Mrs. Shafer's death on November 18, 1876. 

There is a prevalent notion that the average minister is so engrossed 
with the affairs of his congregation that he is apt to neglect his own house- 
hold, but this never could have been said of John Shafer, for while he was 
at all times faithful to his liiinisterial obligations, he was also equally faithful 
to his parental duties. John Shafer was a regularly ordained Methodist min- 
ister and was subject to all of the hardships to which the "circuit rider"' of his 
day was accustomed, yet this did not prevent him from accumulating, through 
the persistent efforts of himself and his faithful wife, the means wherewith 
to rear a large family. 

John Shafer came from Ohio about 1835 and settled in Decatur county, 
Indiana, where he bought, at a very low price, a tract of timber land and, 
during the intervals between his ministerial and other duties, cleared this farm 
and soon had it under cultivation. He prospered, and soon another tract was 
entered and cleared, and thus his land investments increased until he at one 
time owned five hundred acres of good farming land. His thought was 
always of his home and cf his children, of which the following were born 
into his family : Catherine, James and John, who, after they were almost 
fully grown, were stricken with typhoid fever, during an epidemic of that 
disease, and died; Asbury and Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Isaiah, who 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. gc' 

died in 1887, was a Union soldier who enlisted with the Seventh Regiment 
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was wounded in battle at Port Republic, 
Virginia; Mary Jane, wife of John Shaw, of Greensburg, died in 1909; 
Amaretta (McComb), who died in 1874; Wilson M., the subject of this 
sketch; Josephine (Rice), whose husband was a minister, died in Iowa; 
Richard William, now a resident of Greencastle, and Ada, who died at the 
age of eight. 

Wilson M. Shafer, the ninth child of this notable family, was educated 
in the common schools of Indiana, but, like many of the sturdy settlers of the 
earlier days, secured his real education in the pioneer school of "Hard 
Knocks." He also attended Moores Hill College for one year. On August 
15, 1877, he married Emma Clendenning, of Franklin county, and to them 
three children were born, J. Carl, of Anderson, Indiana, who married Ethel 
Ping, born in Virginia and a daughter of Senator Henry Ping, of Virginia. 
She is a fine musician. Ada Delse, who died at the age of two years, and 
Earl L., also of Anderson, Indiana, with the Union Traction Company. 

Emma Clendening was born in Franklin county on May 16, 1856, and 
was the daughter of John and Hannah (Creager) Clendenning, natives of 
Ohio and of Franklin county, respectively. They were of Scotch ancestry 
and both died in Franklin county. John Clendenning was a son of John 
Clendenning, who emigrated from Scotland to this country and married a 
Miss Elliott, whose brother, lohn Elliott, was the first editor of the Western 
Christian Advocate. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wilson M. Shafer, at the time of their marriage, secured 
a tract of eighty acres of partly cultivated land, cleared, ditched and other- 
wise so improved it that today it is said to be the best tract of land to be 
found anywhere in Jackson township. In 1882 they sold this farm at a 
highly profitable figure and purchased a one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tract, a 
part of the old home place, known as the Petree farm, located two miles west 
of Westport. Here the same process of improvement was pursued until this 
farm was brought up to standard in the way of soil requirements and modern 
buildings. A beautiful home was built and here ]\Ir. and Mrs. Shafer lived 
and labored until in December, 191 1. 

Wilson M. Shafer, by his honesty and persistency, had won not onlv the 
admiration and respect of his neighbors, but of the whole county. He was a 
stanch Republican, and during the summer of 191 1 was placed in nomination 
for county commissioner and elected to that office for a term of three years. 
After his election he decided to leave the farm and bought a beautiful resi- 
dence in Westport and in December of 191 1 established his residence as a 
citizen of that town. 



856 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

It is almost useless to state that Mr. Shafer filled the office of county 
commissioner in a creditable and honorable manner, because one should know 
that character so well-grounded through years of service in knowledge of 
community needs would not sit idle when the moment and opportunity for 
action arrived. The three years of service which Mr. Shafer rendered his 
community in this office, showed many needed and constructive activities in 
which his ability and influence was in no manner negative. 

Throughout their married life, Mr. and Mrs. Shafer have been active 
church workers and, while their activities have been not wholly sectarian, 
they are members of the Methodist church. Nor have they in any manner 
neglected their social and humanitarian obligations. Mr. Shafer is a mem- 
ber of the Westport Knights of Pythias, while Mrs. Shafer is a very ardent 
and active member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, of the 
Woman's Relief Corps and of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 

During the winter of 1914-15, Mr. and Mrs. Shafer .spent a period of 
time visiting in Florida and the Southern states. They visited many points 
of historical as well as of educational interest, and returned to Westport with 
renewed interest in life. Though they have announced to their friends that 
they have retired from active life, it is generally thought that the habits of 
an active life are so deep in the dye that Wilson and Emma Shafer will yet 
be busy with their Master's work. 



FRANCIS D. ARMSTRONG. 

Francis D. Armstrong, president of the First National Bank, of West- 
port, Indiana, is a scion of one of the old and honored families of the state, 
his grandfather having come here from Pennsylvania nearly a century ago. 
Deeply engraved in the history of Decatur county are the name and achieve- 
ments of Mr. Armstrong whose influence in the social and economic life of 
his community has been most potent and of the highest possible order. Not 
only because of his success as a man of affairs, but because of his strength 
of character and inflexibility of purpose, does his life history deserve to be 
incorporated in this publication whose function it is to record those personal 
biographies which ha\e contributed to the advancement of the state as a 
national power. As a lousiness man, as a farmer and banker, as well as in 
his religious, political and social relationships, Mr. Armstrong has won a 
place of leadership, and the confidence of his associates. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 857 

Ancestry plays such an important part in our lives that it seems that it 
is the silent, forceful background of every picture, and in the present instance, 
it is especially worthy of record. The honored citizen whose name forms the 
caption of this article, was born on March 15, 1847, ii^ '^ place called "Jericho"' 
in Sand Creek, but his father, Robert Armstrong, was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania. The latter was born in 18 17, and when three years of age came with 
his parents to Decalur county, where they settled in Sand Creek township, 
east of Westport. Robert's father died soon after coming to this state, and 
the boy was reared in a rude pioneer cabin, surrounded by the love of his 
mother and brothers and sisters. In early- manhood, Robert married Rebecca 
Jane Hamilton who later became the mother of nine cliildren of vvIkjui 
Francis D. Armstrong was third in chronological order. Rebecca Hamilton 
was born in 1818, and was the daughter of James Hamilton, a relative of 
the Hamiltons of Fugit township. James Hamilton came here at an early 
date, and in passing, it is interesting to note that his wife, Judy, li\'ed to the 
ripe age of ninety-nine years. The mother of Francis Armstrong died in 
i8'56. His father settled on a farm east of Letts, first clearing the land in 
true pioneer fashion. It was in 1857 that he moved near Westport, antl so 
proficient was he in the management of his agricultural interests, that by the 
time of the Ci\il War, he had become a large and influential landowner, hav- 
ing come into possession of three hundrd acres of well-improved land. He 
was also a speculator. It was one of his ambitions to be able to give each 
of his sons a farm, believing that with this much to start with, they should 
be able to succeed in life. The esteem in which he was held, is evidenced by 
the fact that for many years Robert Armstrong served as justice of the peace, 
and for several terms as township trustee. His interest in public affairs 
made him a political leader in the Democratic party, and he was equally force- 
ful as a church member. He was always a close student of the Bible, a 
supporter of the church and charities, and altogether, a public-spirited citizen 
in his sphere of influence in all ci\'ic and social matters, using the word social 
in its broad sense. His gv^nial, whole-souled nature found pleasure in organ- 
ization, so it is not surprising to learn that he was a charter member of the 
Free and Accepted INIasons of \Vest]iort. It is said that he ne\er missed a meet- 
ing of his favorite lodge. The life history of this interesting personality 
might be said to close with his death in 1878, but his influence still li\'es in 
the hearts and lives of those who knew him, and of the town in which he 
made his home. 

Returning for a moment to his immediate family, it is necessar\- to 
record that he had a number of Ijrothcrs and sisters whose names were as 



8s8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

follow: James, who died in 1877, William, also deceased; Sallie Barnes; 
Jane Singleton ; Mary Falkenberg ; Rebecca Boicourt, and Elizabeth Long- 
necker, all of whom have passed away. 

\\'ith this significant ancestral setting in mind, we can approacn the life 
history of Francis D. Armstrong, which -vve are permitted only to sketch 
briefly, with added interest and undertaking. With parents such as he had, 
it is not surprising that Francis x\rmstrong has come to occupy the place he 
does in the locality of his home and in the hearts of his fellow citizens. Of 
Mr. Armstrong's two elder brothers, James W'., died in 1909, and John lives 
four miles south of Greensburg in Marion township. Of his younger 
brothers, Oliver P., lives in Fayette county. Illinois; George W. is deceased 
and Albert M., the latter, is a resident of Sand Creek township. Robert 
Armstrong married, secondly, Eliza June McDonald, who died in igio. 
They were the parents of Robert F., of Letts, Sand Creek township; Mary 
Jane (Harding) of Westport, and Louisa Helen (Updike), also of Westport. 

Francis D. Armstrong was educated in the country schools of his boy- 
hood home, and was early accustomed to hard work, for he and his brothers 
helped their father on the farm. Francis lived with his father until the lat- 
ter's death which occurred when he was sixty-one years of age. His busi- 
ness ability was shown even in his young manhood, for after his father's 
death he rented a farm, and from the very first made it a financial success. 
This property he occupied for four years, combining the raising and selling 
of stock with his agricultural pursuits. Then he purchased a farm, shipped 
live stock in carload lots and managed the work until 1905, when he retired 
from his farm to his home in Westport where he and his family have lived 
since September, 191 2. 

On February 10, 1887, Mr. Armstrong was united in marriage to Martha 
Ellen Morgan who was born in 1866 in Sand Creek township. She was the 
daughter of Robert P. and Nancy Ann Morgan natives of Kentucky. Mrs. 
Armstrong lived until 1900, when she passed away, leaving her husband and 
three children to mourn her loss. The children are Leo ; Frances Shirley, 
wife of Barney W^illiams, and Howard Ward who was born in 1897, and 
who lives at home. Mrs. Shirley was only recently married. 

Beside the splendid residence in wliich he li\es, Mr. Armstrong has one 
hundred and thirty acres of valuable land near Westport. He now devotes 
the greater part of his time to the banking business, having become president 
of the First National Bank in 1908, this institution succeeding a private Iiaiik. 

Outside of their domestic relations, the two most important character- 
izations concerning men's affiliations are in relation to their politics and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 859 

religion, and they never seem quite classified until these two facts are known. 
Mr. Armstrong adheres to the principles of the Democratic party, and is a 
member of the Baptist denomination. Like his father, he has been a loyal 
member of Lodge No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, of Westport. 

Having outlined the chief events in the life of Mr. Armstrong, the reader 
can understand why he is considered one of the alert, progressive business 
men who have advanced the economic and social interests of Decatur county, 
and whose lives have been a distinctive impetus to the commercial success 
of the locality in which they have lived and labored. The prestige and respect 
accorded Mr. Armstrong may best be measured by the scope and importance 
of the business institution which he directs. 



WILL W. LOGAN. 



Born in this county sixty-five years ago and still living in the house in 
which he was born, the son of a pioneer who early discerned the possibilities 
hidden in the wilderness which once covered this now favored region and 
proceeded to take advantage thereof, becoming one of the foremost and 
most influential members of the community of which he made a part; wit- 
nessing the wonderful material advancement of this community during the 
last half century, proving himself a no small factor in the development thus 
noted, the subject of this interesting biographical review very properly may 
be regarded as one of the leaders of the common life of Decatur county. 
Honored by his fellowmen by election to one of the most useful and respon- 
sible positions of trust in the gift of the people of the county and serving 
capably and well in the capacity thus trustfully imposed upon him, Mr. Logan 
becomes one of the county's distinctive personalities, and no history of the 
times in this county would be complete without fitting reference to his life 
and to the character of his public services. 

Will W. Logan was born on a farm on the northwest edge of the cor- 
porate limits of the city of Greensburg, Decatur county, Lidiana, Januarv 16, 
1850, the son of .Samuel H. and Millie (Hice)- Logan, both natives of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Samuel H. Logan, who was born in Indiana county, Pennsvlvania, Feb- 
ruary I, 1819, was the son of John and Isabel (Graham) Logan, whose par- 
ents came to America from Ireland late in the eighteenth century and located 
in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where they spent the remainder of their 



1 



860 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

lives. John and Isabel Logan were the parents of the following children : 
Samuel H., the father of the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; 
Mrs. Hanna Hice, born on June 17. 1822; Airs. Margaret Elliot, February 
20, 1825, and Airs. Ann Baker, July 12, 1827, who lives four miles from 
Greensburg, in this county. 

On November 26, iS'-io, Samuel H. Logan was united in marriage to 
Millie Hice, who was born in Pennsylvania on October 20, 1818, a daughter 
of Henry Hice, who was a native of Germany. Shortly after marriage 
Samuel H. Logan and his wife came to Decatur count}', his father having 
bought government land in Washington township. Mr. Logan was a very 
clear-headed man, enterprising and [)ul)lic spirited and an excellent farmer. 
He prospered and presently began to enlarge his land holdings, shortly 
becoming one of the large land owners in this county. He took a deep inter- 
est in pulilic affairs and was ranked among the leading men of the county. 
He served the people very acceptably as county commissioner for some time 
and his sound judgment and fine executive ability gave to this service a real 
value to the public. .As his children grew to manhood and womanhood he 
gave to each a fine farm out of his extensive estate, the old homestead place 
being given to Will \\'., the subject of this sketch. Samuel H. Logan was 
honored and respected in this county and at his death there was general and 
sincere mourning throughout the whole country. He died on October 19, 
1904. His wife had long preceded him to the grave, her death having occurred 
on October 15, 1879. 

To Samuel H. and Alillie (Hice) Logan were born ten children, namely: 
Henry H., born on September 17, 1841, a well-known farmer of this county, 
who lives two miles west of Greensburg on the Alilford road; Isabella G., 
September 22, 1843. widow of Samuel .Applegate, resides in Greensburg; 
Alary S., November 26, 1845, widow of Will Alurray, resides in Nevada, 
Missouri; John B., October 8, 1847, ^ well-known traveling salesman, resides 
at Indianapolis: Will W.. the subject of this sketch; Sarah, October 19, 1852, 
married Joseph Ketchum and lives at Cincinnati ; Alarine R., Alarch 6. 1855, 
died on Alay 22, 1885; Samuel. September 16, 1857, died on April 18, 1893; 
Emma J., .Auust 20, i860, died on August 16, 1865, and George AI., Septem- 
ber 13. 1862, who is the general agent of the International Harvester Com- 
pany at Richmond, Indiana. 

Will W. Logan received his youthful education in the Tarkington school 
house, which was situated on a corner of what is now his home farm, which 
then was the home of the Rev. Joseph Tarkington, supplementing this early 
schooling with a course in the Greensburg schools under the instruction of 






DECATUR COUNTYj INDIANA. 86l 



Mrs. Samuel Bonner, a noted teacher of that period. Upon reaching man- 
liood's estate he entered seriously on the business of farming, a vocation in 
which he had received his father's best instructions, and, having inherited a 
large measure of his father's sagacity, has prospered, his place of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, located on the very outskirts of the county seat, being 
recognized as one of the finest farms in the county. Mr. Logan is alert and 
enterprising in his methods of farming and keeps fully abreast of all the 
latest developments in the science of agriculture. The old brick homestead 
house, which his father erected, has been remodeled along modern lines and 
is regarded as one of the pleasantest and most comfortable homes in the 
county, a place where hospitality and good cheer ever prevail. 

When natural gas was discovered in Decatur county, many years ago, 
Samuel H. Logan organized a company and drilled a number of gas wells. 
The well on the home farm proved to be a valuable producer and at his death, 
Mr. Logan left it to his children, in trust. Will W. Logan being named as 
trustee, which trust still is faithfully being executed. The Logan wells have 
been yielding gas in paying quantities since the fall of 1887 and have been a 
source of considerable profit to the Logan family. 

On June i, 1887, Will W. Logan was united in marriage to Katie M. 
Forkert, who was born on September 13, i860, in the village o.f Adams, 
Decatur cijunty, Indiana, daughter of Ernest and Catherine Forkert, natives 
of Germany, who came to America, locating in this county, early becoming 
regarded as among the best-known people of the Smyrna neighborhood. 
Ernest Forkert has been dead for some years, but his widow is still living in 
Salt Creek township, this county, highly esteemed by all who know her. 

To Will W. and Katie ( Forkert ) Logan two children have been born, 
Stella ^lay. born on July 29. 1889, who married Clyde L. Jones and lives in 
the city of Indianapolis; to that union one child has been born, a son, 
William Logan; and Frederick W., June, 1S92, who married Merle Wiley 
and is now managing the home farm for his father. 

Mr. Logan is a member of the Presbyterian church and Mrs. Logan is a 
member of the Presbyterian church at Greensburg. Mr. Logan is a life-long 
Democrat, his father also having been one of the leaders of that party in this 
county, and for years has gix-en close attention to political afifairs in this 
county. In the fall of 1912 he was elected to the important and responsiljle 
office of countv commissioner from his district and is now filling very ably 
and very acceptably the exacting duties of that office, the only ofifice, by the 
way, for which he ever permitted his candidacy to be announced. Recogniz- 
ing the opportunities for useful public service this office offers. Mr. Logan is 



862 ■ DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

gi\ing the very best of himself to this service and his painstaking efforts on 
behalf of the county's best interests have been noted with satisfaction by the 
people. Air. Logan is a member of the Greensbiirg lodge of the Benevolent 
and Protective Older of Elks, in the affairs of which he takes much interest. 
He is a genial, whole-souled gentleman and is very popular among the mem- 
bers of that order as well as among all who know him, and that includes 
pretty much everyone in the county, for there are few men in Decatur county 
belter known than he. 



JAMES THOMAS KERCHEVAL. 

America has a goodly heritage, which we should endeavor to hand on 
with value unimpaired to those who shall come after us. Only as we realize 
our own high duty and responsibility shall we be able to bequeath to poster- 
ity the noble inheritance we ourselves have received. America is in the 
making. The blending of her various peoples into one homogeneous whole 
to work out the vast problems of civilization both for herself and the entire 
world is the immediate task before us. The descendants of the original 
settlers will be expected to stand foremost among the many in projecting the 
activities of the future. Among the many families in Decatur county 
descended from the original settlers of this section of the state there is none 
held in higher esteem than the Kerchevals, the fifth generation of whom is 
now contributing to the well-being of this county. The gentleman whose 
name heads this biographical review has behind him the traditions of an 
honorable past and he and his children and his children's children are main- 
taining right honorably those glorious traditions. Mr. Kercheval's great- 
grandfather on his father's side was a soldier in the Continental army during 
the War of Independence and his great-grandfather on his grandmother's 
side also was a patriot soldier during that successful revolutionary struggle. 
Mr. Kervechal has in his possession two silver spoons out of a set of six 
made from coin silver received as pay by his ancestors in the Revolutionary 
War. The progenitor of the Kercheval family in America was a French 
Huguenot who fled to this country to escape the oppression which awaited 
those of his faith on the other side and the Kerchevals ha\'e made their mark 
in various points in which this now widely-separated family is located. 

James Thomas Kercheval, who lives on a farm of ninety acres in 
Washington township, this county, two miles east of the city of Greensburg, 
was born on the farm on which he now lives, February 8, i860, the son of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 863. 

Lemuel W. and Elizabeth Ann (Travis) Kercheval, both natives of this 
county, the former of whom was born on January 19, 181 5, and died in 
1880, and the latter of whom was born in 1821 and died in 1889. 

Lemuel W. Kercheval was the son of George Washington and Hannah 
(Grant) Kercheval, natives of Virgiaia, the former of whom was born on 
March 21, 1782, and the latter on September 17, 1784, who were married 
on December 5, 1805, emigrating to Kentucky, in which state they lived until 
1821, in which year they came to Decatur county, locating in Washington 
township, which ever since has been the seat of Kercheval family in this 
county. George W. Kercheval's father was a soldier in the patriot army 
during the Revolutionary War. His wife, Hannah, was a daughter of 
Robert and Sarah Grant, the former of whom also was a Revolutionary 
soldier. 

To George W. and Hannah (Grant) Kercheval were born seven chil- 
dren, namely: Caroline Frances, born on August 22, 1807; Elizabeth Sarah, 
August 24, 1809; Lmcinda P., April 2, 1811; Mariah Jane, March 6, 1813; 
Lemuel Willis, January 19, 1815; Armand Melvina, February, 1817, and 
Eliza Ann, April 6, 1821. 

Lemuel Willis Kercheval was reared on the home farm, receiving such 
education as the limited schools of his day afforded, and on March 6, 1850, 
married Elizabeth Ann Travis, of this county, daughter of Hannah Frances 
Travis, a widow, whose husband was killed when Elizabeth Ann was a small 
child. Lemuel W. Kercheval owned one hundred and eighty acres of good 
land and was a good farmer and a good citizen. He was a member of the 
Methodist church, but late in life espoused the faith of the Baptists. He 
was a Republican and took a good citizen's part in the political affairs of the 
county, though never being included in the office-seeking class. He and his 
wife were the parents of two children, sons, James T. and George W., the 
latter of whom lives in Grensburg, this county. 

James Thomas Kercheval received his education in the district schools 
of Washington township, supplementing the same with one year's schooling 
in town. He inherited his farm of ninety acres, the home farm being 
divided between him and his brother at the dea!th of their parents. He has 
made the most of his opportunities and is known as a wide-awake, enter- 
prising farmer, ever alert to the most advanced methods in the rapidly 
e.xpanding science of agriculture. In addition to his general farming he 
gives considerable attention to the raising of live stock and has prospered. 

On August 6. 1885, James T. Kercheval was united in marriage to 
Martha J. Privett. daughter of William and Cynthia Privett, who died on 



S64 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

December 7, 1897, leaving two children, Lemuel Willis and Forest D. Lem- 
uel Willis Kercheval lives at Newport, Kentucky. He married Theresa 
Hoffman, to which union two children have been born, George W. and 
Arthur. On August 17, 1899, Mr. Kercheval married, secondl}', Mrs. Effie 
M. Harrison, a widow, who had one child, a daughter, Glendora. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kercheval are adherents of the Presbyterian church and 
take an active interest in the works of that church and in the general social 
affairs of their community, being very popular with all who know them. 
Mr. Kercheval is a Republican and is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 
He is an excellent citizen and is held in high regard among his large circle of 
friends. 



JAMES LANCASTER HARDING. 

Among the leading and honorable citizens of Decatur county is James 
Lancaster Harding of Newpoint, a native of Salt Creek township where he 
has always lived and pursued the even tenor of his way. As sturdy as an 
oak tree, James L. Harding has stood as one of the leading representatives, 
in his generation, of a family and name which have a history reaching back 
to the time "when knighthood w^as in flower" in England, in the days of 
William the Conqueror. 

John Harding, the father of James L. Harding, emigrated to Decatur 
county witli his family, through Butler county, Ohio, from Virginia, and 
was one of the pioneer settlers in the eastern part of Decatur county not long 
after the red man had kindled his last fire on the hillsides of old Salt Creek. 
James L, Harding, his brothers and sisters, his parents and the thrifty neigh- 
bors of his boyhood days, lived to see a wonderful transformation in the 
rural life and the agricultural processes of the country about them. Such 
men as they know what it meant in the days agone to live in a home in the 
wilderness. They saw what it meant to fell the trees of the heavy virgin 
forest, to clear and prepare the land for the planting and then to gather the 
harvest with implements of the crudest sort. Mr. Harding remembers many 
of the achievements of the scattered, early pioneer communities of the eastern 
section of the county, the genuine frolic and fun of the husking-bees and the 
triumphs and the merriment of the log-rollings of the hardy days before the 
Civil War. It is a wonderful thing to have lived, as he has done, over the 
period when the boundary line between two epochs in the history of the 
industry and progress of the country was being crossed, and to have been in 




JA.MKS r.AXCASTKi: iiAitinxc; 








LOG CABIX BUILT BY JA.MES L. HARDING IN IStiC AND THE BIRTHPLACE OF 

ALL HIS CHILDREN. 



DKCATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. g^::, 

that period a part and parcel of its very achievements. James L. Harding 
himself has done his part well in the promotion of good citizenship in the 
land, by the example of his own true character and his live interest in public 
affairs and by his characteristic championship of absolute honesty and 
integrity in private and public life. He supports religious movements gener- 
ally and is a stanch Democrat as are his sons. Among more important duties 
he has served two terms as land appraiser, in 1903 and in 191 1. While he 
has done his part, also, in transforming agricultural life and opportunities in 
Decatur county, he has done so as a man possessed with a vision of newer and 
greater achievements. It is his son, by the way, the Hon. Lewis A. Harding, 
graduate of the Indiana State University, now prosecuting attorney of the 
ninth judicial circuit of Indiana and a member of the American Historical 
Association, who is the editor of the historical section of this volume. 

James L. Harding, who owns a productive farm in Salt Creek town- 
ship, Decatur county, Indiana, was born on July 3, 1842, on the old Harding 
homestead, in a double hewed log cabin, the last child of John and Susan 
(Abraham) Harding, the former of whom Avas born on April 27, 1790, and 
died on March 3. 1882, at the age of ninety-one 3'ears, and the latter of whom 
was born in 1798 and died at the age of eighty-seven years in 1885. John 
Harding was a native of Augusta county, Virginia, the son of John Hard- 
ing, Sr., of old Cavalier stock, who died in his native state. John Harding, 
Jr., with others, emigrated to Kentucky and thence to Butler county, Ohio, in 
an early day. In Butler county, Ohio, John Harding married Mary Ash- 
craft, who was a sister of Amos Ashcraft, and established a pioneer home 
at the Kinnard hill, about two miles east of the state line on which is now 
the Brookville & Hamilton pike. To this first marriage was born one child, 
a son, Providence. The wife of John Harding's earlv voung manhood died 
young. He later married a Miss Abraham, and to this second union also but 
one child was born, a daughter, Mary Ann. After the death of his second 
wife, John Harding married her sister, Susan Abraham, to which union nine 
children were born, namely : Mrs. Emaline Earls, Israel. Sr., Enoch, Eliza- 
beth, Mrs. Hester Osborn, Mrs. Elorence Osborn, Harrison, Mrs. Sophia 
Jane Marlin and James L., the last named and eleventh child of the family, 
being the only one born in Indiana. 

The old well at the site of the early home at the Kinnard hill remained 
intact until about five years ago. when it was filled up and a railroad was 
built across the place to Okeanna. The Harding place in Ohio embraced 
only eightv acres and soon proved too small for the large family. Accord- 

(55) 



866 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ingly, John Harding procured from Amos Ashcraft a tract of two hundred 
and forty acres in Salt Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana. To this 
place, now known as the old Harding homestead, where James L. Harding 
now lives, John Harding removed from Butler county, Ohio, in the month of 
February, 1839, crossing the Whitewater river at Brookville, and other 
streams, on the ice. The eldest son, Providence and family moved to Salt 
Creek township about a year later and settled on what later became known as 
the old Volk homestead. In that early time of the pioneer there was no 
driveway in the forests south of Salt creek and John Harding and his family 
chopped a roadway out of the wilderness. When he located on the farm 
only about two acres on the two hundred and forty were cleared. Enochs- 
burg at the very western edge of Franklin county, Indiana, had been in exist- 
ence then only a short time as a frontier outpost of the coming civilization. 
A Mr. Longfellow and a Mr. Beach were pioneers then living at Enochsburg. 
The town took its name from Enoch Abraham, an uncle of James L. Hard- 
ing, who came to Indiana shortly before John Harding and established a 
homestead and erected a log house on what is now the John Suttmann place 
one mile east of Enochsburg, where the old house still weathers the storms 
of the years. 

James L. Harding, who was the only child of his father's family born in 
Indiana was named after his mother's brother, James Abraham. Charlotte 
Cook, who officiated at the important event of July 3, 1842, said to call the 
baby Lancaster, after the town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, named after the 
founder of Mrs. Cook's early childhood home, Lancaster, New Jersey, she 
having named her own son James Lancaster Cook, and thus was completed 
the name of James Lancaster Harding. During the childhood days of James 
L. Harding his father and elder brothers were still busy clearing and improv- 
ing the farm where John Harding lived until the end of his days. Their 
gallant neighbors shared with them the toil of many a log-rolling on the old 
homestead, .-\mong the early neighbors of John Harding in Salt Creek 
township, who rolled logs on his place, were the following pioneers : Ei^hraim 
Ashcraft, David Davis, Asa Davis, Harrison Dortan, Henry Kyle, William 
Barkley, Parkinson Barkley, Samuel Richardson, William Glidewell, Barney 
Shouse, Sr., Joseph Palmer, John Moody, James Moody, Joseph Moody, 
David Lawrence, Henry Lawrence, James Cook, Sr., Joel Colson, Robert 
Ross, Wash Barkley and Chris Welsh. The wife of David Lawrence and a 
daughter of Henry Kyle are said to be the first two persons buried in the 
cemetery at Rossburg. The remnants of an old wagon made by Henry Law- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 867 

rence for James L. Harding in nSGs still remain upon the Hanling home- 
stead. 

John Harding's belo\'ed wife, Susan Abraham, was a native of Bracken 
county, Kentucky. She was born about eight miles from the present county 
seat of that county and was a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Abraham, of 
that state. Benjamin Abraham with his family emigrated to Butler county, 
Ohio, and later became one of the early settlers in Franklin and Decatur 
counties, Indiana. Benjamin, the husband of Mary Abraham, died in Frank- 
lin county, Indiana, and he was buried in tlie old private cemetery on his 
farm, the old Ben Abraham j^lace in Franklin county, north of Oldenburg. 
The Abrahams were of Scotch-Irish descent. In addition to Susan Abraham 
who was the mother of James L. Harding, the children and grandchildren of 
Benjamin and Mary Abraham were as follow: Enoch (before mentioned), 
whose children were Benjamin, Jr., Noah, Jr., Enoch Perry, Jackson, Mrs. 
Rebecca George of Adams county, Iowa, and Woodson Wilson Thompson 
Abraham, who died at Casey, Illinois, July 30, 1915; Noah, whose children 
were Sarah Jane, and James of Wells county, Indiana; Isaac; Benjamin 
(Benjamin and James, next named, were twins), whose children were Sarah 
of Chicago, Mary, James, and Nancy Sherwood ; and James, , whose chil- 
dren were Benjamin, William, Mary ("Polly") Bowman, of Franklin county, 
Indiana, recently deceased, Nancy Young, Rachel Weston (wife of Hugh 
Weston and buried at Stipp's Hill, Franklin county. Indiana), and Nathan, 
of Iowa ; Sarah Welch, whose children were James. Isaac, Enoch, Mary, 
Thomas, Abisha, Florence, Fletcher and Abe, all of Jackson county, Iowa; 
Florence ]\Iorin, whose children were Mar}' Ann, Benjamin and Sarah Eliza- 
beth, all of Mercer county, Missouri; Mrs. John \\'hitinger, of F'ayette 
county, Indiana; and Lot, who had one son, John, who lived and died at 
Alaquoketa, Iowa. Of the above named grandchildren of Benjamin and Alary 
Abraham, the greater number are at this time ( 191 5) deceased. The Harding 
and .'\braham families both have always been ardent Democrats. John 
Harding was at one time a census enumerater in his section. He was a firm ' 
believer in the universality of religion and sought to live out in his dailv life 
the teachings of the common faith. Of his eleven children, only two are now 
( 191 5) living, Mrs. Hester Osborn, who resides one mile west of Newpnint, 
and James L., the 3'oungest of the family. 

The other sons and daughters, deceased, of John Harding, and their 
children were as follow : Providence, who married Sarah Ann Johnson, of 
Butler county, Ohio, whose children were Mary Jane Earls, Newport, Indi- 
ana, deceased; John (whose children are Arthur, Ella, La Mond, Blanche 



868 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and Rol^ert Harding of Cincinnati, Ohio) : Rebecca Ann Hall, Paris, Illinois; 
Reuben, an attorney of Chicago, Illinois (deceased) ; Marcus, now of Hills- 
dale, 'Indiana; Mrs. Caroline Waltnian, died July i. 1915: Mary Ann Marlin 
(wife of Wesley Marlin and buried in the Marlin cemetery on the old 
Charlie Marlin farm in Franklin county, Indiana), whose children were John, 
Charles, Susan, Tamsen Green and Cicero; Emaline Earls; Israel, Sr,, whose 
children were Enoch F., of Newpoint, Elizabeth Dortan, now of Washington 
state, Richard, of Newpoint, Nancy Graham, of Terre Haute, Indiana, 
George Alliert, of Troy, Ohio, John, of Clarksburg, Indiana, James, of North 
Loop, Nebraska, died in February, 1Q15, Susan, deceased: Sarah, and Ed, of 
Newpoint; Enoch, whose children were Israel, Jr., John, Providence, Reuben, 
Alfred, Hester Ann. and William; Elizabeth; Hester, wife of George Osborn; 
Florence, wife of Albert I. Osborn, whose children were Hester Puttmann, 
Susan Jane Barnard, Annie and John; Harrison, whose wife was Mary 
Abraham Smith, now of Indianapolis: and Sophia Jane, deceased, wife of 
Lewis Marlin, now of Richmond, Indiana, whose children were Mary Ellen 
(deceased), Mollie Strohmeier, of Philanthropy, Butler county, Ohio, Olive 
Alyea, of Richmond, Indiana, and John, deceased, 

James Lancaster Harding during his boyhood and youth was able to 
obtain a rather liberal education for the time in which he lived. He was 
educated at Rossburg and Newpoint, and, after completing his education, 
settled on the "east eighty" acres of his father's farm. The one-and-one- 
half-story log house situated at the northwest corner of this eighty acre part 
of the farm, in which all of the children of James L. Harding were born, was 
razed in the spring of 1915, after it had been carefully photographed. The 
present Harding home was erected in 1887, at the site of John Harding's 
old home. 

On January 11, 1866, James L. Harding was married to Eliza Louisa 
Hennking (Hankins) of Franklin county. Indiana, at which time he built the 
log house and soon afterward moved into it. The parents of his beloved 
-wife were Herman and Mary (Thole) Hennking, both of whom were natives 
of Germany. Herman Hennking took ship for America at Bremen, some 
time in the thirties. After spending a while in Baltimore he came westward 
to Cincinnati where he married Mary Thole, whose family name became well 
known in Cincinnati. Eliza L. Harding Avas born on August 22, 1844, in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where she lived until her ninth year, and was baptized in 
the St. John's Lutheran church, of Cincinnati. She, with her parents, then 
removed to Newport, Kentucky. After residing there five years, she again 
removed with her parents, to Franklin county, Indiana, where she lived until 



t 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 869 

her marriage in 1866. Her fatlier, Herman Hennking, was born in August, 
1814, in Germany and died on October 30, 1892, on the Hennking homestead, 
east of Nevvpoint, at the edge of FrankHn county. Her mother, Mary 
(Tliole) Hennking was born in Germany, on March 25, 1821, and died on 
August 18, i8'99, on the homestead in FrankHn county. EHza Louisa Hard- 
ing had one brother, Ed, deceased, and one sister, Mary, wife of EH Snedeker 
and also deceased. The father and mother of Mrs. Harding were buried in 
the Huntersville German Lutheran cemetery at Batesville, Indiana. 

The children born to Mr. and Mrs. James L. Harding, and the grand- 
children, are as follow: George Edward, born on December 27, 1866, who 
was married on November 24, 1892, to Electa Coon, of Osgood, Indiana, to 
whom \\ere born six children, Walter O., Edward, Lewis J., Chester D., 
Juanita, and Mary Elizabeth; Ira Melvin, November 18, i8'6S; Charles Mil- 
ton, April 17, 1870; Augustus Clifford, June 25, 1872; Evert and Ella 
(twins), February 24, 1875, died in infancy.; Oscar Judson, March 5, 1876; 
Lewis Albert, February i, 1880, and Grover Cleveland (Clyde), July 23, 
1884. Of these, Augustus C, a man steady and reliable in his business lives 
in Indianapolis ; Ira M. faithfully assists his father in the agriculture of the 
homestead; Charles M., a man noted for his thrift and skill of hand, manages 
much of the business of the homestead for his father, and because of his 
prudence and good judgment, his wide reading, knowledge and live interest 
in affairs, contributes his talents as a most valuable citizen in the community 
in which he lives; Lewis A. is an active man of affairs in public life, and is 
now serving his second term as prosecuting attorney of the ninth judicial 
circuit of Indiana, at Columbus. 

Eliza Louisa Harding, wife of James L. Harding, died when she was 
a comparatively young woman. The appropriate scripture reading at her 
funeral was Proverbs 31 : 10-31. Her obituary, read by the Rev. G. W. 
Bower, who conducted the services at Rossburg, contained the following 
tribute offered by one of her sons : 

"Wife, mother, and neighbor, she lived the even tenor of her life with 
busy thrift, and ruled her home with counsel wise and kindly, loving words. 
Her ways were ways of pleasantness and all her paths were peace. 

"Alas ! that strange affliction should becloud her closing days. She 
struggled for six long years with patient hope, and endured what she alone 
could tell. On May i, 1901, she peacefully succumbed to death, age fifty-six 
years, eight months and nine days. The Master called and she was well pre- 
pared to die. 

"Loved one, wife, mother, friend — thy troubles and trials are over now. 



870 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Rest, mother, rest. We have gone down with thee to the dark valley ; but 
thon hast left us and crossed 'over the river to rest under the shade of the 
trees.' " 

Oscar J. Harding, died on December 11, 1902. "Whatsoever things are 
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatso- 
ever things are of good report," he thought on those things. By his life well 
did he, indeed, prove the saying that a wise son maketh a glad father. 

Grover C. Harding began his career in educational work in which he 
had a particular interest and for which he possessed an exceptional faculty, 
but like one of his first teachers in school, he had to leave that work in man- 
hood's early morning. His purposes and ideals were high and he got his 
first inspiration for this work perhaps from a brother of Superintendent 
Jacob G. Collicott, of the Indianapolis schools, the late Harmin R. Collicott, 
who taught school at Rossburg. Lewis A. Harding and Grover C. Harding 
were two of the latter's students, and the good influence of that teacher will 
go on and on in the lives and souls of all who were fortunate enough to learn 
the lessons both of books and of life which that one man taught in the little 
school at Rossburg. Grover C. Harding was graduated from the Newpoint 
high school on April 20, 1897. In the course of his oration entitled "Value 
of An Education," which he gave on that occasion he said: 

"Education does not mean cramming our heads with 'book learning,' but 
our moral training as well. Our state would rather see us ignorant Christians 
than educated criminals. * * * Many treat the subject of education 'too 
lightly. They do not realize the bearing it will have on after life." He 
died on July 19, 1905. 

The eldest son, George E. Harding, died at Osgood, Indiana, Septem- 
ber 13, 1905. His obituary stated regarding him: "He was a man who 
looked faithfully to the interests of his home, his wife, and his children. He 
always sought the betterment of the community in which he lived and spent 
his days in industry and thrift." 

A general survey of the genealog}^ of the Harding family shows that one 
of the knights in the train of William the Conqueror, 1066, was named Hard- 
ing, or Hardyng, as it was spelled. Sometimes tliere is a final "e," Hardynge. 

It seems that the name, a compound of "bar" or "here" and "ing," 
means the place where an army camps. "Here" is army and "ing" a meadow. 
Much curious data is found in books devoted to surnames, and in a list of 
names which are peculiar, to say the least, we find that one Harding, of 
I.ewes, was graceful. He figures in the list as "Graceful Harding of Lewes." 
Others of a like kind are "Fight-the-Good-Fight-of-Faith \\'hite" and "Weep 
Not Billing." Hardyng, who was one companion of William, and founded 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



871 



the family which flourishes in- Kent, Warwick, Devonshire and Derbyshire, 
was "of royal blood." One of the learned men of his time was Thomasi 
Harding, of Combe Martin, De\onshire. In the Visitation of Derbyshire the 
descent is given from Nicholas Harding, of Knewton, who had Robert. His 
son, Nicholas, was the father of Robert, who had a son, Nicholas, born in 
1662. Sir Robert, of Nottinghamshire, and Knewton, or King's Newton, 
was knighted at Whitehall, February 2, 1674. John Harding of this lineage 
was born in 1686, was prominent in the political life of England and member 
of Exchequer, 171 5. William Harding, of Surrey, who died in 1503, had a 
son, William, by his wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir John White, Lord 
Mayor of London, 1563. The son, William, dying without children, his 
sister, Mary, became the heiress of William Harding, her father. Mary 
married Sir Robert Georges and became the mother of eight. x\s far as the 
Harding lineage is concerned, she, of course, plays no part in the Harding 
records. Mary's sister, Elizabeth, married John Buckland, "of an ancient 
familv." Sir Robert Gorges was born of Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his 
wife, Ann Bell. One Robert Gorges was living in Plymouth Bay Colony in 
1623. He was Sir Robert, or near kin to him. After his death his land in 
Plymouth went to his brother, John. Sir Ferdinando Gorges's second wife 
(but not the mother of his children) was Eleanor, Marchioness of North- 
ampton, and widow of William Parr, Marquis, who was the brother of Cath- 
erine Parr, one of the Queens of Henry VHI. 




H.A.RDING COAT-OF-ARMS. 



The Harding coat of arms is blazoned; Argent, a bend sable, with three 
martlets, or, crest, a falcon displayed, proper. This coat armor is ascribed to 
the Thomas Harding who was prominently connected with the settlement of 
Virginia. 



^ 



872 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

"Colonial Gentry" gives an account of that branch of the Harding family 
which lives in Somerset county at Milverton, near Taunton. George Rogers 
Harding, who was born in Somerset county and had a political appointment 
in Queensland, was the son of George Harding, of Devonshire. The Morris 
and Winter are allied families. Nicholas Harding, "of Kingston-upon- 
Thames, Esquire," was born in 1772. His daughter. Jane, married Henry 
Pelham,of Sussex, and had Anne, who married Thomas Papillon. Monu- 
ments to the memory of both may be seen in Acrise church, Kent. Of 
Frances, daughter of Thomas Papillon, it is recorded that she was "a servant 
of Christ and friend of the poor." 

A member of the Harding family contributes the following data : "As 
I am informed, the Hardings were prominent in Virginia and in Massa- 
chusetts. In Virginia they were called 'Cavaliers,' and Augusta county was 
their home. My grandfather, John Harding, was not a first settler, for he 
was born in Virginia. He left there while a lad in company with his father, 
and uncle Samuel and others, when the country was a wilderness. The party 
came through Kentucky, staying there long enough to help clear a farm. 
Thence they crossed the Ohio river at Cincinnati and settled in Butler county, 
Ohio, where another farm was cleared, and there John Harding raised his 
family. All were born there except my father, who is a Hoosier product, and 
proud of the fact. My grandfather often talked of that journey through the 
wilderness, of its incidents and trials, and the perilous trip across the moun- 
tains. Their principal food was the deer they killed. Their passage was so 
slow that many times they were obliged to go back and get fire to start their 
supper from their previous night's camp. They were sixteen or eighteen 
days crossing the mountain — slow going, the travel of those old pioneers. 
At times they unhitched their horses and pulled the wagons, one part at a 
time, up the steep precipices." 

John Harding, of Virginia and Ohio, married Susan Abraham, who was 
born in Kentucky. Her parents settled in Butler county. Ohio, about the time 
the Hardings made their home there, and near the "Dry Fork of the White- 
water.'' Thomas Harding was one of the Virginia pioneers. He is put down 
in old records as prominently connected with the settlement of Virginia and 
from London, "member of an ancient family." In New England we find the 
Hardings in Massachusetts and Vermont, where they contracted marriages 
with the Vintons, Gibbs, Waldos. Marceys and Maxhams. Rev. Alpheus 
Harding, of New Salem, Massachusetts, was in the War of 1812 as chaplain. 

We also find that the Hardings belong in Pennsylvania. John Harding, 
of Germantown, of English stock, had a son, John. Saunders and Haws 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 873 

are allied families, and the goodly number of nine daughters — all lovely girls, 
we may rest assured — and two sons is the count in one household. All his- 
tories of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, have records of the Hardings 
as worthy pioneers, who always were to the fore in affairs demanding execu- 
tive ability. 

The Hardin (no "g'') family of Kentucky became Western pioneers. 
Asa Hardin, the father of ten, and born in Kentucky, went to Illinois. Allied 
families include the Stith, Reager, Rucker and Butler families. Benjamin 
Hardin, famed as an orator and lawyer, was the son of Benjamin Hardin, of 
Kentucky, and his wife, Sarah, who was also his cousin, the daughter of 
Colonel John Hardin. Wat Hardin was also a famous Kentucky lawyer and 
orator. It is in Kentucky that Hardin is the usual form of the name. Steve 
Harding, of Milan, Indiana, was appointed the first territorial governor of 
Utah by Abraham Lincoln. 

An allied family is that of Barbour. The Barbours were from \'irginia, 
and an early father was a burgess. Major James Barbour was in the War of 
1 81 2. Brigadier-General Martin Hardin, United States senator and secretary 
of the state of Kentucky in 1812, was a remarkably brilliant man and a splen- 
did soldier. He belonged to the fifth generation of a race of soldiers. He 
married Elizabeth Logan. Stuarts, Chinns and Clays are allied families. The 
Hardings, as well as the Hardins, have their soldiers, bold and true, ready to 
sacrifice all save honor for home and country. Gen. William Harding is one 
of the soldiers of the family, and there is a connection with the Jackson 
family, through the marriage of Selene, daughter of General Harding, to 
Gen. William Jackson, born in Virginia. 

General Jackson's home was Belle Meade Farm, Tennessee, where he 
died a few years ago. He was a West Point graduate. Judge Howell, brother 
of General Jackson, married Mary Elizabeth, sister of Selene Harding. The 
mother of Selene and Mary Elizabeth was Elizabeth Irwin McGavock. The 
father of Gen. William Harding, was John, who married Susannah Shute. 
The general, who had three other daughters and a son, William, is called a 
scholar and soldier, and a gentleman. Family connections of this branch of 
the Harding family include the Langhomes, Whites, Kents and Campbells. 
Gen. William Campbell, of Revolutionary fame, belongs here. 

Of the Hardings of Mississippi, Lyming Harding was pronn'nent, and 
one of the securities for Aaron Burr's appearance at the superior court at the 
time of his arrest, when he was compelled to surrender to the authorities and 
was conducted under guard to \^'ashington, Mississippi, the seat of govern- 
ment of the territory. Burr gave his recognizance in the sum of five thousand 



8/4 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

dollars, with Col. Benaiah Osmon and Lyming Harding as securities. This 
was when Aaron Burr was on his way to seize Alexico and make it his per- 
sonal empire. He was a guest of Colonel Harding at Windy Hill manor, and 
during his sojourn there he became infatuated with the beautiful Madeline 
and impetuously made love to her. "She was a miracle of beauty," and good 
as beautiful. 



WALTER HUNGERFORD. 

Seldom do we find a family living in the rural sections of the middle 
West, which is able to trace its ancestry, not only to the earliest wars of 
this country, but to the ancestral home in the country, from which the 
family came to America. The Hungerfords are a notable exception. In a 
straight line of descent the family is traceable to Lord Walter Hungerford, 
who was lord treasurer of England under Henry VL The family origin- 
ated near Bath and Trowbridge, England, and owned many thousands of 
acres of agricultural and hunting lands, villages, schools and' churches. 
Farleigh Castle, now called Farleigh-Hungerford, is the old ancestral home in 
England. The family was quite prominent in England during the War of 
the Roses, the motto on the ancient seal of the Hungerfords being the Latin 
phrase "Et Dku iiwii appiiy," or "God, my protector.'' 

Walter Hungerford, the cashier of the St. Paul Bank at St. Paul, 
Indiana, which was organized on December lo, 1904, is a direct descendant 
of Lord and Lady Hungerford, of Farleigh Castle. A native of Rush 
county, Indiana, he was born on a farm, July 13, 1873, the son of Orlando 
and Margaret ( Knapp) Hungerford, both of whom were natives of Rush 
county, the former born in 1852 and the latter in 1854. Orlando Hunger- 
ford is a son uf Cahin Hungerford, a native of Connecticut and a scion of 
an old colonial family of Connecticut, who was born on December 10, 181 1, 
and who died on June 23, 1867. The latter married Eleanor Sefton, who 
was born on October iS, 181 8, and died on February i, 1892. Calvin 
Hungerford was the son of Richard Hungerford, who was born on Decem- 
ber 28, 1788, and died in 1870. Richard Hungerford was the son of Lem- 
uel and Abigail (Beebe) Hungerford, the former of whom w^as born on 
February 21, 1761, and who died on February 21, 1846, and the latter born 
on July 10, 1 761, and died on January 27, 1842. Lemuel was the son of 
Lemuel Hungerford, Sr., who was born on May 2^, 1733, and who mar- 
ried Sarah Stewart. Lemuel, Sr., was the son of Green Hungerford. who 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 8/5 

married Jemima Ricliardson, and Green Hungerford was the son of Thomas 
and Mary Hungerford, the former of whom died in 1714. Thomas Hun- 
gerford moved from New London, Connecticut, to Haddam, Connecticut, 
in 1692. He was granted a section of land and was first selectman or ma^'or 
of Haddam. By trade he was a blacksmith and nailmaker. Capt. Zach- 
ariah Hungerford was commander of Ft. Trumbull and Ft. Griswold, on 
the Connecticut river, during the Revolutionary War. The family's church 
burying lot in Haddam shows a massive slab, bearing the inscription, "A 
Son of the Revolution.'' Thirteen Hungerfords from Connecticut fought 
in the Revolutionary War and this was only a part of the family who 
served in this great conflict.. Benjamin Flungerford was second lieutenant 
in the First Company of the Fourth Regiment; David was long a prisoner 
at Fort Washington: Elijah was a "minute man" who volunteered in 1776; 
James was a soldier of East Haddam; Thomas H, was captain of the Fif- 
teenth Militia ; Uriah was a surgeon at Long Island ; Uriah was a piper, and 
Zachariah a surgeon. John, Joseph, Nathaniel, Oliver and Stephen were 
also soldiers. William E. Hungerford was one of the first of the family to 
come to America. He had a beautiful home and estate on the banks of the 
Connecticut river. At his death, his remains were taken back to England 
and buried in Salisbury cathedral, where the twin tombs of Lord Walter and 
Lady Hungerford are still shown. 

Richard Hungerford came from Connecticut to Indiana, in the earlv 
twenties of the last century, settling in Rush county, where he took up 
government land in tracts of one hundred and sixty acres each for each of 
his five children. Orlando Hungerf()rd resided in Rush county until his 
marriage and then moved to Shelby county in 1875, locating near Blue 
Ridge, where he prospered. He became a large landowner and is one of 
the wealthiest citizens of this section today. To his union with Margaret 
Knapp three children were born : Walter, cashier of the bank at St. Paul,' 
who is the subject of this sketch ; Pearl, a farmer near St. Paul ; and Dora, 
assistant cashier in the bank of St. Paul. Orlando Hungerford lives just 
across the line in Shelby county. 

Walter Hungerford was educated in the common schools of Blue Ridge, 
in Rush county, and spent two years in the Marion Normal College at 
Marion, Indiana. He then followed farming until 1904, when he came to 
Decatur county, locating at St. Paul, where he opened the St. Paul Bank 
on Decemljer 10, 1904. This bank has had a remarkable growth since its 
opening for business and this growth is largely due to the enterprise, indus- 
try and good management of its cashier. Mr. Hungerford is a man of 



876 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

engaging personality, cordial in his relations with the patrons of the bank,, 
the depositors, directors and officers, as well as the public generally. 

Walter Hunger ford has been twice married, first in 1894, to Zora K. 
Yarling, the sister of Senator Yarling, of Shelby county. She died in 
November, 1904, leaving two sons, Donald, who was born on May 28, 1896, 
and George, October 2, 1898. By the second marriage, on December 10, 
1905, to Mrs. Nellie Kelso, of St. Paul, there has been no issue. Mrs. 
Hunger ford is the daughter of ]Mrs. Colvil E. Pearce, a widow of this 
county. 

Mr. Hungerford is a Democrat but has never been active in political 
circles. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Waldron and 
of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at 
St. Paul. He and his wife are members of the Christian church. They 
occupy a splendid residence in St. Paul. Walter Hungerford is known 
in this community as a fine fellow, cultured and progressive, a good citizen 
and a very pleasant gentleman. 



FRED E. MULFORD. 



After various attempts by local boys to work the hot sandwich business 
at nights on the streets of Greensburg, there finally came an outsider from the 
neighboring town of North Vernon, who has held that vocation at his will 
since October 19, 1899. This young man is Fred Mulford, who was born 
and reared at North Vernon, his birth occurring on January 13, 1874. His 
parents were Hoosiers, being natives, respectively, of Jennings and Dearborn 
counties, Indiana. Fred, as he is known by every man, woman and child 
for miles around, has endeavored at various times to better his condition 
financiallv, but, having engaged in a business in \\hich he was his own boss, 
being sure of not getting fired off the job and having a family of five children, 
he did not get very far away from the sure meal-ticket provider, that of the 
sandwich business. 

\\'hen fourteen years of age, Fred Mulford learned to lath with the 
plasterers and follows that line of work steadily at North Vernon, Charles- 
town and at Memphis, Tennessee. He also turned a number of jobs at 
Greenburg and elsewhere in Decatur county. This led him into taking a 
complete course in architecture with the Scranton International Correspond- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 8/7 

•ence School. He became very proficient in this Hne of work. He was the 
agitator and furnished sketches for the improvement of the Centenary Meth- 
odist Episcopal church at Greensburg. Though the building committee used 
other plans, Mr. Mulford received compensation for the time previously spent 
in getting the work under way. He also drew several sets of plans for differ- 
ent buildings in Greensburg, but, bcause of real estate deals, they were not 
carried out and built upon. It was because of his drafting ability that he was 
mentioned to the publishers of this work as being capable of drawing the 
maps used herein. His ability is displayed in the complete maps of the 
county and the nine townships, with all farms platted according to the spring 
assessor's platting in 191 5. 

It was during the progress of this work that a tragedy occurred that was 
a sad blow to Mr. Mulford and family and the entire community. Mr. Mul- 
ford went to Indianapolis on June 5, 191 5, to submit his work to the pub- 
lishers, according to previous contract. Wishing to show his little five-and- 
one-half -year-old daughter. Alma Alleen, a pleasant day's outing, he took 
her with him to the city. From the B. F. Bowen Company offices, Mr. Mul- 
ford and his little daughter went to the Century building in Indianapolis, 
where they took the elevator for the eighth floor. Directly after entering the 
elevator, another passenger entered and the elevator started up. This pas- 
senger got off at the third floor. The operator started the car up and 
attempted to close the screen door. Alma Alleen, who was standing at the 
side and partly back of her father, seeing the door still standing open, thought 
it was her getting-off place. She hurried out, and, as the car was at least 
fifteen inches above the floor level, missed her footing, fell forward and struck 
her forehead. She let out a smothered scream as her other foot slipped off 
the elevator floor and she fell back down into the shaft three stories, on to a 
concrete basement floor, her skull being fractured and the right leg broken 
at the thigh. The accident, which would not have occurred had the operator 
closed the door of the ele\-ator before starting the car, resulted in the death 
of little Alma Alleen. who lived just twelve hours, dying in the Deaconess 
hospital, at Indianapolis, just before midnight. At the coroner's inquest the 
passenger who left the elevator at the third floor, testified that the father was 
not at all to blame, and that the operator had failed to close the door before 
starting the car. 

Mr. Mulford's family consists of his wife, Cora, one daughter, Harriet 
Thelma, and three sons, David Sherman, Irvin Gaylord and Glen Emmert, 
all of whom were born in Greensburg, as was also little Alma .\lleen, who 
met so sudden a death. 



8/8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

THOAIAS EDGAR HAMILTON. 

A great movement cannot be built on one little ship — the "Mayflower." 
It takes a lot of ships and a big lot of people to make a commonwealth. A 
pyramid cannot be built on its apex, nor a great nation on one ship. Ply- 
mouth and Salem and Boston : Providence, Hartford and New Haven ; 
Manhattan, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Jamestown, Raleigh, Charleston and 
Savannah are the bright and shining stars of the Pilgrim immigration to 
America; and the Brotherhood of Separationists, of Puritans, of Dutch 
burgomasters, of Roman Catholic freen'ien, of Philadelphia Quakers, of 
\'irginia planters, of Carolina descendants of Locke and of Georgia Hugue- 
nots illustrate the fact that one type of motive makes the world akin. The 
above typical lovers of freedom whose crowning act was the wresting from 
the home guvernment of independence for the thirteen original colonies have 
many descendants in this county, families of Revolutionary descent being 
naturally very common in a district whose early settlement followed so soon 
after the westward mo\ement of many soldiers of the Revolution. Few of 
these families ha\'e a \\ider connectimi in this countv or a more distinguished 
descent than the Hamilton family, to which the gentleman whose name is 
noted above is attached, and it is a pleasure for the biographer to set out here 
something of Thomas Edgar Hamilton's career in the county in which he 
was born and in which his whcle life has been spent. 

Thomas Edgar Hamilton, a well-known farmer of Washington town- 
ship, this county, whose well-tilled farm adjoins the city of Greensburg on 
the north, was born in Clinton township, this county, April ig, 1833, but has 
lived on his present farm, in the fine brick mansion liuilt by his father in 
i8(")4. for fifty years. This substantial old mansion was constructed of brick, 
and the fine old trees which surround the house and the ivy-covered 
driveways leading thereto speak volumes for the loving care which is 
bestowed upon it by its present occupants. Mr. Hamilton is a son of Thomas 
George and Eliza Jane (Lewis') Hamilton, the former of whom was born 
in Nicholas county, Kentucky, in 18 19, and died at his home in this county 
of March 13, 1870, and the latter of whom was a daughter of Dr. M. 
Lewis, a pioneer physician of this county, who came here in the year 1823 
and helped to lay out the town of Greensburg. Thomas G. Hamilton's 
brothers, William W. and Samuel R., also were residents of this county. 
Another brother, Cincinnatus, remained in Kentucky. 

Thomas George Hamilton was a son of Col. William Hamilton, who 
drilled a company for service in the War of 1812. Col. William Hamilton, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 879 

who married Polly Bernau, was born in 1792 and died in 1878; was born, 
spent his whole life and died on the ancestral home in Kentucky. He was a 
son of Thomas Hamilton, a native of Virginia and a pioneer settler in Ken- 
tucky. Thomas Hamilton was a son of ^^'illiam Hamilton, another of whose 
sons, William Hamilton, Jr., lost his lite while battling for independence 
during the Revolutionary War. Thomas G. Hamilton came to Decatur 
county in 1845 and after a short residence in Greensburg, where he made his 
home with a brother who had preceded him to this state, he bought a farm 
of one hundred and sixt\- acres south of town, where he resided two years, 
at the end of which time he b(.iught a farm of three hundred and seventy-six 
acres in Clinton township, on which he resided until 1865, in which year he 
bought the farm adjoining the town of Greensburg on the north now owned 
and occupied by his son, Thomas E. This farm is well improved and very 
productive, being one of the choicest farms in Decatur comity. One .section 
of this land, one hundred and sixty acres, originally was owned by William 
Kingstone, a grant to him from the government in 1814, in recognition of his 
services in the French and Indian wars. He sold the section for four hun- 
dred dollars, being, no doubt, well satisfied with what [jrobably was considered 
a "bargain" in those days. Needless to say, that one hundred and sixty acres 
of land has increased in value fifty-fold since the day William Kingstone 
pocketed his four hundred dollars. 

Thomas G. Hannlton married Eliza Jane Lewis, born in 1828, died in 
1872, to which union were born three sons, William Lewis, who lives at 
Lidianapolis ; Thomas Edgar, the immediate subject of this sketch, and John 
Livingston, a well-known farmer of this county. In connection with his 
extensive farming operations, Thomas G. Hamilton was the pioneer dealer 
in mules in this county, buying and selling large numbers of these patient 
animals. He was a Democrat and was prominent in the political affairs of 
the county, lieing one of the best-known antl most infiuential men of this 
section in his day. He and his wife were devoted members of the Presby- 
terian church and their sons were reared in that faith. 

Thomas E. Hamilton was reared on the paternal farm and received his 
education in the district schools and the Greensburg high school. He earlv 
devoted himself to farming and now has one hundred and fiftv-two acres 
and also owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Clinton township, 
this county. Mr. Hamilton is an intelligent, useful citizen, "honest to the 
core," as his neighbors delight to phrase it, and is doing most excellent 
service on behalf of the public in the responsible position of a member of 
the county council, to which office he was elected in 19 14 and in which he is 



•88o DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

doing his duty honestly, conscientious!}- and with an eye single to the puhlic 
good. He is an able executor and has been administrator and trustee for 
several large estates in this county, a form of service in which he gave the 
utmost satisfaction, and has done and is doing his full duty, as he sees it, as 
a faithful, efficient and capable man of affairs. 

On November 20, 1879, Thomas E. Hamilton was united in marriage 
to Ida May ^^"ooden. daughter of the late Dr. John L. ^Vooden, a one-time 
well-known physician of Greensburg, whose genealogy is set out elsewhere in 
this volume in the biograpb.ical sketch relating to her lirother. Elmer E. 
Wooden, a retired merchant of Greensburg, and to this union one child was 
born, a daughter, Florence M., who is living at iiome. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton and their daughter are members of the Presby- 
terian church and are devoted to the good works of the community in which 
their lives have been spent in faithful and loving service. Mr. Hamilton is a 
Democrat and is prominent in the councils of his party in this county, his 
sound judgment and keen executive ability giving to his counsels much 
weight in the deliberations of the party managers. He is a good citizen, one 
whom all his fellow citizens deliglit to honor. 



EDWARD W. DAVIS. 



^^isible for miles in every direction, the new residence of Edward W. 
Davis stands as a veritable landmark in the northwestern part of Clay town- 
ship, this county. Mr. Davis' recently completed home, which was erected at 
a cost of something more than seven thousand dollars, is one of the most 
complete and thoroughly-appointed farm hottses in Decatur county, fitting 
evidence of the enterprise and good taste of the owners. ?ilr. and Mrs. Davis 
are very popular in the community in which they live and their new home 
promises to be the center of much cordial hospitality. The Davis home is a 
modern nine-room house erected on a pleasant eminence on the Da^•is farm of 
more than three hundred acres in Clay township, from which a view of all 
that picturesque region for miles about is obtainable : one of the most desir- 
able sites in the county. The house is piped for gas, both for lighting and 
heating, the gas being secured from a high-pressure well on the Davis farm, 
and is equipped wifli a complete water system, with hot and cold running 
water throughout : nothing having been neglected in making up the plans for 
this house to secure the greatest degree of comfort and convenience for the 




KKWAKl) \V. li.WIS AM) FAMILY. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 88 1 

occupants thereof. Mr. Davis has two dwelhngs on his farm, part of which 
farm Hes in Decatur county and part in Shelby county, and during the time 
of the erection of the new house he and his family lived in the house just over 
the line in the latter county. The Davis farm is one of the most fertile 
thereabout and is well provided with all the necessary improvements in accord- 
ance with the latest dictates of agricultural science and, under the thorough- 
going system of farming adopted by Mr. Davis, has proved very productive. 
In addition to his general farming, Mr. Davis is an extensive breeder of live 
stock, having shipped as much as twenty-seven hundred dollars' worth of 
hogs and eight hundred dollars" worth of cattle in a year. Besides his farm 
of three hundred and tweh-e acres surrounding his home. Mr. Davis is the 
owner of a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres in Daviess county, this 
state, making his land holdings five hundred and ninety-two acres in all. 

Edward W. Davis was born on a farm in Adams township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, on March j8, 1876, the son of James and Sarah E. (Braden) 
Davis, the former of whom was a native of Ireland and the latter of this 
county, daughter of Jack Braden, a Kentuckian, one of the best-known pio- 
neer residents of Clay township ; the man who built the first blacksmith shop 
in the town of Green.sburg, a reference to whom may be found on several 
pages of this volume of biography, particularly in the biographical sketch 
relating to Charles Templeton, whose wife is a sister of Mr. Davis. James 
Davis was twenty years of age when he left Ireland to make his fortune in 
the land of the free across the Atlantic. Upon arriving in this country he 
proceeded to Cincinnati and for some time was engaged in freighting between 
Cincinnati and Brookville, this state. He presently located in Decatur county 
and became very wealthy, owning at one time as much as three thousand 
acres of land. No man in the county was better known than he. He had 
more than a local fame as a trader and was an exceedingly energetic and 
enterprising person. 

Edward W. Davis received his education in the local district school and 
has always lived in the neighborhood of his present home. Following his 
marriage in 1903, he moved onto his present farm, remodeling a three-room 
house, which then stood on the place, into a nice residence and in this he 
lived until his present fine new home was completed. Inheriting much of 
the energy and enterprise of his father, Mr. Davis has been quite successful 
in his farming operations and is looked upon as one of the substantial men 
■of the county. 

On January 3, 1903, Edward W. Da\'is was united in marriage to Ella 
(56) 



882 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Lawson, who was born in Kentucky on June lo, 1879, daughter of Thomas 
and Mary Ann (Ross) Lawson, both of whom died in Kentucky. Ella 
Lawson came to this county on a visit to the family of her brother, Frank 
Lawson, and here she met Mr. Davis, their marriage following not long 
after. To this union one child has been born, a son, James Edward, born on 
October 18, 1903. 

Mr. and Mrs. Davis are members of the United Brethren church and are 
devoted to the good works of the community in which they live, being looked 
upon as among the leaders in all movements for the advancement of the 
common good. Mr. Davis is a Democrat and takes a warm interest in local 
political affairs, though not an active political worker. However, he is inter- 
ested in good government and aids in every proper way the promotion of the 
same. 



JOHN HENRY SCHROEDER. 

The student interested in the history of Decatur county does not have 
to carry his investigations far into its annals before learning that John 
Henry Schroeder has long been one of its most active citizens, in both its 
mercantile and agricultural interests, and that his labors have been a potent 
force in advancing the interests of this locality. Mr. Schroeder has lived a 
useful and honorable life, a life characterized by perseverance and well- 
defined purpose and he has established a character as a man who measures 
up to the type of the good American citizen. To him there also belongs the 
distinction of being the oldest resident of Decatur county. 

John Henry Schroeder, who lives on a farm adjoining the town of 
Enochsburg, Salt Creek township, was born in Germany, November 19, 
1822, the son of Frank and Mary Elizabeth Schroeder. who came to z\merica 
two years after their son had located here. When John H. Schroeder was 
about fourteen years of age, in 1836, enthused by the wonderful stories of 
the great possibilities in the United States for a young man of ambition and 
energy, he came to this country, locating first at Cincinnati, where he engaged 
in common labor. He also worked in a store for five years. In 1841 he 
went to Louisville, Kentucky, where, for five years, he was employed in a 
store, and in 1846 went to Missouri, and clerked in a store at Lottsport. 
Two vears later he returned to Louisville and after a residence there of one 
year came to Decatur county in 1849, locating in Enochsburg, where he 
established a store, which he operated with considerable success for about 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 883 

eight years. It was at a period antedating the advent of railroads in this 
section of the state and it was necessary to bring his stock of goods from 
Cincinnati. On one occasion when he was sending a wagon load of dressed 
hogs to the Cincinnati market and while crossing a stream near Harrison, 
the ice broke and the valuable team of horses which he was driving was 
drowned. When he discontinued his store at Enochsburg, Mr. Schroeder 
located on the farm where he now lives and which comprises two hundred 
and se\en acres of valuable land. He has resided there for about forty 
years and has worked a wonderful transformation in the condition of the 
place. At the time he moved upon it there were no improvements of any 
kind and it was necessary for him to cut timber in order to erect his build- 
ings. He since then has done strenuous labor, but despite his hard luck he is 
now, at the advanced age of ninety-three years, remarkably well preserved, 
both physically and mentally. He has always taken a keen interest in local 
affairs and has lent his aid to the advancement of all worthy propositions and 
to the raising of the standard of living. While living in Enochsburg he 
served two years as trustee of the township, and one term as appraiser and 
was in other ways prominent in the affairs of his neighborhood. During 
the Mexican War, Mr. Schroeder assisted in organizing a company for 
service and also helped to organize a military company during the Civil 
War. 

On February 8, 1849, Mr. Schroeder was married to Elizabeth Tuka, 
who was born in Germany on wSeptember 8, 1828, and who passed away in 
March, 1894. She came to America, locating in Louisville when fourteen 
years of age and her marriage to ]Mr. Schroeder occurred at Enochsburg. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder were born the following children: Henry H., 
Henry, deceased; Everhard Henry, October 9, 1832, who died in 1905; 
John G., November 17, 1854, who lives three miles south of Greensburg and 
who is married and has four sons. John, Edward, Frank and Gregory : John 
Ambrosius, deceased; Herman Henry, October 24, 1858, was married, July 
13, 1897, to Rosa Sandrock; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Northorst, of New 
Albany, is the mother of three children, Joseph, Rosa and Henry; Louisa 
Zizilia, December, 1862; Mrs. Annie Frances Thea, of Posey county, who 
has seven children, Rosa, Elizabeth, Joseph, Clara, Frances, Julia and 
Anthony ; Rosa Clara Wessels died in Louisville, Kentucky, on November 
23, 1899. at the age of thirty-two years, leaving four children, Lizzie, Bennie, 
Edward and Rosa. John Henry Schroeder also has four great-grandchil- 
dren, namely : Joseph and Leonard, sons of his grandson, John ; and Rich- 
ard and Paul, sons of Joseph Morthorst. 



884 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mr. Schroeder has been a life-long adherent of the principles of the 
Democratic party, having cast his first Presidential vote for Henry Clay and 
has voted for every Democratic presidential candidate since. His religious 
affiliation is with the Enochsburg Catholic church, of which he is a liberal 
supporter. 

As the oldest resident of Decatur county, J. H. Schroeder has seen his 
county develop from a sparsely settled community to its present prosperous 
condition, and has performed a very important part in helping to bring about 
the advanced standing of the locality. Though now in the evening of life, he 
is still hale and hearty and enjoys life with the zest of a far younger man. 
His long residence in this section has given him a great number of friends, 
bv whoni he is held in the highest esteem for his many commendable traits 
of character. 



OMER T. MANLIER 



Ripley county, Indiana, has furnished many of the present generation 
of enterprising farmers in Decatur county. It is not difficult to explain why 
many of the more ambitious young farmers of Ripley county have come to 
Decatur, the principal reason being, according to all loyal Decatur county 
folk, that the soil in Decatur county is far superior to that in Ripley county. 
Of the many native-born sons of Ripley county, who ha\'e sought a home 
and fortune in Decatur county, Omer T. Manlief, of Marion township, who 
came here more than forty years ago, may be mentioned. 

Omer T. Manlief, who owns one hundred and sixty acres of well- 
improved land in Marion township, Decatur county, was born on July 17, 
1849, i''' Ripley county, Indiana, the son of Benjamin and Catherine (Ruble) 
Manlief, of German descent, both of whom died in Ripley county. 

After com-ing to Decatur county in 1873, at the age of twenty-four, 
Omer F. Manlief purchased eighty acres of land at ten dollars an acre, 
paying cash for the tract. At this time the land was covered with timber. 
Immediately after purchasing this tract, he built a log house of two rooms 
in which he and his family lived for twenty years, or until they built their 
present home. During the first year or two after coming to Decatur county, 
Mr. Manlief rented cleared land, which he cultivated and worked at odd 
times and at night to clear his own land. In igio he purchased eighty 
acres of land situated across the road from his original tract, paying for the 
same twentv-four hundred dollars. He ordinarilv has about fortv acres of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 885 

corn and about tlie same amount of wheat. He now has a good home with 
well-kept and well-painted buildings and with many fruit and shade trees, 
which add greatly to the attractiveness of the place. 

In 1872 Omer T. Manlief was married to Mary Elizabeth Suter, of 
Dearborn count_v, who was born on January 13, 1852, the daughter of 
Joseph and Sarah Ann Suter. To this union three children have been born, 
all of whom are married and now have children of their own: Mrs. Edna 
Leo Lena Surface, of Westport, who has five children, Omer, Ollie, Anna. 
Erra and Birdie ; Clyde, a farmer of Jennings county, who married Mary 
Shumach and has one daughter, Martha : and Carl, who farms at home, 
married Stella Rathburn and has two children, Woodrow Lowson and Ruth. 

Mr. Manlief is a Democrat but has never been active in politics, pre- 
ferring to devote his time and his energy to his own personal and private 
business. The Manlief family are all members of the Baptist church and 
Mr. Manlief is a liberal contributor to the support of this faith. 

By prodigious industry, most economical living and careful manage- 
ment, Omer T. Manlief has accumulated a snug fortune in farm property 
and is recognized today as one of the foremost citizens of Marion township. 
He well deserves the confidence of the public because he has won that 
confidence by his ovi^n personal efiforts. 



JOHN R. COLLINS. 

During recent years much has been written and said regarding intensive 
farming in this country. The apparent inexhaustibility of the soil of this 
favored land for generations caused the tillers of the soil to display an 
almost disdainful laxit}' in the matter of the proper upkeep of the same, with 
the ver}' natural result that in time many once valuable farms became worth- 
less, by reason of being worn out. and were abandoned. Then came the 
demand for scientific fertilization and intensive farming: agriculturists all 
over the land began to wake up to the importance of keeping the soil alive, and 
the result has been the raising of crops that would have been deemed impos- 
sible by the pioneers, even in the davs of the soil's virgin fertilitv. Much 
has been done along this line in Decatur county, though it must be admitted 
that there still remains very much yet to be done. There is one farmer, 
however, who has cultivated his land to such advantage that he has become 
recognized among his neighbors as the most successful farmer in the countv ; 



886 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

a measure of praise which lie by no means courts, but which is ungrudgingly 
given him by those wiio have noted with much interest the results of his 
labors. Though the possessor of but a small acreage, his place consisting of 
eighty acres in all, John R. Collins, of Salt Creek township, is widely known 
as the man who raises the bumper crops in this county and his methods have 
attracted much attention, the spirit of emulation thus created undoubtedly 
having resulted in the elevation of the standards of farming throughout the 
whole county. As an example of the intensive methods adopted by Air. 
Collins, it may be mentioned that at one time he spent one thousand dollars 
for tile with which to drain a tract of forty acres. Those who may have 
looked askance at such an apparently extravagant expenditure altered their 
opinion when this tract was fuund to be producing seventy-five bushels of 
corn to the acre. As this was written this tract was bearing a luxuriant stand 
of wheat which promised to break all local records for yield. In 1912 Mr. 
Collins sold seed corn for two dollars a bushel to his admiring neighbors and 
he has raised as high as eighty bushels of corn to the acre. The title of 
most successful farmer in Decatur county, therefore, very properly may 
be applied to him, notwithstanding his modest disclaimer of any such dis- 
tinction. 

John R. Collins was born in Jennings county, this state, near the town 
of Brewersville, on July 29, 1857, the son of John Roberts Parsons and 
Nancy Jane (Roszel!) Collins, the former of whom was born in 1823 and 
died on July 29, 191 1, and the latter of w^hom was born on June 2, 1832, and 
died on July 13, 1895. John Roberts Parsons Collins was a native of Scot- 
land and, with a sister, was brought to this country when quite young by his 
mother. The father was to follow his family to this country on a vessel 
sailing later, but ne\er again was heard from and it was supposed that he was 
lost at sea. iVIr. Collins's mother died shortly after coming to America and 
her son and daughter were reared by their maternal grandparents, who 
some years before had come to this country, locating at Oxford, Ohio. There 
J. R. P. Collins lived until he was fifteen years of age, at which time he 
moved to Jennings county, this state. He had been apprenticed to the car- 
penter trade and upon locating in Jennings county he worked at this trade 
until the year 1862, in which year he came to Decatur county, locating in 
Salt Creek township, buying the farm on which his son, John R., now lives. 
On this place he built a log cabin and lived there until 1865, moving in that 
year to Pennington, where he farmed and worked at his trade the rest of his 
life. His death occurred in a hospital at Madison. 

Nancy Jane( Roszell) Collins was born in Greensburg, this county. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 887 

daughter of John Roszell, the first bhvcksinith in the town of Greensburg. 
John Roszeh was a native of Kentucky, whose father Hved to be one hun- 
dred years old He came to this county about the year 1822 and buik the 
first blacksmith shop in the then hamlet of Greensburg. Upon arriving here 
he turned his wagonbed upside down, erecting around the same a barricade of 
brush, thus creating his first shelter in Decatur county. He married a Miss 
Brocknian, cleared a tract of land for a home and became one of the best- 
known pioneer settlers of the county. 

To John Roberts Parsons and Xancy Jane (Roszell) Collins were born 
nine children, namely: Ida, born on August 11, 1855, married W. R. 
Copper, of New Pennington, this county, and died in March, 1905; John R., 
the immediate subject of this sketch; James R., who served five years in the 
United States army, then became a conductor on the San Francisco street 
railway, serving in such a capacity for fourteen years, and has not been heard 
of since the San Francisco earthquake, in 1906; Anna B., principal of one of 
the ward schools at Indianapolis; Carvel H., of Eaton, Blackford county, 
Indiana; Minnie, of Indianapolis, a teacher in the schools of Elwood, this 
state; Albert, a successful contractor and builder in the Isle of Pines, ofif the 
coast of Cuba, and Grace, who married Edward Hatfield, of Indianapolis,' 
and has three children. 

On September 10, 1891, John R. Collins was united in marriage to 
Sophia Rachel Schilling, who was born in Salt Creek township, this county, 
daughter, of William and Minnie (Harris) Schilling, natives of Germany 
and old residents of Salt Creek township, the former of whom was born in 
1836 and died in 1899 and the latter of whom was born in 1836 and died 
in 1907, who were the parents of eight children, as follow: Sophia R., who 
married Mr. Collins ; Henry, deceased ; William, who lives on the old Schil- 
ling farm; Mrs. Rosa Cullicut, of this county; Mrs. Minnie Bradewater, of 
Salt Creek township, this county ; Edward, of the same township ; Lucy, 
deceased, and John, also of Salt Creek township. 

To John R. and Sophia Rachel (Schilling) Collins have been born six 
children, William, aged twenty-two, who is at home ably assisting his father 
in the management of the farm ; Edward, Ida, Minnie, Bertha and Harry, 
at school. 

Mr. and Mrs. Collins are members of the Methodist church and their 
children have been reared in that faith. Mr. Collins is quite independent in 
his political views, ever giving the best citizens preference in making up his 
ballot. He is not a member of any of the various lodges, believing that 
home is man's best "lodge," and takes great pleasure and comfort in his 



888 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

home. He and his good wife talvc a warm interest in the cliurch and social 
affairs of their home community and no couple in that part of the county 
are held in higher regard than they. As pointed out in the beginning of this 
narrative, there is no better farmer anywhere in Salt Creek township than 
Mr. Collins, and it may be said with equal truth that no luan in the township 
is more popular than he. or held in higher esteem. 



GEORGE F. REDELMAN. 

One of the leading financial institutions of the eastern part of Decatur 
county is the First State Bank, of New Point, which was organized in 1906 
as a national bank and on January i, 1912, was converted into a state bank. 
The institution is housed in a commodious brick building owned by the 
companx' and is capitalized at twenty-five thousand dollars. It now has a 
surplus and undivided profits of thirty-five hundred dollars and deposits of 
one hundred thousand dollars. The ofiicers of the bank include John Hoff, 
president ; J. A. Meyer, vice-president, and George F. Redelman, cashier. 
The directors, besides the officers, include Edward A. Buckley, T. M. Clark, 
Joseph Kramer, J. H. Metz, Sr., Charles Risinger and Peter P. Schuh. 
During the last four years none of the officers has had more to do with the 
success and growth of this bank than its cashier, Mr. Redelman. 

George F. Redelman was born on November 19, 1884, in Greensburg, 
this county, son of Henry M. and Sarah A. (Herman) Redelman, the 
former of whom was born in 1854, near Millhousen, this county, on a farm, 
son of Matthias Redelman, a native of Germany, and the latter of whom 
was born near Harris City, in Decatur county. Mrs. Sarah A. (Herman) 
Redelman's parents, however, were natives of Germany. Henry M. Redel- 
man is an extensive farmer and stockman of Marion township, whose life 
history is told elsewhere in this volume. 

Receiving his early education in the Slabtown school, in Marion town- 
ship, George F. Redelman later attended the Hamburg schools, going to 
school in the same building and receiving instruction from the same teacher 
as did his father. This venerable teacher was Theodore \\'ilmer. .\fter 
graduating from the Slabtown school when fourteen years of age, Mr. 
Redelman worked on the farm until twenty years old, at which time he 
received a license to teach school. Instead of teaching, howe\'er, he went to 
Indianapolis as a student of the Vorhees Business College, from which 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 889- 

institution he was graduated in 1905. Subsequently he worked as a book- 
keeper and collector for the Badger Furniture Company at Indianapolis for 
one year, and was then employed on the Indianapolis Star for some time. 
In the fall of 1906 he returned to Decatur county, going to Greensburg as 
bookkeeper of the Greensliurg National Bank, and on July 5, 191 1, took 
charge of the b'irst State Bank at New Point. 

On June 18, 1913, Mr. Redelman was married to Lena Spitzmesser, of 
Greensburg, daughter of Leopcjld and Caroline Spitzmesser, to which union 
one son has been born, Robert George, born on April 19, 1914. 

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Redelman has never taken an acti\-e part 
in the councils of his party. He and his wife are members of the Enochs- 
burg Catholic church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of 
Columbus and the Knights of St. John at Greensburg. 

George F. Redelman is still a very young man to be charged with 
important financial responsibilit}', and this proves better than anything else 
the estimation in which he is held by the people of this section. He enjoys 
not only the confidence and respect of the officers and directors of the First 
State Bank at New Point, but he has also maintained, since his connection 
with the liank, cordial relations with the patrons of the institution and the 
public generally and well deserves the high esteem in which he is held by the 
people of this community. 



GEORGE A. LOGAN. 



The most pretentious country house to be found anywhere in the west- 
ern part of Decatur cnunty. Indiana, is that located on the farm of George 
A. Logan in Clay township. Tiiis house, of nineteen rooms, is finished 
throughout in native wood, cut and seasoned on the farm, the walls made of 
bricks of clay dug on the farm, and required five years for construction, 
being conii)leted alxnit 1889. The rooms are finished in wild cherry, walnut, 
ash and quartered-oak, and the poplar doors are cut from native wood. 
Logs for the construction of the house were hauled eight miles to Burney, 
and the rock was quarried near Milford. Incidental material for furnishings 
was hauled to Green.sburg and then brought back to the f.'irni. In 1913 a 
beautiful concrete and brick veranda was added to the house, a \'eranda 
which circles front and sides of the house and gives it a most imposing 
appearance. This magnificent place is located on a farm of two hundred 



890 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and seventy-five acres of land which was given to Mr. Logan by his father, 
but at that time it had no improvements. Since that time Mr. Logan has 
erected two large barns, a double corn-crib, tool-house and garage, all of 
which are painted yellow. The proprietor of this splendid estate also owns 
seventy-five acres north of the home farm. 

George A. Logan, who may be regarded as the author and finisher of 
this beautiful countryside home, was born on March 7, 1862, on a farm 
one-fourth mile from his present home, the son of John and Eliza A. 
(Hungate) Logan, the former of whom was born on August 14, 1829, in 
Decatur county, Indiana, and died on July 16, 1912, and the latter of whom 
was born in Jefferson county, Kentucky, on June 7, 1838. The late John A. 
Logan was a son of early pioneers of Decatur county. Samuel and Susanna 
(Howard) Logan, natives of Pennsylvania, who, in 1818, came down the 
Ohio river on a flat boat and who, after stopping for a time in Kentucky, 
settled in this county. After constructing a rude log cabin, they entered land 
from the government, and during their lives became very prosperous. Sam- 
uel and Susanna Logan were the parents of thirteen children, among whom 
were James, deceased: Samuel, Jr., of Letts Corners, Decatur county; John, 
of Greensburg; Aaron, who lives west of Greensburg, in Washington town- 
ship; Frank, of Topeka, Kansas; Martha Ann, who married a Doctor Hitt, 
now both deceased ; Mrs. Margaret Jane Deen, deceased ; Mrs. Mary Hamil- 
ton, deceased; Mrs. Rachel Hobbs, who was the wife of the Rev. Mr. 
Hobbs, a Christian minister, and who died at Des Moines, Iowa, in January, 
191 5. The late John Logan was married to Eliza A. Hungate on January 
24, 1856, and after his marriage settled on a farm in Clay township, five 
miles west of Greensburg. They lived" on the farm until in September, 
1886, accumulating in the meantime seven hundred and forty acres of land. 
Mrs. Eliza E. (Hungate) Logan was a daughter of John and Eliza (Gre- 
gory) Hungate, natives of Kentucky, who emigrated to Shelby county, 
Indiana, in 1840, and wdio later settled in Noble township, that county, 
where they died. John Hungate was born in 1798, and died on September 
21, 1891. His wife had passed away previously, at the age of seventy- 
seven. They were the parents of the follo\ying children : Andrew Jackson. 
George Washington and Mrs. Cynthia Jones, deceased ; John, who lives on 
the old homestead in Shelby county, Indiana; Mrs. Eliza Logan, and Cath- 
erine, the wife of Thomas Vaughn, deceased. John Logan and wife were 
the parents of three children, Orange, George Andrew and Eliza. Orange 
owns the old homestead farm. He was born on June 10, 1857. He mar- 
ried Emma Gregory, a native of Kentucky, and they have two children. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 89 1 

Clem and Nellie. Eliza, born February 23, 1870, lives with her mother. She 
owns a farm of two hundred acres in Washington township. 

After receiving a liberal education in the public schools of Decatur 
county, Indiana, George Logan took up farming and was so engaged until 
his marriage, on July 22, 1886, to Mary Hayman, a native of Shelby county, 
Indiana, daughter of Alfred and Minerva (Knight) Hayman, the former 
of whom was born on July 7, 1826, and who died June 29, 1887, and the 
latter of whom was born on October 16, 1831, and who died on May 8, 1872. 
Alfred and Minerva Hayman were married on March 2^^, 1856, in Shelby 
county, this state, and to this union were born two children ; Everett, born on 
August 26, 1859, who is a resident of VValdron, and Mrs. Mary Logan, who 
was born on September 17, 1863. 

Mr. and Mrs. George A. Logan have only one child, Harrison A., who 
was born on June 14, 1887. He lives at home with his parents on the farm 
and is engaged in farming with his father, who is extensively engaged in 
dairying. The dairy is located on the north farm, where Mr. Logan has a 
herd of Jerseys, varying from twenty to thirty in number, and ships his 
products to the Polk Dairy Company, of Indianapolis. 

Mr. Logan is a Democrat, but has never been active in political affairs, 
preferring to devote his entire time and attention to his agricultural interests. 
Mrs. Logan is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Adams and 
Mr. Logan is identifiied with Milford Lodge No. 94, Free and Accepted 
Masons. His son, Harrison A., is a member of the same Masonic fraternity, 
and of Adams lodge of Odd Fellows, and of Greensburg lodge. Fraternal 
Order of Eagles, and Greensburg Lodge, Improved Order of Red Men. ' 

Mr. and Mrs. Logan are hospitable entertainers, ■ and Mr. Logan is 
known in this community and throughout Decatur county as a hail fellow, 
well met ; broad-minded, good-hearted, a hustler and an optimist. 



RANDOLPH STARK. 



To attain a worthy citizenship by a life that is always honored and 
respected even from childhood deserves more than naming. One may take 
his place in public life through some vigorous stroke in public politics and 
even remain in the hearts of friends and neighbors, but to take the same 
position by dint of the practice of an upright life and without a craving fi 
•e.xaltation and popularity, is worthy of the highest praise and commendation. 
.Probably no citizen of Decatur county occupies a higher place in theesteem 



892 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of the community at large than "L'ncle" Randolph Stark, of Xew Point, 
Salt Creek township. He is respected and honured by all who know him 
because of his exemplary daily life, each day having been one above criticism 
and passed upon in the light of true manhood. Strong and forceful in his 
relations with his fellowmen, he has not only made his presence felt, but has 
also gained the good will and confidence of his associates and the general 
public, ever retaining his reputation among men for integrity and high 
character, nij matter how trying the circumstances, and never losing that 
dignity which is the birthright of a gentleman. 

Randolph Stark, now retired and living in the pleasant little village 
of New Point, was born on October 14, 1838, in Clermont county, Ohio, 
and is the son of John and Charity ( Meeker) Stark, natives of Xew York 
and New Jersey, respectively. John Stark was the son of John Stark, whose 
father was Gen. John Stark, of Revolutionary fame, whose words, "There 
are the redcoats ! We must beat them today or Mollie Stark is a widow," are 
historical. In 1850 John and Charity Stark came from Ohio to Indiana, 
settling in Salt Creek township, Decatur count}-, where they resided nearly 
a half century, their deaths occurring in 1889. They were the parents of the 
following children : Mary Jane, deceased ; Mrs. Sarah Jane Hollensbe. of 
Clarksburg; Mrs. Harriet Morrow, of Hidalgo, Illinois; Leander, who died 
in 1891 ; Ah'ira. deceased; Randolph, the subject of this sketch; James, who 
died in 1912; William H., of New Point, this county; John P., who died at 
the age of twelve years; Charles Foster, deceased; and Mrs. Maria Sample 
and Mrs. Melissa Freeland, twins, both deceased. John Stark followed the 
dual occupation of farmer and lumberman and w^as successful in botli. He 
was a man of splendid qualities of character and stood high in the com- 
munity where he so long resided. 

Randolph Stark was reared under the parental roof and received his 
education in tlie district schools. At the early age of eighteen years, he 
engaged in the lumber business on his own account and was in partnership 
with his brother, Leander, for many years. They owned the Xew Point 
mills for over twenty years and at one time operated many mills scattered 
over different counties, the firm o\ Stark Brothers being one of the most 
important concerns of its kind in j^iuthern Indiana. So widely recognized 
is Mr. Stark's connection with the growth of Xew Point that he is fre- 
quently called "The b'ather of Xew Point.'' He has alwa^'s had the keenest 
interest in the welfare of this community and in many substantial ways has 
contributed to its welfare and upbuilding. After sixty years of an honored 
and successful career, he has retired from active business affairs, but. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. , 893 

although nearly seventy-seven years of age, is still hale and hearty. One of 
the interesting and pleasing incidents in Mr. Stark's later life was the post 
card shower of which he was the recipient on November 13, 1910, the occa- 
sion being his seventy-second birthday anniversary. These cards, many 
hundreds in number, represented every state in the Union and were received 
from Odd Fellow lodges, war veterans, various publications and many emi- 
nent public men, including President Taft, ex-Vice-President Charles W. 
Fairbanks, Senator Albert J. Be\'eridge and other prominent men. One of 
the fine things in connection with Mr. Stark's life is the fact that he has 
never uttered an oath nor touched liquor or tobacco in any form. Fie is 
also a total abstainer from coffee and tea. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Randolph Stark enlisted as a private 
in the One Flundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infan- 
try, with which he served one hundred days and later, when General Morgan 
made his famous raids through southern Indiana, Mr. Stark again enlisted, 
assisting in repelling the invaders. 

On March 13, 1864, Randolph Stark was married to Rosetta Showalter, 
who was born in Jackson county, Indiana, on August 3, 1844, the daughter of 
Isaac and Mary (Flollensbe) Showalter, natives of England. Mrs. Stark's 
parents eloped from England when Mary Showalter was only fourteen years 
of age. The Showalters later came to America, locating in Decatur county, 
about 1845. Late in Mr. and Mrs. Stark's lives there were born to them 
two children, a son and a daughter, the elder, the son, dying in infancy. 
The daughter, Cora, is a talented musician, having studied under the most 
competent instructors, both in Cincinnati and Indianapolis. For the past 
two years she has been conducting musicales and recitals in Kentucky, Ohio, 
Indiana and Illinois. Highly accomplished as a musical performer, and 
equally successful as a teacher, she is esteemed highly in musical circles of the 
cities where she is called. 

Mr. Stark has always given his support to the Republican party and 
has been honored by his fellow citizens, having served as trustee of Salt 
Creek township for six years. His fraternal relations are with the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, he belonging to the lodge of that order at 
New Point. He assisted in building the New Point Christian church and 
has been one of its most faithful and earnest supporters. He takes an active 
part in the affairs of this church and served the communion for fortv vears. 
Mr. Stark possesses a rare equanimity of temper and is noted for his kind- 
ness of heart, qualities which have won for him the sincere regard of all 
who know him. His nature is genial and cordial and his manner attractive. 



894 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

His mind is rich and cultivated by a life of reading and observation. He 
has no personal enemies and provokes no one to enmity, for the simplicity 
and cordiality of his nature and manner invite friendship and forbid enmity. 
He is a hospitable man and cordially responds to all social claims, his home, 
one of the most commodious and attractive in New Point, being favorite 
stopping places for man\- friends. 



SAMUEL CLARK. 



When the pioneer emigrant, John Clark, came to Decatur county, 
Indiana, with his wife in 1823, and entered a quarter section of land in 
Marion township, he might not have been conscious of the fact that he was 
here establishing a homestead for his posterity which would remain in the 
family at least to the fourth generation. The present farm of Samuel Clark 
in Marion township, which comprises three hundred and ninety-two acres, 
includes the quarter section of land entered by John Clark, his grandfather, 
in 1824. Since the latter"s time this farm has been owned successfully by 
the son, AVilliam Clark, and at present by the grandson, Samuel, the subject 
of this sketch. 

Samuel Clark, who now lives in Greensburg, but supervises his farm, 
was born on September 16, 1859, the son of William and Rebecca (Cassel- 
dine) (Newman) Clark, the former of whom was born on September 22, 
1807, and who died, April i, 1893, ^"d the latter of whom was born, June 
10, 1817, and who died about three years before the passing of her husband, 
on November 14, 1890. Born at Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, Rebecca Cassel- 
dine was descended originally from North Carolina stock. Her husband, 
who was born in Bourbon county, Kentucky, was the son of John Clark, a 
native of Maryland, born in 1768, and who died in i860. He came from his 
home near Blackhorse Tavern, in Maryland, on horseback to Kentuckv, and 
there was married to Mary Beckett, and in 1823 came on to Decatur county, 
entering a quarter-section tract in Marion township. The next year he 
returned to Kentucky and removed with his family permanently to this state. 
Each winter, however, he returned to Kentuck}- and cut cord wood. In his 
younger days he had been a fireman on a river steamer and with others had 
made several trips to New Orleans by flat-boat with various kinds of produce, 
walking all the way back home. He was a strong, sturdy character and one 
fitted to found a home in the Hoosier wilderness. He and his wife reared a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. , 893 

family of eleven children, Joseph, Ro1)ert, \\'illiani, James, Richard, Thomas, 
Walker, John, Nancy, Eliza and Susan, all uf whom are deceased, Richard 
having died in August, 1913. 

When ^\'illiam Clark reached maturity he purchased the old home farm, 
and during his lifetime accumulated altogether ahout four hundred acres of 
land in one tract. He also owned eighty acres south of Greensburg, or in 
all four hundred and eighty acres. He was a strong Republican. To Will- 
iam and Rebecca (Casseldine) Clark were born three children: Eliza J., 
who lives with her brother, Samuel, the subject of this sketch; Nancy A., 
who died on April 7, 1894, and Samuel. 

Until his removal to Greensburg, Indiana, Samuel Clark had always 
lived on the farm where he was born. In March, 191 5, Mr. Clark removed 
to north Greensburg, but still raises hogs and many cattle on the farm, 
which is immune from cholera and all other hog diseases. There have been 
altogether six different houses on the farm, but. one burned, and there are 
only two left, these having supplanted pioneer structures. The house in 
which Mr. Clark himself lived was built in 1S65. 

On January 3, 1895, Samuel Clark was married to Susanna demons, 
who was born on October 4, 1866, in Dearborn county, Indiana, is the 
daughter of Frederick and Louise (Krummel) demons, natives of Ger- 
many, who came to this country when young people and who were married 
in Dearborn county. After their marriage they removed to Riplev county, 
and settled near Napoleon, where they died. A great-grandfather of the 
Clark children on their maternal side fought with and was killed while 
fighting under General Washington at the memorable defeat of General 
Braddock during the French and Indian wars. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel dark have been born four children, as follow : 
Helen, born on October 31. 1895: Bertha, 1900, died in 1902; Nesbit, Decem- 
ber 21, 1904, and Chauncey Howard, April 2, 1907. 

All the members of the Clark family, except Mr. Clark, are members of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Clark himself attends church. At 
the formation of the Progressive party in 1912 Mr. Clark identified himself 
with this party, and since then has been actively identified with the organiza- 
tion of the party. He is an enthusiastic admirer of Colonel Roosevelt and 
also of former Senator Beveridge. 

Samuel Clark takes a great interest in the farm which has come down 
to him from his grandfather, and is anxious that the farm be kept in the 
family for several generations to come. He is devoting his life not only to- 
the business of farming, but to rearing his children to honorable and useful 



896 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

lives, for which he has every reason to expect that they will carry on the 
work so successfully carried forward by their father, grandfatlier and great- 
grandfather in this county. Here in old Decatur county the name of Clark 
is synonymous with industry, honesty, sobriety and intelligent citizenship, 
and Samuel Clark is a worthy exponent of these principles. 



CHARLES W. WORLAND. 

Under the operation of the American system of politics there are few 
evidences of personal popularity more convincing in their expression than the 
returns given at the polls. When the election returns give to a candidate for a 
responsible and important county office the largest majority ever returned for 
any candidate of the party on whose ticket his name is represented in that 
county, this indisputable and very tangible e\idence may be accepted as creat- 
ing a very fair presumption of a most complimentary personal following on 
the part of that favored candidate. These thoughts are suggested by a 
review of the returns of the last election in Decatur county, in which County 
Commissioner C. W. Worland, of Clay township, was re-elected by the 
largest majority ever given a Democratic candidate for county commissioner 
in the history of this county. Not only that, but Mr. Worland has the further 
distinction of being the only Democratic county commissioner who was ever 
re-elected in Decatur county. His popularity in the vicinity of his home was 
amply demonstrated by the fact that, although his precinct is naturally heavily 
Republican, Mr. Worland carried tlie same by a majority of fifty-seven votes, 
an expression of confidence and esteem on the part of his neighljors that 
must have been exceedingly gratifying to the candidate. All agreed, how- 
ever, that this expression was well deserved, for in the administration of the 
affairs of the county commissioner's office, Mr. Worland had displayed a 
degree of sagacitv, soimd business judgment and keen executive ability that 
very properly called for his retention in this important office, and there were 
many who announced, at the opening of his second campaign, that his re- 
election was a foregone conclusion, a forecast which the returns proved to be 
quite accurate. Commissioner Worland is one of the best-known men in 
Decatur countv. He owns a fine farm of one hundred acres in Clay town- 
ship, admirably tilled and prudently managed : the studious attention gi\-en to 
the management of his own affairs having been one of the strongest recom- 
mendations urged in behalf of his candidacy during the two campaigns he 
successfully conducted for the office which he now holds. 



DECATUR CO-JNTY, INDIANA. 897 

Charles W. Worland was born in Shelby county, Indiana, on January 20, 
1862, son of William Leo and Nancy Ellen (Barnes) Worland, the former 
of whom was born on September 6, 1834, and died in July, 1903, and the 
latter of whom was born on July 16. 1843, and died on October 17, 1890, 
Mr. Worland dying at Shelbyville, Indiana, and Mrs. Worland dying at 
Letts Corner, this county. William L. Worland was born in Kentucky, son 
of Leo W. Worland, of Scottish ancestry, who, in an early day moved from 
Kentucky to Indiana and spent the rest of his life in this state. Nancy Ellen 
Barnes was a daughter of Elijah and Polly (Gregory) Barnes, whose last 
days also were spent in this county. 

William L. Worland came to Decatur county in 1880, locating in Sand 
Creek township, engaging in the saw-mill business at Letts Corners, where 
he became quite successful. Upon the death of his wife, he went to Shelby- 
ville, this state, where his last years were spent in the home of his daughter, 
Mary Margaret, who still is living in Shelbyville. William L. and Nancy 
Ellen (Barnes) Worland were the parents of eleven children, namely: Mary 
Margaret, who lives at Shelbyville, Indiana; Charles W., the immediate sub- 
ject of this sketch : Elijah, who lives at Williamstown, Rush countv, Indiana ; 
Albert, who lives at Shelbyville, Indiana; Lewis, who lives at Indianapolis; 
Mrs. Nora Simmonds, of Indianapolis ; Henry, deceased ; William, deceased ; 
Lilly, who lives at Denver, Colorado ; Francis, who lives at Shelbyville, 
Indiana, and Morris, who lives at Greensburg, this county. 

C. W. Worland has been a resident of this county since 1880, in which 
year he came with his parents from Shelby county. Until he was twenty-six 
years of age he assisted his father in the mill business at Letts Corners, but 
after that time rented a farm in Sand Creek township, where he lived until 
in September, 1904, when he moved to Clay township and entered seriously 
upon the life of a farmer. Being progressive in his methods of farming and 
energetic in his operations, he prospered and ten years ago bought his present 
farm of one hundred acres near the village of Milford, then known as the 
Rothschild farm. This is a fine farm, gently rolling, and its soil is of that 
variety locally known as "sugar tree" or "black walnut" soil. 

On October 29, 1884, Charles W. Worland was united in marriage to 
Emma Davis, of Westport, this county, daughter of John and Mary (Dare) 
Davis, natives of Union county, this state, who came to Decatur county about 
the year 1870 and became prominent residents of the Westport neighbor- 
hood. Mary Dare's parents were natives of New Jersey and emigrated to 
Indiana shortly after their marriage, settling in Union county, where they 
spent the rest of their lives. 
(57) 



898 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

To C. W. and Emma (Davis) Worland were born six children, as fol- 
low: Mrs. Eva Miers, of Adams township, this county; Clarence E., who 
remains on the home farm; Mrs. Mary Pumphrey, of Shelbyville, Indiana; 
Edward Leo. an express messenger on the "Big Four" Railroad, whose run 
is between Cleveland and Kansas City; Mrs. Alma Salter, of Marion, Indiana, 
and Raymond, who lives at home. 

Mr. Worland is a member of the Christian church and is active in the 
good works of that church. He is a Democrat and ever since coming to 
Decatur county has taken a warm interest in the political affairs of the 
county, being deeply concerned in questions of good government. In Novem- 
ber, 1914, he was re-elected county commissioner from his district, his 
services during his first term in that important office giving to the public 
ample evidence of his excellent qualifications for that important office. He 
is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Letts Corners and of the 
Masonic lodge at Milford. and .takes a warm interest in the affairs of these 
two popular orders. Mr. Worland is a jovial man who has many warm 
friends throughout the county, all of whom hold him in the highest esteem. 



JOHN JOSEPH PUTTMANN. 

The gentleman, whose name ajipears at the liead of this biographical 
review, needs no introduction ti> the people of Decatur county, since his- 
entire active life has been spent here; a life devoted not only to the promotion 
of his own interests, but also to the welfare of the community at large. An 
honorable representative of one of the most highly esteemed families of this 
section and a man of higli character and worthy ambitions, he has filled no 
small place in the public view, and, although a partisan, with strong con- 
victions and well-defined opinions on questions on which men and parties 
divide, he holds the esteem and confidence of the people of his community. 
Lie has been identified witli many "i the most important enterprises of tliis 
community and, in tiiis way, has been largely instrumental in the prosperity 
of the locality with which he has been identified. A successful business man 
himself, he has, by his counsel and advice, been instrumental in assisting 
others along the highway of life and has rightfully earned the enviable- 
position which he holds in the community. 

John J. Puttmann was born on June 4, 1857, at Enochsburg, Franklin 
county, Indiana, the son of John Henry and Christina Charlotte (Storig) 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. . 899 

Puttmann, natives of Germany. John H. Puttmann was born in 1784 and 
died in September. 1861, and his wife, Christina C, was born in 1815 and 
died on February 28, 1885. John H. Puttmann was a sailor and worked 
on the sea for many years, being the captain of a German vessel and, at one 
time, owned two ships of his own. He was an accomplished linguist, being 
aljle to speak se\'en languages. He finally abaniloned a seafaring life and 
came to Cincinnati, where he operated a grocery, subsequently moving to a 
farm near Enochsburg. About 1858 he bought a farm in Salt Creek town- 
ship, in Decatur county, where he spent the remainder of his days. His son, 
the subject of this sketch, now owns the homestead. Christina Puttmann 
had been married prior to her union with Mr. Puttmann, her name having 
been Klimper, to this first marriage two children having been born, Fred and 
Henry Klimper, both of whom are deceased. Of the children born to the 
union of John H. and Christina Puttmann. John J. is the only survivor, 
Eliza, Frances, Margaret. Louis and Josephine, all being dead. 

John J. Puttmann attended the common schools of Salt Creek town- 
ship and, at the age of fifteen years, in 1872, he became a telegraph operator 
at New Point and on January 9, 1874, entered the service of the Big Four 
railroad as agent and telegraph operator at North Bend. On May i, 1874, 
he went to Lebanon, Boone county, Indiana, and on October 2, of the same 
year, he was again assigned to New Point, where he remained until his 
resignation, on May i, 1888. He had faithfully discharged his official 
duties and was hfeld in high esteem by his superior officers. 

During all these years Mr. Puttmann had been keeping closely in touch 
with the public affairs of his locality and in 1882 was elected trustee of his 
township. So efficiently did he discharge the duties of this office that in 
1884 he was again nominated by his party and re-elected. In 1890 the 
Democrats of his county nominated him for the position of county auditor 
and, being successful at the polls, he served four years in this responsible 
position. During President Cleveland's first administration, Mr. Puttmann 
served as postmaster at New Point, beginning on April i, 1886. He has 
taken an active interest in political and other public affairs for many years 
and is numbered among the strong and influential men of his community. 

John J. Puttmann has, from time to time, become interested in various 
enterprises in Decatur county and is now numbered among its most prom- 
inent business men. That his interests are diversified may be inferred from 
the following statements. A merchant at New Point, he deals in hardware, 
farming implements, grain, feed and building material and also operates, in 
connection with this business, a lumber yard and keeps a complete line of 



900 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

drain tile. He also owns two saw-mills, one in New Point and another a 
short distance from that place, both of which are devoted to the manufac- 
ture of hardwood lumber. He engaged in the lumber and building material 
business until 1878 and in the hay, grain and feed business until 1879, and 
in 1892 established the hardware business. He was successful in all of 
these lines and was counted one of the most successful business men of his 
community, gaining the confidence and good will of all who had dealings 
with him. His grain business has been very extensive. He bought grain 
w hile in the employ of the railroad company and, since entering business on 
his own accovmt, he has pushed this line of operation so that now he ships 
from three thousand to five thousand bushels of wheat annually. His 
elevator has a capacity of thirty-five hundred bushels. His investments in 
these lines are approximately as follow : In the lumber and building mater- 
ial business, two thousand dollars; grain, two thousand dollars, and hard- 
ware and implement business, four thousand dollars. In addition, he is 
also the owner of four hundred acres in Salt Creek township, which he 
devotes largely to live stock and general farming and in the operation of 
which he has met with well-deserved success. One of the largest enter- 
prises in this community and with which Mr. Puttmann is very closely identi- 
fied is the Big Four Stone Company, which employs from thirty-five to sixty 
men and whose annual pay roll is from twenty thousand to twenty-five thou- 
sand dollars. The output of this quarry is shipped to all parts of the United 
States and, since the quarry began operations, in April, 1882, the annual 
shipment has amounted to from three hundred to five hundred cars. The 
output consists largely of building stones, flagging and crushed stone. The 
capital investment of this enterprise is thirty thousand dollars and the com- 
pany has one of the best quarry equipments in central Indiana, including a 
private railroad three miles long, rolling stock and a locomotive to facilitate 
the handling of the quarry output. Stone is now being produced from this 
quarry for a large building in West \"irginia and for the colored Young 
Men's Christian Association building at Cincinnati. In the management of 
this entereprise, as in everything else in which he has engaged, Mr. Putt- 
mann has shown business qualities of a high" order and his progressive spirit 
and indefatigable industry have been duly appreciated by his business asso- 
ciates. Wisely conservative, yet aggressive when necessary in his business 
affairs, Mr. Puttmann is considered a man of keen judgment and sagacious 
insight into the possibilities of a proposition to which he addresses himself. 
On June 19, 1878, John J. Puttmann was married to Hester E. Osborn. 
who was born on January 10, 1855, the daughter of Albert I. and Florence 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. gOI 

Osborn, of New Point, this county. Mrs. Puttmann died on September 28, 
1914. To this union were born five children: Rose E., the wife of Bernard 
Santen, of Columbus, Ohio, who has one .son, Vernon: Clyde E. H., a farmer, 
who married Virginia Jones and has three sons, Joseph J., Charles and Wal- 
ter; Elva Dora, who is the wife of Professor Bass, postmaster and principal 
of the schools at New Point; Leona L., at home, and Clara C, who married 
R. B. Bartow, of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who is connected with the American 
Steel and Wire Company. 

Mr. Puttmann is a member of the Catholic church at Enochsburg and 
gives liberally to all charitable and benevolent offerings. He has lived and 
labored to worthy ends and is one of the sterling citizens and representa- 
tive men of his communitv. 



BERNARD ORTMAN. 



A native of this county, who has spent his whole life on the farm which 
he now owns, few men in his neighborhood take a larger degree of interest in 
the general welfare of that community than does Bernard Ortman, of Marion 
township, this county, a progressive and industrious farmer, who enjoys the 
esteem and confidence of his neighbors throughout that part of the county. 

Bernard Ortman, a well-known farmer, of Marion township, this county, 
was born on October 27, 1867, on the old home place, a son of Barney and 
Mary (Losekamp) Ortman. He owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres on which there is a modern house, which was erected in 1902. It is 
one of the best in Marion township. His parents both lived with him, and 
he cared for them in old age, and received as his share of the estate, the one 
hundred and sixty acres already mentioned, of which he plants twentv-five 
acres in wheat, and sixteen acres in corn each year. He is a stanch believer 
in the principles of the Democratic party and an earnest member of St. 
Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen. 

Barney Ortman, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1834 
and died on November 13. 1912. His wife, Marj^ Losekamp, was born in 
1838, and died on March i, 19 14. Barney Ortman was born in Germany 
and came to this country in 1856. locating in Cincinnati, where he worked 
in a boiler factory until 1S58, in which year he came to Decatur county and 
worked on a farm near Greensburg, later moving to Marion township, where 
he rented awhile, and then bought sixty acres, on which he lived for a time, 



g02 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and then sold it, buying part of an eighty-acre farm, on which he prospered, 
gradually increasing his holdings until he owned three hundred and twenty 
acres. Altogether, he bought and owned three or four farms. He was a 
good trader and money-maker, and was shrewd enough to conclude that land 
investment was the best. He was rated as a wealthy man, whose advice was 
sought by neighbors and friends. During the time of the Civil War, he 
dealt in cattle and was known as a great trader. He spent much time on 
horseback — trading. He was a strong believer in the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party and was a member of St. Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen. 
His wife was born four miles northeast of Millhousen, a daughter of Henry 
Losekamp, a very early German settler, and a man of wealth. Barney Ort- 
man and wife were the parents of eight children, namely: Henrv, Lizzie, 
Bernard, Katie, Mary, Josephine, Verlena and George. Henry died at the 
age of nine years; Lizzie is the wife of Adam Hessler, and lives at Muncie, 
Indiana: Katie is the "wife of Ben Hoeing, and lives in Marion township: 
]\Iary is the wife of James McQuarry. and lives in Tampa, Florida: Josephine 
is the wife of Charles Hahn, and lives in Marion township, near St. Dennis: 
Verlena lives across the road from her father's home. 

Bernard Ortman was married in 1902 to Miss Josie Funke, who was 
born in Marion township, this county, a daughter of Frank Funke, who was 
an old German settler, and to this union have been born the following chil- 
dren : Louise, aged twelve years ; Carl, aged ten ; Frank, aged eight : Ralph, 
aged six; Bertha, aged three, and Leona, born on October 30, 1914. Mr. 
Ortman is a member of the Progressive party and is enterprising and a 
hustler. 



HARLEY SHULTZ McKEE, M. D. 

Dr. Harley Shultz McKee, township trustee of Salt Creek township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, and a well-known practicing physician of Decatur 
county, located at New Point, was born on November 21, 1878, at St. Paul, 
this county, son of John B. and Alary (Lowe) McKee, both of whom were 
born in 1848. John B. McKee, a native of St. Paul, Decatur county, was a 
son of the Rev. Samuel McKee, a native of Pennsylvania. The former 
conducted a grocery for the stone workers and quarrymen for a number of 
years at St. Paul, New Point. His wife, who, before her marriage, was 
Mary Lowe, was a native of Decatur county, the daughter of Mack Lowe, 
a native of Kentucky, who was a school teacher by profession. Rev. Sam- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9O3 

uel McKee, the grandfather of Dr. Harley Shultz McKee, was a minister in 
the United Brethren church, and a fanner. During the days when ministers 
of the Gospel were accustomed to ride horseback to reach their various 
assignments, he was the minister at Gratis, and also preached at otlier 
churches in that vicinity. 

To John B. and Mary (Lowe) McKee five children were born, in the 
order of their birth, as follow : Nellie, the wife of Doctor Kerchel, of 
Greensburg; Kathleen, the wife of Rev, S. G. Huntington, of Rushville, 
Indiana, a well-known Baptist minister of southern Indiana; Gertrude, the 
wife of W. F. Barber, a well-known teacher in the schools of St. Paul ; Dr. 
Harley S., the subject of this sketch, and J. F., assistant superintendent of the 
Big Four freight depot at Shelbyville, Indiana. 

Educated in the public schools at St. Paul, Indiana, Doctor McKee 
studied for his profession in the Indiana Medical College at Indianapolis, 
and was graduated from the Illinois Medical University at Chicago in 1907. 
After his graduation he began the practice of his profession at New Point, 
and has built up a large practice among the people of that community, who 
ha\e profound confidence, not only in his ability as a physician, but who 
admire him for his pleasing personality and modest, unassuming disposition. 
He is a member of the Decatur County Medical Society and the Indiana 
State Medical Association. 

On January 17, 1914, Doctor McKee was married to Jennie M. Starks, 
daughter of Edward F. and Mary Starks, the former of whom is a well- 
known jeweler at New Point. 

That Dr. H. S. McKee enjoys the confidence and respect of his fellow 
citizens and the people of Salt Creek township is thoroughly proved by his 
■election, in the fall of 1914 on the Progressive ticket, as trustee of this town- 
ship. The people of the township admire Doctor McKee because he is a 
self-made man. They admire him because he was willing during the time 
he was struggling to obtain an education for the practice of medicine to 
teach several terms of school in this county. In this way he was able to pay 
his way through medical college. 

Doctor and Mrs. McKee are members of the Christian church. Fra- 
ternally, the doctor is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at New 
Point, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the same city, the Knights 
of Pythias of St. Paul and the Royal Order of Moose at Greensburg. He is 
also a member of the Order of Eastern Star and of the Rathbone Sisters. 

Doctor McKee is a highly deserving physician and citizen, and the large 
practice which he enjoys has been built up on the substantial foundation of 
merit alone. 



904 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

CURTIS McCOY. 

It is always a pleasure to write the history of a man who puts his abilities 
and capabilities to a use that not only gives pleasure to those of his own 
generation, but one who stands as a monument to his broad-minded nature, 
from which future generations may derive profitable lessons. Curtis McCoy, 
a well-known farmer of Washington township, this county, possesses an eye 
for the beautiful, and is a true lover of nature, as will be noted in the follow- 
ing pages. He has dug up some of the diamonds that, someone has truthfully 
said, are all around our feet. If more farmers would only beautify their 
homes, as Mr. McCoy has done, they would not only give a great deal of 
pleasure to themselves and their families, but they would double the selling 
value of their property. 

Curtis McCoy was born in this county on May 2, 1863, a son of James 
Thornton and Martha Jane (Custer) McCoy. He attended school at McCoy's 
Station, and later went to DePauw University, attending in 1881 and 1882. 
He has always been a lover of farm life, and when he was married he and his 
wife moved on their farm of eighty acres in Wabash county, where they 
remained three years, at the end of which time they sold the farm and 
returned to Decatur county. After a short residence at McCoy's Station, 
they moved to Greensburg, where Mr. McCoy engaged in the clothing busi- 
ness, in which he was engaged until 191 1, when he retired to the home farm 
at McCoy's Station, some time later selling the clothing store, since which 
time he has devoted all of his time and attention to general farming. 

After years of planning and trying to arrange, Mr. McCoy and his wife 
have created a beautiful pleasure lake on the east side of their farm, one mile 
from McCoy's Station, and four miles from Greensburg, by pike road. The 
lake comprises forty-five or fifty acres, and the woodland section set aside 
covers one hundred and twenty acres. It is a beautiful tract of land and 
water, and Mr. McCoy has created a fine pleasure resort of this lake, which 
is already stocked with bass and channel-cat fish. He has boats and bathing 
houses for boating and bathing. The lake is over half a mile long and two 
miles around, with an average depth of twenty feet, and is the only resort of 
its kind in southern Indiana. The lake is fed by running springs at the head 
of Cobbsfork creek, the waters of which are very valuable on account of their 
medicinal qualities. The lake is in a picturesque setting, with beautiful scen- 
ery and a wooded shore. McCoy's Station was an important place in the 
county, in the early days, having been at one time the greatest grain shipping 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9O5 

point in Decatur county. It was an important trading point long before the 
war, and was also a noted "underground railroad" station. 

Mr. McCoy is as successful in his farming as he was in business. 
McCoy's lake is his pride, and a realization of an ambition. Unaided, he 
expended funds in 191 2 to build a large dam, and now has a body of clear, 
fresh water that has withstood drouths and floods, bidding fair to become a 
noted resort in the course of a few years. Mr. McCoy's farm now consists 
of two hundred and seventy-five acres, all in one tract. It is well improved, 
with fine farm houses, barns, etc., and has been in the family since it came 
into the possession of his grandfather in the year 1825. 

James Thornton McCoy, father of Curtis McCoy, was born on May 22, 
1824, in Bourbon county, Kentucky, and died on October 5, 1905, at Greens- 
burg, Indiana. He was a son of Judge Angus C. McCoy, and came with his 
parents, in 1825. to Decatur county, at his father's death, buying the home 
farm. He was for years postmaster at McCoy's Station, and his barn was a 
station of the "underground railroad." James T. McCoy was married on 
November 15, 1849, to Martha Jane Custer, who was born on September 3, 
1829, and'died on July 15, 1893, and to this union were born the following 
children: Ouincy Monroe, who died in infancy; Arabella, who married a Mr. 
Oder, and went to California; Sarah Elizabeth, deceased; Robert Arnold, 
who lives in Greensburg; Hattie Gertrude, deceased; William A., who lives 
near his brother, Curtis, and Glendora, deceased. Mr. McCoy was a Whig 
and then a Republican and later became a member of the Prohibition party. 
He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their 
children were reared in that faith. 

Angus McCoy, grandfather of Curtis McCoy, was born on March 13, 
1789, in Washington county, Pennsylvania. His father, William McCoy, 
was born in Scotland in 1730, a son of Alexander McCoy, and came to 
America in 1772, settling on the west coast of Maryland, and later moved to 
Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania. Judge Angus McCoy died on October 12, 

1863, in Decatur county. He was married, first, to Elizabeth Mary Smith, of 
Virginia, and his second wife was Elizabeth McPherson. McCoy's Station 
was erected on his farm. He was the first probate judge of Decatur county, 
serving from 1829 to 1843. ^"^ was a strong anti-slavery man. He and his 
wife were the parents of eighteen children. 

Curtis McCoy was married on November 18, 1885, to Carrie A. Trimble, 
who was born on a farm four miles west of Greensburg, on January 12, 

1864, a daughter of John B. and Mary Adelaide (Owens) Trimble, natives, 
respectively of Virginia and Indiana, both now deceased. John B. Trimble 



■906 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was one of nature's noblemen. He was self-educated, a deeply-read student 
•of the law and became one of Decatur county's most prominent citizens. He 
built the first fence around the court house at Greensburg. He was a strong 
supporter of the Republican party, and for years was one of the leaders of 
that party in Decatur county, and was well liked for his honest and straight- 
forward dealings. His children were : Maria, who married William Morse, 
and lives in Indianapolis ; Fred, deceased ; Oscar, ex-county treasurer, who 
lives at Mil ford; Arthur, a farmer at Mil ford, and Carrie, who married Mr. 
McCoy. 

To Curtis and Carrie A. (Trimble) McCoy two children have been 
born. Hazel, a graduate of DePauw University, now at home, and Trimble, 
who married Edna Hess, and is living on the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. 
McCoy are members of the Methodist church and their children have been 
reared in that faith, the family being looked upon as leaders in the good 
works of their neighborhood and held in the very highest regard by the entire 
community. Mr. McCoy is a Republican and a member of the Odd Fellows 
and the Knights of Pythias. 



BENEDICT BRUNS. 



To be satisfied with one's lot in this life, and make the most out of one's 
•opportunities, places one on the list of those to be looked upon with a feeling 
amounting almost to envy. The most of us are so far-reaching in our desire 
for worldly gain, that we overlook many valuable opportunities. Mr. Bruns 
has been fortunate in recognizing that which was most suited to his desires 
and ability, and has been wise enough to let well enough alone. The life, 
termed by so many as the "humdrum" farmer's life, has proved to be an oasis 
to Mr. Bruns, after his years of activity in other lines. 

Benedict Bruns. a well-known farmer of Marion township, this county, 
was born on July 24, i860, in Ripley county, Indiana, a son of Herman and 
Christine (Waben) Bruns. Reared in Ripley county, Benedict Bruns went 
from there to Cincinnati, where he served as stationary engineer. He learned 
his trade when a boy of fourteen, and followed it for twenty years in Cin- 
cinnati, and from there he came to this county, locating in Marion township. 
Remaining there but a short time, he returned to Cincinnati, where he lived 
until November, 1900, at which time he returned to Marion township and 
bought his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres, located about one 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9O7 

and one-half miles west of Millhousen. The place has a brick house, which 
has been remodeled under Mr. Bruns' ownership, and a barn, forty by sixty 
feet, which has also been rebuilt. Mr. Bruns devotes a considerable portion 
of his time- to the breeding of horses and cattle, and pure bred white Leghorn 
chickens. His political views are Democratic, and, in religion, he is a mem- 
ber of St. Mary's Catholic church at Millhousen. 

Herman Bruns, father of Benedict, was born in 1823 and died in 1902, 
and his wife, Christine, was born in 1829 and died in 1902, about two weeks 
after the death of her husband. They were natives of Germany. Herman 
located in Cincinnati, when a young man, and went to work as a laborer. 
While in Cincinnati, he took unto himself a wife, and saved enough money 
to buy a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Ripley county, where he 
spent the remainder of his life. To this couple were born four children, 
Henry, Joseph, Benedict and Mary. Henry lives in Cincinnati, and has one 
child, Herman, who died at the age of three years; Joseph died in 1913, and 
Mary (Mrs. Koors), lives two miles south of her father's home. 

Benedict Bruns was married in 1893, to Bernardine Rottman, daughter 
of Henry Rottman, of Decatur county, to which union nine children have 
been born, namely: Lawrence, who died at tlie age of nine months; Edward, 
who is a student at a veterinary college at Indianapolis, from which he will 
graduate in 1916; Alfred, also a student of the same college, who will gradu- 
ate in 1 91 7, and Joseph, Marie, Carl, Harry, Bernard and Louis. 



THOMAS M. HAMILTON. 

The late Thomas M. Hamilton was born on June 17, 1830, and died 
on December 26, 1892. He was the son of Robert and Polly (Henry) 
Hamilton, the former of whom was born in 1796, and who died on August 
II, 1855, and the latter of whom died on August 14, 1855, three days after 
the death of her husband. Robert Hamilton, a native of Carlisle, Kentucky, 
was married on April 15, 18 19, and migrated in 1821 to Decatur county, 
Indiana, where he became one of the pioneer settlers. Here he reared a 
family of six children, namely: Isabelle J., who was born on February 7, 
1820, married Warder W. Hamilton on September 26, 1843, and is now 
■deceased; James D., February 14, 1822, died on July 3, 1824; Harriet N., 
February 17, 1824, married I. P. Monfort on September 26. 1843, and is 
now deceased; Lavina G., April 30, 1826, died on July 18, 1835; Almira L., 



908 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

May 24, 1828, died on September 13, 1853, the wife of W. W. Bonner, and' 
Thomas M., the youngest of the family. Robert Hamilton was a very suc- 
cessful farmer in Washington township, and one of the founders of the 
Kingston Presbyterian church. He was known as a good man during his 
generation and did much to improve the country life of Decatur county. 

After the marriage of the late Thomas M. Hamilton on November 7, 
1854, to Elizabeth McLaughlin, he and his wife lived one mile north of the 
old homestead, and on the death of Robert Hamilton moved to the old home- 
stead, and there were engaged in farming for about twelve years. At the 
end of this period they removed to Greensburg, and erected their home on 
North East street, where Mrs. Hamilton still lives. Thomas M. Hamilton 
looked after his agricultural interests while living in Greensburg, and was 
more or less active as vice-president of the Third National Bank of that city. 
He owned altogether four hundred and eighty acres of the old home farm, 
and Mrs. Hamilton also owned a large farm in her own name. 

To Thomas M. and Elizabeth (McLaughlin) Hamilton were born 
three children: Luna R., who was born on September 25, 1855, died on 
January 16, 1875, at the age of nineteen; Mary C., February 11, 1858, died 
on July 14, 1875, at the age of seventeen, and Maud, May 31, 1863, died on 
February 15, 1892. Maud had married Samuel L. Baker on May 4, 1887, 
and by him had one child, Helen Llamilton, who was born on September 2, 
1888. Helen married Leonard O. Lumbers, April 23, 1908, and they have 
two children, Leonard George, born on February 5, 1909, and Elizabeth 
Helen, June 15, 191 1. They live in Toronto, Canada. 

Mrs. Elizabeth (McLaughlin) Hamilton, who was born on November 
25, 1834, on a farm in Clinton township, three miles from the place where 
her early married life was spent, is the daughter of George and Sarah 
(Carter) McLaughlin, natives of Kentucky, who came to Decatur county 
in 1827. Her father was born in 1802, and died in 1885. He was a son of 
George McLaughlin, a gentleman of Scotch-Irish descent, who li\-ed near 
Maysville, Kentucky. Her mother, who was born in Kentucky in 1804 ^nd 
who died in 1873, was the daughter of James and Anna D. Larue (Drake) 
Carter. The latter was the daughter of the Rev. Mr. Drake, one of the 
pioneer Baptist ministers of this section and a native of England. He mar- 
ried a French lady by the name of Larue. Mrs. Hamilton's father, George 
McLaughlin, was an extensive farmer and owned a large tract of land in 
this section. A Republican in politics, he was also a member of the Chris- 
tian church, and one of the founders of the church of that denomination in- 
Greensburg, he having affiliated with that communion after removing to 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9O9 

'Greensburg in the latter part of his hfe. Among his children, three of whom 
•died in infancy, may be mentioned the following: Mary Frances, who died 
at the age of twenty-five years, was the wife of Thompson Riley, a Decatur 
■county farmer who died in 1854. James Carter McLaughlin, who was born 
in 1821, and who died in 1892, was a farmer and was married to Louisa 
Davidson who resides on Franklin street, Greensburg. He was a soldier in 
the Union army during the Civil War. George, the next born, died at the 
age of sixteen years. Elizabeth A. married Mr. Hamilton. Caspar, a former 
merchant at Greensburg, removed to California and died there, after twenty 
years residence, in 1885. He also served as a Union soldier during the Civil 
War, and was a lieutenant in charge of a battery. Caspar McLaughlin mar- 
ried Helen Morrison, of Connersville, and they had four children, three sons 
and one daughter, namely : Mrs. Alice Williams, a widow who lives in 
Cincinnati with her mother ; George deceased, who was an electrical engineer ; 
Charles, a dentist in Cincinnati, and Ray, an attorney in Cincinnati, who 
married a Miss McEl fresh. 

Abram Carter, who was born in iSoo, and who was an uncle of Mrs. 
Hamilton, was a talented physician and surgeon who settled in Decatur 
county on a farm and later removed to Greensburg, where he practiced medi- 
cine and surgery. During his life he was called to many points in the south- 
eastern part of the state to practice his profession. He married Miss Har- 
riet Norris, of Mason county. Kentucky, and when in middle life they 
removed to Iowa. He is now deceased, having died at the age of seventy- 
five years. He was well known by the early pioneer families of this section. 
His wife lived to be ninety years old. The family, consisted of two chil- 
dren, who were born in Kentucky, Adelia and Perlina. Adelia married a 
Doctor New of Greensburg". They lived in Greensburg for several years 
and then moved to Indianapolis. Doctor New was a surgeon in the Union 
army during the Civil War. He died in Indianapolis, leaving one child, 
Frank, now a resident of that city. Mrs. Perlina Tatham lived in Williams- 
town for some time, but later removed to Iowa, and died there, leaving two 
children, Florence and Cora, the latter of whom has become very jirominent 
in the work of the Young Women's Christian Association in New York 
City. It may be mentioned here that Gen. James B. Foley, of honored 
memory in this count}^ was an uncle of Mrs. Hamilton by marriage. 

The late Thomas M. Hamilton was an ardent Republican. A member 
of the Presbyterian church, he had much to do in the work of building up the 
church in this county. Mrs. Hamilton, however, is a member of the Chris- 
tian church. She is a remarkably well preserved woman, intelligent, keen 



9IO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and mentally alert, despite her age. She has traveled widely, having made 
several trips to Europe and makes one trip annually to Canada to visit her 
grandchildren. ^Irs. Hamilton is now eighty years old. 



HARRY LATHROP. 



Among the best-known residents of Greensburg in Decatur county, and 
one of the most popular citizens of this section of the state is Harry Lathrop, 
the secretary of the Retail Merchants Association of Greensburg, Indiana, 
and whose father. James L!. Lathroi), the president of the Citizens National 
Bank uf Greensburg, is the oldest living resident of the city, the oldest living 
graduate of Indiana State University, and the oldest Methodist minister in 
the state of Indiana. The subject of this sketch, therefore, belongs to one 
of the oldest and most distinguished families of Decatur county. The his- 
tory of the Lathrop family is given in the sketch of the venerable James B. 
Lathrop, to be found elsewhere in this \-olume. In this place it will suffice 
to say that the family is of English descent and dates back to Yorkshire, 
England, where the family was prominent in the fourteenth century. In 
America the family was founded by the Rev. John Lathrop, a Congregational 
preacher who, after imprisonment for his non-conformist views on religion, 
fled to America, and at I'lymuuth Rock rejoined a considerable number of 
his old congregation whom he had served as pastor in the mother country. 
He became a prominent man in the early history of Massachusetts, and his 
son, Erastus Lathrop, who was born in Connecticut, was a captain of a com- 
pany of home guards which served during the battle of Lake Champlain in 
the War of 1812. Erastus, who was by occupation a farmer, became eventu- 
ally a well known Baptist minister of his day and generation. Ezra Lathrop, 
the next member of the family in direct line of descent, and the father of 
the venerable James B. Lathrop, was born in 1803. in Canada, and was reared 
in the British dominion. 

It was Ezra Lathrop, who settled in Decatur county, Indiana, on a farm 
which he entered from the government, about 1822. His wife, Abbie Pot- 
ter, was a woman of equally patriotic stock, whose father, Nathaniel Potter, 
a sentleman of Huguenot descent, emigrated from North Carolina to Ken- 
tucky, and from Kentucky to Decatur county. Ezra and x'\bbie (Potter) 
Lathrop had only two children, who lived to maturity ; Levi, who died in 
1884, and James B., the father of Harry. Born on November 24, 1825, in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9I I 

a one-story brick house, which his father had biiiU, James B. Lathrop was 
a minister in the Methodist church from 1847, when he was twenty-two years 
old, continuously for thirty-one years. Today at the age of ninety years, he 
is one of the best-known citizens of southern Indiana, and has had, among 
the pioneers still living, a larger part in the history of this section, perhaps,, 
than any other man. 

Descended as he is from such eminent stock and such well-to-do ancestry, 
it is not surprising that Harry Lathrop achieved a large success in business. 
Educated in the public schools of Greensburg, and in the Greensburg high 
school, he spent two years in Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois, 
and after leaving college spent two years as a traveling salesman in the west, 
with headquarters at Newton, Kansas. During this period of his career 
there were de\eloped those fine instincts and accurate notions of human 
nature, and the rules of business, which served him later when engaged in 
business for himself. Upon returning from Newton, Kansas, he engaged 
in the steam-laundr\- business at Greensburg, when laundries of this kind 
were in the infancy of their development. Here he conducted a laundry 
for twenty years and three months, all the time in the same building on West 
North street. Not only did he build up an enormous business, measured by 
the population of this city, but in that period he accumulated for himself a 
splendid fortune. In June, 191 2, he sold out the business, and for the past 
year has served as secretary of the Retail [Merchants Association. In this 
position his own personal experiences in business have served him well, since 
he acts as a kind of clearing house for the information of the members of this 
association. He is not only an expert judge of credit in Greensburg, but 
the force of his own personalit}' has created a harmonious and agreeable 
working relationship between the several members of this association. 

In 1894 Mr. Lathrop was married to Lillie Drusilla Browning, of Indi- 
anapolis, who at the time of her marriage was prominent in the social life 
of the capital city, and to this union one child has been born, Nelle Browning 
Lathrop, now a student in the Greensburg high school. 

A Republican in politics, the suljject of this sketch served as mayor of 
the city of Greensburg in 1890, and gave to the people of the city a most 
satisfactory and efficient administration. During the most of his life he has 
been prominent in the fraternal circles, not only of Greensburg and Decatur 
county, but of the state as well. As a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows he served on the building committee which erected the Greens- 
burg hall. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Improved Order 
of Red Men, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and of the Fraternal 



912 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Order of Eagles. Mr. Lathrop also is a thirty-second degree Mason, a 
member of the Indianapolis consistory of the Scottish Rite and of Murat 
Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. 



DANIEL WESLEY HOLCOMB. 

In the history of Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, no Repub- 
lican had ever been elected trustee of the township until 1914, when Daniel 
Wesley Holcomb, a well-known and prosperous farmer of that township was 
successful as a candidate for that office. A grandson of a soldier in our 
second war for independence, he is known as a successful farmer and stock- 
man, and no better evidence of his standing among his neighbors and fellow 
citizens can be cited than his election to the office of township trustee. On 
his paternal side it may be said that the family has been established in southern 
Indiana for considerably more than three-quarters of a century. 

Daniel Wesley Holcomb, who was born on January 11, 1852, in Ripley 
county, Indiana, is a son of Eli Asa and Emeline (Hall) Holcomb, the 
former of whom was born on April 3, 1823, and died in 1898, and the latter 
of whom was born on March 24, 1826, and died in January, 1865. The 
former, who was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, was the son of Rufus 
and Nancy (Gloyd) Holcomb. Rufus Holcomb was a native of Connecticut 
and probably of English descent. With his family he emigrated to the West 
early in the nineteenth century, and built one of the first brick houses in 
Dearborn county, ten miles west_ of Aurora. There he lived and reared a 
family of eleven children and died. Before coming west he had served in 
the War of 1812. The eleven children born to Rufus and Nancy (Gloyd) 
Holcomb in the order of their birth were as follow : Ethel, Daniel, Luther, 
Turner, Eli, Rufus, Hulda, Nancy, Elizabeth, Lucinda and Lydia. Eli 
Holcomb, the fifth child born to his parents, and the father of Daniel Wes- 
ley, although reared in Dearborn county, lived for a short time in Ripley 
county, and returned to Dearborn county, and there reared most of his 
family. After removing to a farm near the Decatur- Jennings county line in 
1866, the family disbanded, Eli going to Kansas, where he died at his son's 
home. Eli Holcomb's wife, who, before her marriage, was Emeline Hall, 
was born in Ohio, the daughter of Benaiah Hall, a native of New York, 
who settled in Ripley county, Indiana. 

Eli and Emeline (Hall) Holcomb had eight children, four of whom 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9I3 

are deceased. Of these children, Edwin Perry was born on September i6, 
1848, and died on July 3, 1850; Louis Philander, August 20, 1850, died, 
August 9, 1851; Daniel Wesley, January 11, 1852, was the third child; 
Georgia Evangeline, October 15, 1853. died, October 8, 1854; Emeline 
■Celeste, March 14, 1855, married Reid Williams, and lives in Kansas; George 
Albert, January 25, 1852, also lived in Kansas; Eli Benson, February 3, 
1859, lives in Arizona; Caroline Medora, March 6, i860, married John Old- 
ham, of Kansas, and both are now deceased. 

After Daniel W. Holcomb's marriage in Marion township, he settled 
on a farm three miles north of his present farm, where he lived for ten years, 
selling out in 1883, and emigrating to Kansas. But after farming one sea- 
son in Kansas, he returned and located on a farm three miles south of his 
first farm. Subsecjuently he purchased eighty acres of land and has since 
acquired altogether two hundred and thirty-five acres, two hundred and 
thirteen acres of which is in Marion township, and twenty-two acres of 
which is in Jennings county. Altogether Mr. Holcomb has twenty-five acres 
of timber. He raises live stock and grain, including forty acres of corn, 
forty acres of wheat, twelve to fifteen .head of cattle, and fifty head of hogs 
every year. There can be no question that he has made a gratifying success 
of farming, and that his success is due to his enterprise, foresight, industry 
and good management. 

In May, 1873, Daniel Wesley Holcomb was married to Mary E. Evans, 
who was born on September 25, 1855, in Decatur county, Indiana, the daugh- 
ter of John and Nancy (Robbins) Evans, the former of whom was born in 
1841 and died in 191 1, and the latter of whom was born in 1844 and died 
in 1897. John Evans was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, the son of 
Joseph Evans, a native of Virginia, and an early settler of Indiana, who 
entered land here and who in the early thirties was numbered among the 
pioneer settlers of this community. Mrs. Nancy (Robbins) Evans was the 
daughter of Micajah Robbins, who was a relative of the Robbins family of 
Decatur county, Micajah being a brother of John Robbins, a prominent 
pioneer citizen of the county. Of the children born to John and Nancy 
(Robbins) Evans five are dead and five are living. Frank, the first born, 
Sarah Belle, the third born, Mrs. Augusta Hawkersmith, the fourth born, 
James, the eighth born, and Mrs. Rosa Dell Croucher, the seventh born, are 
deceased. The living children are Mrs. Mary Holcomb; Thomas, of Hamil- 
ton, Ohio ; Joseph, of Bena, Kentucky ; Jacob, of Sand Creek township, this 
•county, and Ida, who married Ed. Sutton, of Marion township. 
C58) 



914 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

To D. W. and Mary E. (Evans) Holcomb seven children have been 
born. Of these children, John W., born on February 2"^, 1874, is the trustee 
of Sand Creek township, and lives at Westport; Albert Asa, November 22, 
1875, also resides at Westport; Adaline, March i, 1878, the wife of Henry 
Mozingo, died on December 20, 1914; Lewis Franklin, November 19, 1897, 
living in Oklahoma, married Mabel Becker, by whom he has had four sons 
and two daughters; Nancy Jane, November 7, 1881, the wife of Ed. 
Mozingo; Margaret Medora, May 25, 1884, the wife of Arch Brown, of 
North Vernon, has four children, and Joseph Benson, January 28, 1884, 
residing on his father's farm, married Viola Clements, by whom he has had 
four children. 

A Republican in politics, as heretofore stated, ]\Ir. Holcomb was elected 
trustee of Marion township in 1914. He was the first Republican to be 
elected to this office in the history of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb 
attend the Methodist Episcopal church, although Mr. Holcomb was reared 
as a Baptist. Judged from many standpoints, Daniel Wesley Holcomb is a 
valuable citizen of this great county and a man of wide influence in the town- 
ship where he lives. He has always enjoyed the confidence of a host of 
friends, who admire him for his ability and respect him for his rugged 
integrity. 



DANIEL BUCKLEY. 



For more than a cjuartcr of a century one of the foremost leaders of 
the Democratic party in Decatur county and one of the most dependable 
organization Democrats in Marion township, Daniel Buckley has served 
several times as a delegate to state conventions of his party and is one of the 
most widely acquainted citizens of this county, especially among the state 
leaders of the party. Mr. Buckley's long service in behalf of Democracy 
has not gone wholly unrewarded, he having served as storekeeper in the 
revenue service, with headquarters at Lawrenceburg, Indiana, during the 
last Cleveland administration. For many years the Marion township com- 
mitteeman for the Democracy of Decatur county, during late years his place 
has been taken by his son, who is equally capable as a political leader. 

Daniel Buckley, who was born on February 14, 1849, in Cincinnati. 
Ohio, is the son of John and Mary (Glennon) Buckley, the former of whom 
was born in 1830 and who died in 1890, both being natives of Ireland. He 
came to America when a young man and, after his marriage in New York 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 915 

city, followed the blacksmith trade in Cincinnati. In 1861 he moved from 
Cincinnati to the farn:, where his son, Daniel, now lives, in Marion town- 
ship, this county, and there built a house, which is still standing. With the 
able assistance of his son. he cleared the land and developed one of the best 
farms in the neighborhood. A Democrat in politics, he was also active in 
the affairs of the Napoleon Catholic church. Of his four children, John, 
the second born, is deceased. The living children are Daniel, the subject of 
this sketch; Edward, of Indianapolis, and Mrs. Kate Griffin, who lives south 
of Millhousen, in this county. 

When the Buckley family moved from Cincinnati to Decatur county, 
Daniel Buckley was twelve years old and had begun his educational course 
in the Queen City schools, but he completed his education in Decatur county. 
Here he helped his father on the farm, clearing the land, cutting the timber 
and grubbing. Daniel Buckley and his son now own all of the old home 
farm, the son having purchased the interest of his father's brother and 
sister. The farm consists of one hundred and fifty acres of good level land. 
upon which a modern home was erected in 1910. Mr. Buckley and his son 
ordinarily raise seventy-five to eighty head of hogs and keep fifteen to 
twenty head of cattle on the farm. They specialize in Duroc-Jersey hogs. 
At the present time they are spending considerable money in various kinds 
of improvements, principally woven-wire fences. 

In 1870 Daniel Buckley was married to Alvina Margaret Lamb, a native 
of Ohio, and the daughter of Michael Lamb, a native of Ireland. Mrs. 
Buckley was a good woman and a faithful and loving helpmate. Her death, 
on February 22, igi2, came as a distinct shock to her husband, with whom 
shehad lived in comfort and happiness for forty-two years. At the time of 
her death, she was sixty-two years old. Her only son, Edward .\., \Vho 
was born on December 12, 1876, is a partner with his father in operating the 
home farm. No one will ever be able to take the place of this devoted wife 
and loving mother and today her memory is revered by the loving ones she 
left behind. 

Edward .A. Buckley is a well-known dealer in farm implements, hard- 
ware and buggies. He also is the local agent in his neighborhood for the 
Continental Fire Insurance Company and also handles lightning insurance. 
On June 13, 1915, wTiile on a trip to the Pacific coast, Edward A. Buckley 
was united in marriage, at Fallow, Nevada, tn Lillie Fey, of Millhousen, 
this county. 

Daniel Buckley and his son, who are skillful and successful farmers 
and prominent citizens of Marion township, well merit the high opinion in 



9l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

which they are held by their neighbors. If they are leaders in the political 
circles of their home township, it is because of their genial and cordial 
manners and their friendly and honorable relations with the people with 
whom they come into contact. In other words, the recognition accorded 
them is the reward of true merit. 



EBER J. OLDHAM. 

Seldom do we find, in searching out the biographical and genealogical 
annals of a family, one whose ancestors have served more valiantly in our 
country's wars than have those of Eber J. Oldham, a well-known and pros- 
perous farmer of Marion township, this county, both of whose grand- 
fathers were soldiers in the War of 1812, and who also enjoys the honor- 
able distinction of having had six maternal uncles who served their country 
during the great Ci\'il War. Moreover, Mr. Oldham's maternal grand- 
father married into the Judd family, which was prominent during Revolu- 
tionary days and which served its country valiantly in the first great war 
of this country. 

Born on July 15, 1850, Eber J. Oldham was too young at the breaking 
out of the Civil War to enlist for service, but as an honorable and successful 
farmer, one who has performed his duty as a citizen of his county and state 
and country, he deserves to rank as a hero of peace. A native of Jackson 
township. Ripley county, Indiana, he is the son of Alatthew and Sahna 
(Hull) Oldham, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania, the son 
of Absalom Oldham, a native of Maryland, who came to Indiana from 
Pennsylvania. Of English parentage, Absalom Oldham was a resident of 
Pennsylvania during the War of 1S12 and enlisted from that state. Many 
years afterwards, in 1835, he brought his family to Jennings county, Indiana, 
and there died. Matthew Oldham, who was born on December 8, 1823, was 
married April 2, 1846, to Salina Hull, a native of Pennsylvania, born on 
August 2, 1824, the daughter of Charles and Prue (Judd) Hull, natives of 
Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and died on March 21, 1901. Charles Hull 
was also a soldier in the War of 181 2. who settled in Ripley county, Indiana, 
after immigrating from Pennsylvania in 1836. His wife, who, before her 
marriage, was Prue Judd, had several relatives who serx^ed in the Revolu- 
tionary War. The late Matthew Oldham and wife, who came to Decatur 
county in 1865 and settled in Marion township, occupied a farm one and one- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 9I7 

half miles east and two miles south of the farm their son, Eber J., now 
owns. Eleven years after coming to Decatur county, they moved to the farm 
which Eber J. now owns and died on this farm. Mrs. Salina Oldham had 
six brothers who served in the Union army, William, Sylvester, Lemuel, 
Lorenzo. Daniel and hVanklin. Daniel died in the service of his country at 
Georgeton, Missouri, and Eranklin met death in the famous catastrophe of 
the "Sultana," a transport ship used during the Civil War, which was blown 
up in the Mississippi river. 

Of the six children born to Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Oldham, two, Mrs. 
Eliza Sweazy and Mrs. Jane Adams, are deceased, the latter dying in Ripley 
county. Charles A., of Marion township: Archibald, of Jennings county; 
Mrs. Sarah Wheeldon, of Marion township, and Eber J., the subject of this 
sketch, are still living. 

Eber J. Oldham has enjoyed a most interesting career, having sought 
his fortune in many states. At the age of twenty-five, he took Horace 
Greeley's advice to the young men of this country and went west to Nebraska, 
where he homesteaded a quarter of a section of land and where he lived for 
four years. Subsequentl}-, however, he abandoned the farm and in 1879 
went to Colorado, where he was the manager of a lumber yard for four 
years. From Colorado he journeyed on to the state of Washington, where 
he lived for nine and one-half years and where he became a lumber inspector, 
connected with the largest lumber concern on the Pacific coast. Returning 
home in 1892, at the age of forty-two, he applied his savings to the mort- 
gage on his father's and mother's farm and his father subsequently gave him 
a deed and bill-of-sale for the land. Four years later his father died, 
November 21, i8g6, and nine years later his mother passed away, her death 
occurring on March 21, 1901. In the meantime, he had cared tenderlv for 
his parents, living with them and doing his duty as becomes a son who is 
grateful for the afifectionate and parental love and care during his childhood. 

On November 16, 1892, Eber J. Oldham was married to Florence L 
Love, who was born in Marion county. Indiana, on Deceml^er 13, 1871, the 
daughter of Randall and Nancy (Gillibrand) Lo\'e, natives of Dearborn 
county and Marion township, Decatur county. respecti\elv. To this union 
have been born four children, all of whom are living: Nellie, born on 
October 7. 1893: F"rancis Eber. November 23, 1897. who is a student in the 
Westport high school: Daniel Howard, October 11, 1902, who is a student 
in the eighth grade of the local public schools, and Herl, August 12, 1910. 

All of the members of the Oldham family are identified with the Meth- 
odist Eliscopal church at Zion, although they were originally Free Baptists 



9l8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

in religious faith. Mr. Oldham is a member of Westport Lodge \o. 68 1, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has been an Odd Fellow for thirty- 
five years, or since 1880. 

Eber J. Oldham enjoys the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and 
has made a host of friends in the neighborhood where he lives, because of 
his honorable and upright character, which his neighbors and friends admire; 
his clean and decent point of view in the human relations of life and his fair 
and square dealings with the public at large. 



BERNARD ANTHONY HOEING. 

No more thrifty and enterprising emigrants have ever come to America 
than the thousands of German citizens, who have become citizens of this 
comparatively new land, but who have estabhshed homes in all sections of 
the country, and who have especially prospered in agriculture. Although 
comparatively few of the pioneer settlers of Decatur county were German 
citizens, yet the German families, who have come to this county from time 
to time, have succeeded here in a large measure, and today the second and 
third generations are equally prosperous. Bernard Anthony Hoeing, of 
Marion township, who represents the second generation of the Hoeing 
family in America, upon reaching maturity took up his father's occupation 
and has made of farming an even more conspicuous success than did his 
father before him. He owns a farm of a hundred and twenty acres in 
Marion township, which his father owned at the time of his death, and to 
this tract has added forty acres more — a well improved, fertile and highly 
productive farm, practically all of which is level land, and which yields 
abundantly every year. 

Bernard Anthony Hoeing, who was born on December 12, 1870, in the 
log house built by his father, Bernard Joseph Hoeing, has spent his entire 
life upon this farm. His parents, Bernard Joseph and Christine (Schroer) 
Hoeing, the former of whom was born in 1824, and who died in June, 1902, 
and the latter of whom was born in 1834. and who died in December, 1890, 
were born, reared and married in Germany, and after coming to America, 
in 1868, settled in Marion township on forty acres which was partly cleared. 
The elder Mr. Hoeing finished clearing the land, and eventually owned alto- 
gether a hundred and twenty acres. He was a Democrat in politics and a 
devout member of St. Mary's church. The late Bernard Joseph and Chris- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. gig 

tine (Schroer) Hoeing, had five children, one of whom, Mrs. Louise Funke, 
is deceased. The Hving children are j\Irs. Mary Harpring, of near Mill- 
housen; Mrs. Anna Dickhoff, of Jennings county; Mrs. Christine Harpring, 
of Marion township, and Bernard Anthony, the subject of this sketch. 

After caring for his father, who survived his mother for twelve years, 
Bernard Anthony Hoeing purchased the home farm from his father just 
before the latter's death, and about 1896 added forty acres to this tract. 
The farm is completely fenced with woven wire fence and comprises a splen- 
did country home with buildings erected by the senior Hoeing, remodeled 
by the son, painted a beautiful pale green, and located in the center of the 
tract. The present owner of this farm raises on an average thirty-five acres 
of wheat and from thirty to forty acres of corn. His land produces seventy- 
five bushels of corn to the acre by the use of fertilizer. The land is immune 
from hog cholera, and Mr. Hoeing has never lost any hogs as a consequence 
of this dreaded plague. On an average he sells from sixty to seventy-five 
head of hogs every }ear. He also raises his own horses, and specializes in 
the Percheron breed. In this connection it may be said that he is regarded 
as one of the foremost breeders of Marion township. Judged from many 
standpoints, from the neatness and attractiveness of the home and building, 
fences, fertility of soil and drainage and live stock, Bernard Anthony Hoe- 
ing is entitled to rank as one of the most successful farmers in this section 
•of Decatur county. Much of his knowledge and skill he obtained from his 
worthy father, who was known as a careful farmer. 

On September 5, 1894, Bernard Anthony Hoeing was married to Cath- 
erine Anna M. Ortman, the daughter of Barney Ortman, deceased. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hoeing have had seven children. Of these children, Joseph Bernard, 
born March 17, 1897, is attending St. Mary's school; Leo Bernard, May 4, 
1899, is a graduate of St. Mary's school, having finished the course in 1913; 
Lawrence Bernard, October 28, 1902; Erwin George, January 18, 1905; 
Clemens John, January 28. 1907; Marie Josephine, April 18, 1909, and Alma 
Mary, August 3, 191 1. 

Among other important con\-eniences on the Hoeing farm in Marion 
township is a gas well, drilled in 19 14, which shows two hundred and fiftv 
pounds pressure, which supplies his house, grounds and outbuildings with 
light and fuel. 

Bernard Anthony Hoeing, like his father before him, is identified with 
the Democratic party, but he has never been active in politics, and has never 
lield office. Mr. and ^Irs. Hoeing and family are all members of St. Mary's 



920 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Catholic cliurch, and he is a member of the Knights of St. John, of Mill- 
housen. 

Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the ease with which Bernard 
Hoeing has mastered the intricacies of modern agriculture, and the skill 
with which he has followed scientific principles, which not only has placed 
him in the foremost ranks of Decatur county's farmers, but has won for him 
as a citizen the respect and confidence of all people in Marion township, 
where he resides and where he is well known. 



VALENTINE HAHN. 



Among the successful farmers of Marion township, who are comfort- 
ably situated on productive farms, is Valentine Halin, who has a beautiful 
farm ijn a graveled thoroughfare, excellent farm buildings, including a 
beautiful white house surrounded by trees and a good barn. With twenty 
acres of timber on the land, the farm is well fenced and now has a gas well, 
drilled in January, 191 5, with a three-hundred-pound pressure. Air. Hahn 
is one of the frugal farmers of German descent who have done so much 
for the stability of our institutions and the inipro\'ement of agricultural 
life in this countr\-. 

Born on Fel.iruary ij, 1847, in Dearljorn county, Indiana, Valentine 
Hahn is the son of Anthony and Mary Ann (Huff) Hahn, both nati\es of 
Germany, the former of whom was born in 1818 and died in 1903, and the 
latter born in 181 g and died in 1898. Anthony Hahn came to America when 
sixteen years of age and his wife came at the age of ten. His parents settled 
first in Pennsylvania, subsequently moving to Ohio and then to Dearborn 
county, Indiana. Finally, in 1861, they came to Decatur county. They 
owned a farm near Millhousen. where they were highly respected citizens 
and where they died. Of their nine children, three are now deceased: Mrs. 
Christina Huegal, Joseph and John. The li\ing children are: Mrs. Mary 
Huegal, of Muncie: \'alentine, the subject of this sketch; Anthony, who 
lives with Valentine : Mrs. Frances Eahardt, of Kokomo ; Louis, who lives. 
in Morris, Franklin county: and Mrs. Magdalena Hageman, of Muncie. 

Valentine Hahn has been compelled fur the most part to make his own 
way in the world. In April, 1865, he enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was in the service of his country 
for six months, serving in North Carolina and adjoining states. He per- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 92 1 

formed guard duty at Raleigh aud Goldsboro and returned to Decatur county 
by the way of Baltimore, Maryland. On entering the service he had passed 
through New ^'ork city. 

On September 20, 1870, Valen_tine Hahn was married to Susanna Her- 
man, who died on June 2-], 18S7, seventeen years after their marriage, 
leaving nine children, one of whom is deceased, namely: Caroline, born on 
July 20, 1871. the wife of Herman Rolfes, of Fugit township, has four 
children, Raymond, Ruth. Thelma and Mildred; Ida, March 8, 1873, married 
Frank Notter, of Indianapolis, and has one child, Henrietta; Charles, 
November 20, 1875, of Marion township, married Josephine Ortman and 
has two children, Edna and Catherine; Henry, April 11. 1877, ^'so of Mar- 
ion township, married Minnie Langs and has two children, Marie and 
Frank: Dora. August 17, 1879, wife of William Link, of Millhousen, has 
four children, Walter, Ethel, Martha and Howard; Sarah, September, 1881, 
deceased; Mary, March 26. 1883, married William Bruns, of Ripley countv, 
and has three children, Esther, Elma and Bernetta ; Andrew, March 21, 1885. 
of Marion township, married Rose Hardeback and has four children. Hil- 
bert, Alaurice, Naomi and Susanna, and Albert, June 3, 1887, of Washing- 
ton township, married E\-a Tucker and has three children, Leon, David and 
Valentine. 

Two years after the death of ^Irs. Susanna Hahn, ]\Ir. Hahn married, 
secondly, August 7, 1889, Elizabeth Flerman, who was born on September 
25, i860, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Joseph and Susanna (Young) 
Herman, natives of Germany, the former having been born in 1809 and 
died in 1884, and the latter born in 1823 and died in 1898, at the age of 
seventy-fi\'e years. Joseph Herman came to America with his parents when 
ten years <ild. He became a gardener and in 1861 settled in Sand Creek 
township, Decatur county, where he owned a farm. Finally, he moved to 
Marion township, where he died To this second union fi\e children have 
been born, all of whom are living: W^ilfrcd. born on October 12, 1890, 
married Anna (jates and has one child, Wilfred, Jr.; Lawrence, Januarv 16, 
1894; Leonard, January 16, 1896; Carlotta, November 6, 1898, and Ernest, 
January 3, 1902. 

Following A^alentine Hahn's first marriage, he mo\ed to a small farm 
in Jennings county, which he had purchased. Two years after his second 
marriage, he sold this farm and innxhased another in Marion township. 
Mr. Hahn has prospered through life and is now in comfortable circum- 
stances, being recognized as one of the well-to-do citizens of this commun- 
ity. He has educated all of his children and in every way possible helped 



922 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

them to get a start in the world. All of them are enterprising citizens in the 
respective communities where they live and are doing exceedingly well as a 
consequence, nut only of the material assistance gi\'en them by their father, 
but by the splendid example which he has set for them. 

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hahn has never been especiall}- active in 
politics, but has de\-oted his time, energy and talents to his own personal 
business. The Hahn familv are members of the St. Denis Catholic church. 



ELMER E. WALKER. 



No more highly improved farm can be found in Marion township, this 
county, than the eighty-acre farm of the late Elmer E. Walker, one of the 
most beautiful tracts in that part of the county, on account of the splendid 
trees growing near the home. There are two tracts of timber, comprising 
twehe acres in all, which protect the house and yard, the former being a 
white frame structure reached from the east and west road by a driveway. 
With these magnificent trees, fronting the modern farm building, and the 
beautiful, well-trimmed hedge along the road, the farm presents an espe- 
cially pleasing appearance to the passerby. A gas well, whicli has a pressure 
of three hundred and tweh-e pounds, furnishes gas for lighting the buildings 
and grounds and heating. The farm is well drained and well fenced, a very 
tangible evidence of the thrift and enterprise of its late owner, providing a 
ver_y comfortable home for his widow and her children. 

Elmer E. Walker, the late owner of this magnificent farm, was born on 
February 12, 1866, in Salt Creek township, near New Point, in Decatur 
county, Indiana, the son of Milton B. and Martha J. (Colson) Walker, the 
former of whom was born in 1829 and died on November 30, 1913, and the 
latter of whom was born in 1843, and died on Eebruary 12, 1912. The late 
]\Iilton B. Walker, a native of Carlisle county, Pennsylvania, having been 
born near Pittsliurgh, came to Decatur county al)out 1850, and after his 
marriage settled on a farm in .Salt Creek township, working for neighboring 
farmers until he earned enough money to send to Pennsylvania for his 
mother. Mary (Hall) ^^'alker. who then came with two other children, 
Beth and .\ngeline. Her husband ha\-ing died, she married, secondly, Benja- 
min Robertson, and lived in Salt Creek township until her death. Mrs. 
Martha J. (Colson) ^^'alker, who was the daughter of Squire Colson, a 
native of England, and an old settler in this community, who kept a hotel 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 923 

when the Big Four railroad was huik and who owned part of the town site 
of New Point, was herself born near New Point. 

Of the twelve children born to the late Milton B. and Martha J. (Col- 
son) Walker, five died in childhood, seven were reared to maturity and five 
are still living. Of these children, the Rev. Joel Walker, a Methodist Epis- 
copal minister, died in Montana in February, 1913. Elmer E., the subject 
of this sketch, died on May 21, 1915; Mrs. Ollie Tucker lives near New 
Point on the old home farm ; Curtis is a section foreman for the Big Four 
railroad and lives at New Point; Elza, a farmer, lives one mile south of 
New Point; Roy lives one and one-half miles south of New Point, and 
Frank lives on the old home farm, three miles out of New Point. 

Elmer E. Walker was not always engaged in farming. Upon leaving 
home, at the age of twenty-three years, he farmed for two years, and then 
was engaged in railroading for fourteen years, serving during that time as 
track foreman for the Big Four railroad. On April 17, 1903, he purchased 
the old home farm of his father-in-law, the Rev. David A. Tucker, in Marion 
township, and moved to that farm. During the twelve years he was there 
engaged in farming. Mr. ^\'alker prospered with exceptionally satisfactory 
progress and deserved great credit for the care with which he developed his 
farm to its present high state of productivity. 

On April 21, 1893, Elmer E. Walker was married to Fannie Tucker, 
who was born on December 12, 1868, in Ripley county, Indiana, the daugh- 
ter of the Rev. David A. and Susan Tucker, the former of whom was for 
many years a Baptist minister, but who is now residing at Linnhaven, Florida. 
Mrs. Walker was brought by her parents to the old Tucker farm, where she 
now lives, when only an infant. Her mother died in 1888. 

To Elmer E. and Fannie (Tucker) Walker were born seven children, 
three of whom are living: William McKinley, the eldest; Gladys M., the 
second born ; Olive Opal, the fourth born, and Forrest Adrian, are deceased. 
The living children are Freda M., who was born on February 25, 1901 ; 
Frances Naomi, June 7, 1909, and Benton Bailey, April 16, 1913. 

A stanch Republican in national politics, Mr. Walker was more or less 
independent in local matters, and did not hesitate to cross party lines to vote 
for some worthy man on the ticket of another party. Fraternally, he was 
a member of the Carthage. Indiana, lodge of Odd Fellows, having been the 
first member initiated into that lodge after its organization. For a time he 
was a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Walker is a member of the 
Methodist church, as was her husband, and the' children are being reared in 
that faith. 



924 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



As one wlio had worked hard for material success as a farmer, and one 
\vh(j was rearing a family of children to be useful citizens in the community 
where they will live, Mr. Walker deserved credit as a valuable citizen of this 
great county and townshij). He was popular in the community where he 
lived and where he had done so well his part in all the relations of life, and 
his death was widely mourned throughout that section of the county. Mrs. 
Walker is held in the warmest esteem in the community in which practically 
her whole life has been spent and the heartfelt sympathy of the entire 
neighborhood went out to her upon her bereavement. 



JOHN G. GUTHRIE. 

The veneralale John G. Guthrie, a retired farmer of Greensburg, Indiana, 
is the oldest living citizen of Adams township and to him the publishers of 
this volume are indebted for much of the history of Adams township, herein 
contained. Hale, hearty and vigorous for his age, he has been an upright 
citizen and is a genuine patriarch of pioneer days, well-informed and intelli- 
gent. He owns a splendid farm of one hundred and ninety acres in Adams 
township and, during his declining years, is able to enjoy all of the comforts 
which this life may afford. 

John G. Guthrie, former county treasurer of Decatur count}-, was born 
on September 8. 1835, on a farm near Adams, in Clay township, the son of 
Moses and Mahala (Stark) Guthrie, the former of whom was born on 
No\-ember 8, 1808, in Gallatin county, Kentucky, and the latter of whom 
was born in 181 5 in Kentucky and died in 1906. Moses Guthrie was the son 
of Richard and Nancy (Keys) Guthrie, natives of Ireland, who immigrated 
to this country about 1800. With Richard Guthrie came his wife and three 
children, the other members of the family being born in this country. Alto- 
gether he had seven sons and three daughters : John, Moses, Thomas, George, 
James, William, Erwin, Mary, Margaret and Esther. Mar\-, Jdhn an.d 
Margaret were born in Ireland. Moses Guthrie brought his family to Deca- 
tur county in 1822 and settled in -Adams township, where he preempted 
government land, west of Adams. After clearing tlie land of the timber, 
he grew a crop of corn. Before coming to Decatur county, he had li\'ed for 
a few years in Jefferson county, Indiana. He became a naturalized citizen 
of this country and died on his farm in 1837. 

After his marriage, Moses Guthrie settled in Clay township and lived 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 92^ 

there all of his life. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Mahala 
Stark, was the daughter of Philip and Elizabeth ( Robbins) Stark, natives of 
Kentucky and members of an old colonial family, who moved from Shelby 
county, Kentucky, to Decatur county about 1822. Elizabeth Robbins was 
the daugiiter of William Robbins, a Revolutionary soldier, who served for 
several years in the Revolutionary army. He enlisted as a private in Octo- 
ber, 1777, under Capt. James Clark and and re-enlisted on September 22, 
1778. He enlisted once more in 1781, being at that time a resident of North 
Carolina. The venerable John G. Guthrie remembers well his grandparents. 
His grandfather, Philip Stark, died in January, 1837, and his grandmother, 
Elizabeth Robbins, died about 1885. 

To Moses and Mahala Guthrie were born ten children, all but two of 
whom are deceased. The two living children are John G., the subject of 
this sketch; and Mrs. Nancy Hamilton, the wife of John W. Hamilton, who 
resided in Pottawattamie county, Iowa. The names of the children, in the 
order of their birth, are as follow: John G., Philip S., who died while 
serving the cause of his country in the Civil War, a member of the Thirty- 
seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry; James E., who died in 191 1 
at his home near Adams, in Decatur county; Elizabeth, who was the wife 
of Sanford Cline; Mary, who married Samuel Coleman; Epsie, who mar- 
ried Henry Kirbey, both now deceased; Nancy, who married John W. Ham- 
ilton; Esther, who was the wife of Sydney Sidener; Martha A., who was 
the wife of Ananias Pavey, and Alice, who is also deceased. 

John G. Guthrie was educated in the countn- schools of Decatur county 
and took up farming at an early age. When thirty years of age he moved 
to Greensburg, having been appointed deputy county treasurer, in which 
capacity he served for three years. Since that time has has followed various 
lines of business, now owning a splendid farm of one hundred and ninety 
.acres in Adams township. 

On May 6, 1887, John G. Guthrie was married to Amanda Hazelrigg, 
who was born in 1845 ^"^ who died in May, 1912. She was a native of 
Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, the daughter of John and Eliza- 
beth Hazelrigg, early settlers of the county, who came from Kentucky. To 
John G. and Amanda ( Hazelrigg) Guthrie were born two children : Guy 
H., born in 1879, who is in the drug business in Greensburg, married Cath- 
erine Eich and has one child, Catherine, and Irwin Stanton, born in 1882, 
was a merchant of Greensburg, married Marie Russell. 

Politically, Mr. Guthrie is a Republican. He has been a lifelong member 
of the Baptist church, his wife also having been a member of that church. 



926 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic lodge. There is no citizen in; 
all of the length an3 breadth of Decatur county who occupies in the hearts 
of his felloAvmen a warmer place than John G. Guthrie. He has lived a long 
and useful life and has behind him a career of which he may be justly proud. 



FRANK M. WEADON. 



No history of Decatur county would be complete without fitting refer- 
ence to the life and the labors of the late Frank M. Weadon, who for many 
years was one of the best-known and most popular residents of this county. 
From 1854, in which year Mr. Weadon came to this county from Virginia 
to serve as deputy postmaster in the postoffice at Greensburg, until the year 
1882, in which year he moved to Indianapolis, where for many years he 
occupied a position of high trust and responsibility in the division head- 
quarters of the Big Four Railroad Company, there was no man in Decatur 
county who had a wider following of friends, or who more highly esteemed. 
These friendships were retained after he left this county and there always 
was awaiting him here a warm welcome upon the occasion of his visits back 
to the old home ; while in the considerable Decatur county colony at Indian- 
apolis no others 'were more popular or more highly regarded than Mr. and 
Mrs. Weadon, who always took a prominent part in the annual reunions at 
the capital city of the Decatur county association of former residents of this 
county now living in Indiana]>olis. Mr. Weadon died on December 21, 
1914, and his death was sincerely mourned, not only among his associates 
and friends of many years at Indianapolis, but quite as sincerely among his 
earlier friends in this county. His widow, Mrs. Mary Jane Weadon, who 
was born at Greensburg, this county, in the year 1838, still is living at Indi- 
anapolis, her pleasant home at 006 Woodlawn avenue often being the scene 
of quiet gatherings on the part of her friends, who delight to do honor tO' 
her dignified old age. 

l'"rank M. Weadon was born in London county, Virginia, on Julv 7, 
1835, and received an excellent education in his home state. In 1854 he 
came to this county, entering the postoffice at Greensburg as deputy post- 
master under Postmaster J. V. Bemustafifer. In this capacity he quickly 
made friends in his new home and was regarded as one of the "coming" 
young men of the community. President Lincoln later appointed him rev- 
enue collector for this revenue district, and he served most acceptably in that 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 927' 

capacity until 1871, in which year he was elected county auditor of Decatur 
county, a position of trust which he filled with the utmost fidelity to the 
public. This service continued for four years, at the end of which time his 
services were engaged by the Big Four Railroad Company, and in 1882 
the scene of his activities was transferred to Indianapolis, in which city he 
spent the remainder of his life, his death occurring on December 21, 1914. 
In his thirty years of service in the division headquarters of the Big Four 
Railroad Company at Indianapolis, Mr. Weadon was absent from the office 
but four weeks. He remained with the company imtil he was retired on 
pension on account of the encroachments of age. He was singularly faith- 
ful and devoted in his service to the company and was held in the very 
highest esteem by all his office associates and the authorities of the road. 

On October 8, 1856, Frank M. Weadon was united in marriage to Mary 
Jane Jamison, who was born in Greensburg, this county, on April 24, 1838, 
the daughter of Francis and Nancy (Preston) Jamison, both members of 
pioneer families of this county. Francis Jamison was the son of Martin 
and Barbara (Seebaugh) Jamison, the former of whom was born in Glas- 
gow, Scotland, coming to this country in early manhood and locating at Har- 
risburg, Pennsylvania, where he married Barbara Seebaugh, a member of 
one of the old Colonial families, later coming to Decatur county and enter- 
ing business in the then rapidly growing village of Greensburg. Martin 
Jamison had been trained to the hatter's trade in Scotland and he engaged 
in the hatter's business at Greensburg, to which he added a general stock of 
dry goods, becoming one of the leading business men in southern Indiana. 
He built the first two-stor}' building in Greensburg, his place of business- 
having been located on the site now occupied by Minear's dry-goods store, 
and was a power in the early development of the commercial and industrial 
interests of this county, his influence in the religious and civic life of the 
community having been equally potent, so much so that few names in the 
early history of Decatur county are entitled to more resi>ectful recognition 
than that of Martin Jamison. 

Francis Jamison was bom at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and as a child 
came to this county with his parents, being reared at Greensburg, and u])on 
reaching manhood was associated with his father in the dry-goods business 
at Greensburg, being for many years one of the leading merchants in that 
city. He married Nancy Preston, who was born in Georgetown, Kentucky, 
and who came to Decatur county with her parents at the age of sixteen 
years, her father. Thomas Preston, becoming one of the best-known pioneer 
farmers of this county. Thomas Preston entered a government tract, at 



-928 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

what is now known as the Doss Pleak farm, and became a substantial and 
honored resident of that part of the county. 

To Frank M. and Mary Jane (Jamison) Weadon were born the fol- 
lowing children : Percy, who is prominently connected with the theatrical 
business in New York City; George A., a prominent Inisiness man in Indian- 
apolis, in the millinery line, a biographical sketch of whom is presented else- 
where in this volume; Burt C. and Bruce. 

The Weadons are held in high esteem throughout Decatur county, 
though long having been absent the connection of the two names, Jamison 
and Weadon, formerly so strongly identified with the commercial and politi- 
cal life of the county seat, giving to the family a substantial position in 
this county which time cannot effect. 



OSCAR B. TRIMBLE. 



Among the men of sterling worth and strong character in Decatur coun- 
ty, who have left the mark of their influence on the institutional life of this 
section, none has been honored with a larger measure of popular respect than 
Oscar B. Trimble, a prominent farmer of Clav township, former trustee of 
that township and twice elected treasurer of Decatur county. Mr. and Mrs. 
Trimble have a splendid farm of one hundred and seventy acres, three-quar- 
ters of a mile south of Milford, on the old Vernon road, where they have 
lived for many years in comfort and happiness, sweethearts quite as much 
as they were in the days of their courtship. 

Oscar B. Trimble was born in Washington township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, in 1859, the son of John B. and Adelaide (Owens) Trimble, the 
former of whom was born in 1818 in Grayson county, Virginia. The Owens 
family, originally from Pennsylvania, came to Decatur county in pioneer 
times, first settling in Jackson township, where their descendants are still 
numerous. Risden Owens, the founder of the present branch of the family 
in this section, emigrated, when past the prime of life, to Kansas and there 
entered land and became wealthy. He died in that state, after having spent 
a life of unusual vigor. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, of 
whom Adelaide, the mother of Mrs. Trimble, was one of the daughters. 

The Trimble family is of Scotch-Irish descent and came to Decatur 
•county in 1836 from Virginia, settling in Washington township, near Greens- 
burg. John B. Trimble was a carpenter in his younger days, and there are 







^^^^^^^^^H|F' ' ' ' ^ 


■■ 










^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^>\f. 




^Hi 





DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 929 

several houses still standing and in good condition which he built in Decatur 
county. The house on what is known- as the old Tarkington farm, where the 
ancestors of Booth Tarkington lived, now owned by Bird Sefton, was built 
by Mr. Trimble and stands today as a monument to his skill and honesty as a 
builder. Later he abandoned carpentering and became a farmer. He was 
married in 1855 to Adelaide Owens and after their marriage, they purchased 
a farm in Washington township, now known as the Applegate farm. After 
selling this farm, John B. Trimble moved to Kansas, where he remained one 
year, and then came back to Decatur county, purchasing land in Clay town- 
ship, now owned by his sons, O. B. and A. B. Trimble. 

Although reared a Democrat, the late John B. Trimble, soon after 
coming to Decatur county, became a member of the Whig party and, upon 
the organization of the Republican party, in 1856, became a member of that 
party. He was always true to the party of Lincoln and was intensely pat- 
riotic, ever displaying the utmost loyalty to the principles of the Union during 
the time of the Civil War. John B. Trimble was elected several times as 
trustee of Clay township and made a fine record in that office. A noble 
citizen and an influential man. he had a wide acquaintance and was popular 
with his neighbors, especially on account of his brilliant conversational abili- 
ties. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Christian 
church. He died on August 24, 1907. His widow, who died less than two 
months later, on October 12, 1907, was a woman of kindly, Christian charac- 
ter and was much loved and respected in Clay township. 

To the late John B. and Adelaide (Owens) Trimble the following chil- 
dren were born : Mrs. Maria Morse, wife of William Morse, of Indianapolis ; 
O. B., the subject of this sketch; Arthur B., a farmer of Milford, this county; 
Mrs. Carrie McCoy, wife of Curtis McCoy, of this county, and Fred B., a 
well-known Decatur county farmer, who died in 1900, at the age of forty- 
two. 

In 1S79 O. B. Trimble was married to Ida M. Butler, who was born in 
Bartholomew county, this state, in i860, daughter of John F. and Susan 
(Woodard) Butler, who later were well-known residents of this county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Trimble began life on the farm where they now live and there 
they have lived a life noted for its peacefulness and happiness. To them 
two children have been born, Claudia A., wife of Dr. Charles A. Kuhn, of 
Greensburg, and Ethel B., wife of Christian Steen, of Minneapolis, Minne- 
sota. Dr. and Mrs. Kuhn have two children, Dorothy and Hilda. 

Always intensely loval to the principles of the Republican party, O. B. 

(59) 



930 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Trimble has been prominent in the affairs of his party for many years and is 
regarded as one of the influential men in the party's councils in Decatur 
county. In 1894 he was elected trustee of Clay township and served for five 
years. In 1906 he was elected treasurer of Decatur county and was re-elected 
in 1908. Both as trustee of Clay township and treasurer of Decatur county, 
Mr. Trimble was one public official who worked at the job ; who kept the 
business of the county and the township absolutely straight and who devoted 
his time exclusively to looking after the public business. He is a man of 
whom the people of this county have reason to be proud. Mrs. Trimble is a 
member of the Christian church and takes a warm interest in the affairs of the 
same. Mr. Trimble is a Mason, being a member of the lodge of that order at 
Milford. He also is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Milford, the 
Knights of Pythias lodge at Burney and the lodge of the Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks at Greensburg, being very popular among the 
members of these several fraternities. He and has wife are active in all 
good works in their neighborhood and are held in the highest esteem there- 
about. 



DILVER E. DOUGLAS, M. D. 

Among the prominent physicians and surgeons of Greensburg, Indiana,, 
who also have been prominent in the political and civic life of the county, 
is Dr. Dilver E. Douglas, whose grandfather came down the Ohio river 
from Pennsylvania and settled early in the history of the state near Vevay, 
Indiana. The career of this successful physician, the subject of this sketch, 
is a striking example of boyish ideals and ambitions which have been fully 
realized in later life. 

Dilver E. Douglas was born on a farm near Vevay. Indiana, on Novem- 
ber 9, 1870, son of John and Esther (Pocock) Douglas, natives of Indiana, 
the former of whom was born in 1840 and died in 1892 and the latter born 
in 1842 and died in 1894. John Douglas was the son of Jackson Douglas, a 
native of Pennsylvania, who, as heretofore stated, came down the Ohio 
river from Pennsylvania and, after numerous experiences and exploits, 
settled near Vevay. 

Educated in the district schools and in the Vevay high school, Dilver 
E. Douglas was also a student for some time at the local normal school and 
taught school for seven years in Switzerland county. Beginning the study 
of medicine in his boyhood, in the office of Dr. R. D. Simpson, he entered the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 93 1 

Ohio ]\Iedical I'niversity in 1892, later entering the Kentucky School of 
Medicine at Louisville, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. 

From 1897 to 191 2 Dr. Dilver E. Douglas was engaged in the practice 
of medicine at East Enterprise, near Vevay, but in 1912 came to Decatur 
county and has since that time been successfully engaged in the practice of 
medicine in Greensburg. Doctor Douglas is a member of the Decatur County 
Medical Society, the Indiana State Medical Association and the American 
Medical Association, in all of which organizations he takes a prominent part. 

On June 10, 1S96, Dr. D. E. Douglas was married to Lillian Adams, 
of Vevay. To this union two children, Robert E. and F. Mareta, have been 
born. 

A member of the sixty-sixth General Assembly of Indiana, Doctor 
Douglas served as a member of the committee on ways and means, the com- 
mittee on state medicine and the committee on benevolent institutions. He 
was a prominent and inlluential member of that session, having been elected 
as a Democrat and serving as a member of a body which was Democratic 
for the first time in several years. During this session, however, the upper 
house of the General Assembly remained Republican. 

Doctor Douglas is a member of the b'ree and Accepted Masons, the 
Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern 
Woodmen of America. A Democrat in politics, in addition to his service 
as a member of the Indiana General Assembly, he also served as county 
surveyor of Switzerland county for one term before moving from East 
Enterprise to Greensburg. 

Although a resident of this county a comparatively brief period. Doctor 
Douglas has already established a flourishing practice. During his short 
residence here, he has gained a host of friends and is honored and esteemed, 
not only by his patients, but by all the people of Greensburg, Decatur county. 



MATHIAS JOHANNIGMANN. 

If one should visit Decatur county in search for a model farm, from 
ttie standpoint of improvements, buildings and natural advantages, and one 
that was cultivated and farmed by the most modern methods, he would 
more than likely be directed to Marion township in search of Mathias Johan- 
nigmann. 

Mathias Johannigmann was born on Augu.st 16, 1856, in a log cabin 
on the farm on which he now lives, the son of Bernard Dominicus Johannig- 



932 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

mann, who was born in Germany in 1821, and who died in Decatur county 
in 1896. After emigrating to America in 1850 Dominicus Johannigmann 
hved for a time in Cincinnati and then came to Decatur county and bought a 
tract of land in Marion township that had been partly cleared by the Indians, 
the aboriginals having had a village at that point. The remainder of this 
land was cleared by Dominicus Johanningmann and in 1876 he made the 
bricks and built the fine brick residence in which his son, Mathias Johannig- 
mann, now lives. 

The wife of Bernard Dominicus Johannigmann was Elizabeth Egbert, 
who was born in Germany in 1832 and died in Decatur county in 1866. 
They had the following children : Mary, who lives in Cincinnati ; John, who 
is deceased; Mathias, the subject of this sketch; Henry, who lives at Walnut 
Hills, Cincinnati; Joseph, who lives at Price Hill, Cincinnati, and Anna 
(Theimann) St. Bernard, of Cincinnati. 

Mathias Johannigmann is now in possession of a tract of two hundred 
and forty-six acres of well-improved land, which has a running stream of 
water passing through it. Mr. Johannigmann has one of the finest barns in 
Decatur county. This barn was built in 1909 and is sixty-four by forty- 
eight feet and three stories high. It is made out of hard-wood lumber that 
was cut from trees taken on this farm. The construction of the barn is such 
that any of the three stories will support a wagon and team. The barn is 
well supplied with granaries and has running water for the stock. It is 
unquestionably the finest barn in Decatur county. The Johannigmann farm 
presents a most picturesque sight with its hills and valleys and fine old 
buildings set in surroundings of huge old maple trees. The fine brick resi- 
dence was built by Mathias Johannigmann"s father in 1877, and is in an 
excellent state of repair. Mathias Johannigmann has always lived on this 
farm, with the exception of six years spent in Cincinnati, as a teamster, when 
a young man. He is a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and has a fine herd of 
fifteen head of this breed. He has five head of fine mules and five head of 
pure-bred Percheron horses, and on both horses and mules he has won 
premiums at Batesville, North Vernon, Osgood and Greensburg fairs and 
stock shows. He also raises annually from twenty-five to forty head of fine 
Duroc- Jersey hogs. 

Mathias Johannigmann was married on February 19, 1884, to Anna 
Kuhlman, who was born in Madisonville, Ohio, in 1859, the daughter of 
John Kuhlman, a native of Germany, who came to Indiana from Ohio. To 
Mathias and Anna (Coleman) Johannigmann have been born six children, 
of whom three are living: Clara, born in 1888, now resides in Cincinnati; 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 933 

Mathias, June 8, 1893, is now farming at liome, and Helen, October 25, 
1894. 

Mathias Johannigmann is a Democrat. He is a member of St. Mary's 
Catholic church and is a good example of the sturdy German blood which 
has done so much to enrich America, he and his family being held in the 
highest esteem throughout a part of the county in which for years he has 
taken so prominent a jiart in agricultural development. 



EDWIN S. FEE. 



Our republic, consciously or unconsciously, was founded on the idea 
that man's economic objects are to be obtained by the exploitation of one 
class by another class — by the appropriation of others' labor rather than by 
one's own labor, by political rather than by economic need. It is another 
instance of the institution of government designed to preserve in our civ- 
ilization the principle that the fittest shall survive. The aristocratic char- 
acter of our legislative bodies, particularly the federal court, and, until quite 
recently, the United States Senate, are glaring instances of the fact that at 
every crucial point the few have been foresighted enough to protect their tra- 
ditional rights, to exploit all not within the pale of their own social class. 

When we find in our examination of the personal and biographical an- 
nals of the past generation, one who has devoted his life's energies to oppos- 
ing the aggressions of the few, who lived and died for the cause which he 
knew was right, who withstood the trials and discouragements, the opposi- 
tion and the isolation of friends and even relatives, yet remained steadfast 
ill the cause and uplift of a downtrodden race of humanity, we are com- 
pelled to render a tribute to the memory of the man who put personal and 
selfish interests aside and cast his fortunes with those who were being preyed 
upon. 

In the agitation against the institution of slavery which preceded the 
Civil War, no man gave greater power or more intelligent direction to the 
cnisade than the late Rev. John G. Fee, founder of Berea College, at Berea, 
Kentucky. A school which today ranks with our foremost colleges and uni- 
versities, with an enrollment of more than two thousand students, it is a liv- 
ing monument to the memory of Reverend Fee, who was the father of 
Edwin Sumner Fee, a well-known farmer and stockman of Decatur county 
and the subject of this writing. 



934 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Edwin S. Fee, born on March 17, 1863, in Clermont county, Ohio, is 
today the only surviving member of a family of six children, reared under 
the best impulses of Christian citizenship, and under the protecting love of 
a noble and capable Christian mother, who added her best energies, her best 
thought and action to the success of her husband and the cares of her house- 
hold. Mr. Fee has complete data on the genealogy of his ancestors as far 
back as 1630, which is greatly prized by himself and will increase in value 
in coming generations. Mr. Fee's infancy was contemporaneous with the 
stirring period of the Civil War. He, like all his brothers and sisters, was 
educated in the schools of Berea, Kentucky, and in Berea College. 

On September 11, 1883, Edwin S. Fee was married to Enrie J. Ham- 
ilton, of Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, a daughter of the late 
William McCoy and Euphemie (Donnell) Hamilton, both members of old 
and prominent families in the county, the former of whom was born on 
November 26, 1822, and died on February 25, 1905, and the latter of whom 
was born on October 5, 1829, and died on December 6, 1892. Mrs. Fee's 
father was a citizen of Decatur county and lived his entire life within its 
borders, a son of Cyrus and Mary (McCoy) Hamilton, natives of Kentucky. 
\\'illiam McCoy Hamilton was born and reared on the paternal farm in the 
Kingston neighborhood in Decatur county. On January 24, 1854, he was 
married to Euphemie Donnell, the only daughter of Luther and Jane (Braden) 
Donnell. Immediately after their marriage they moved to the farm on which 
their onlv son, Luther Donnell Hamilton, now lives. At that time there was 
an old pioneer dwelling on this farm, which, ten years later, was supplanted 
by a fine, large brick residence, which Mr. Hamilton erected and which, with 
some remodeling to suit modern conditions, still does fine service as a coun- 
try home. 

Mrs. Hamilton inherited about six hundred acres of land from her 
father, and gradually this was increased by Mr. Hamilton until he became 
the possessor of more than three thousand acres of land. He bred and 
laised a great number of mules, cattle and hogs for the market. He was one 
of the most sul^stantial citizens in this county, an earnest Republican and 
took an acti\e part in political affairs. He was a fiery alx)litionist and 
served in the capacity of county commissioner for two terms. He was prom- 
inently connected with the affairs of the "underground railroad," by which 
agency many slaves found their way to freedom before the war. He was 
president of the First National Bank of Greensburg. Both Mr. Hamilton 
and his wife took active interest in all church work and charitable institu- 
tions. Mrs. Hamilton's main work was in her household and aiding poor 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 935 

and unfortunate people who came within the reach of her kindly care and 
Christian influence. 

To William McCoy and Euphemie (Donnellj Hamilton were born five 
children: Enrie Jane, born on November 8, 1854, the wife of Mr. Fee; 
Grace Greenwood, November 20, 1858, died on January 16, 1898; Luther 
Donnell, at present one of the largest farmers in the county; Myrta Gay, 
February 18, 1865, married John M. Berry on December 26, 1893, and died 
at her Chicago home on March 19, 1897, and Mary iilanche, May 9, 1868, 
married George W. Lyons in December, 1900, and is now living in Greens- 
burg. 

Mrs. Edwin S. Fee, the eldest of the family, was educated at Oberlin 
College, and took special courses in the conservatory of music and was affil- 
iated with the class of 1875. ^'O'' two years she taught music in Berea Col- 
lege, and was teaching at the time she met Mr. Fee. After their marriage 
they began farming in this county. Today Mr. and Mrs. Fee own over nine 
hundred acres of land in three farms. They have a beautiful modern home 
in the town of Clarksburg, perhaps the finest residence in the county. Com- 
pleted in the fall of 1906, it contains twenty-one rooms and is finished 
throughout with native hardwood and with hardwood floors. It is hot- 
water heated and is lighted with natural gas. The rooms are all artistically 
decorated and a large open fireplace in the spacious living room is a most 
attractive and comfortable feature of this magnificent country home. It is 
painted cream and white and has French plate-glass windows and a large 
circular porch, which extends almost around the entire house, with the porte- 
cochere on the south side. 

On this body of land there are four sets of farm buildings. Mr. Fee is 
an extensive cattle, mule and hog raiser, and a large feeder of Shorthorn 
cattle. He averages not less than one hundred and fifty head of cattle and 
twenty-five mules and two hundred head of hogs for market per year. Four 
men dre employed by the year to aid in the work on these farms, their fami- 
lies living on these farms. 

To Edwin S. and Enrie J. (Hamilton) Fee five children have been born, 
two sons and three daughters, all of whom after attending the high school 
at Clarksburg enjoyed the advantages of higher education. Burritt Hamil- 
ton, born on June 26, 1884. was educated at Berea College and is now a 
farmer and stockman; William Howard, July 4, 1886, attended Berea, 
Tarkio (Missouri) and Valparaiso (Indiana) College, and is farming near 
Kingston. Both sons own one hundred and sixty acres of land apiece, be- 
sides other interests. Mary E., February 24, 1889, is pursuing special 



1 



936 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

courses of music in Berea College, DePauw University and Oberlin and Cin- 
cinnati conservatories. Nellie M., August 4, 1891, attended Monmouth Col- 
lege, Illinois, for three successive years in the liberal arts course, at the same 
time taking a course in vocal music at the conservatory. Bessie E., July 16, 
1894, attended college a year each at Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio, 
Monmouth College and Bradley Polytechnic, at Peoria, specializing in music, 
domestic science and painting. 

The family are members and regular attendants of the Clarksburg Pres- 
byterian church, Mrs. Fee having been organist and leader of the choir for 
more than forty years, and is today still doing excellent service in that 
capacity. All the family live at the home in Clarksburg. 

Edwin S. Fee is a progressive Republican, but is independent in his 
voting and thinking. He has proved a valuable citizen in this great county, 
and is a director and largest individual stockholder in the Clarksburg State 
Bank, and is a trustee of Lincoln Institute at Louisville, Kentucky, and 
prominent on temperance boards and affairs of community interest and bet- 
terment. Both Mr. Fee and his two sons are valuable factors in the com- 
munity as farmers and men of judgment, prominent in corn and stock shows 
and farmers' institutes. 

There is an old saying that blood will tell, and if we believe in this 
statement we must say that Mr. and Mrs. Fee. by their every thought, word 
and act, are fulfilling the noble desires and traditions of two families which 
have figured prominently in the ]iu])lic and religious life of two continents. 



J. MINOR GASTON. 

Indianapolis, the state capital, has gained many very excellent citizens 
at the expense of Decatur county, the Decatur colony at the capital being 
one of the most strongly marked and individualized of any of the state's 
numerous county colonies there. The attractive force of Indiana's chief 
city and political center has drawn from all ranks of Decatur county's social 
order, and most all the industries and professions in the capital are repre- 
sented among those who have left the borders of this coimty, seeking wider 
opportunity there for the exercise of their talents. Among those who thus 
have departed, few have left pleasanter memories among their friends who 
remain here than the family of the Gastons, who, in the spring of 1912, 
moved to Indianapolis, where Mr. Gaston has found an ample outlet for 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



937 



his enterprise and energy in the banking business, a business which he 
proved himself so well qualified for during his residence in the village of 
Westport, this county. Though he no longer is a resident of Decatur county, 
J. Minor Gaston still retains considerable property interest in and about his 
former home at Westport and still likes to regard himself as one of the 
Decatur county folk. It is quite fitting therefore that some record of his 
life in this county, together with a brief history of his interesting family, 
should be set out in this volume of biographical reference to the men and 
the women who have helped to make Decatur county what it is — one of the 
most favored sections of the proud old Hoosier state. 

J. Minor Gaston was born at Sardinia, Decatur county, Indiana, on 
September 19, 1856, of excellent pioneer stock, the son of Francis M. and 
Margaret (Gray) Gaston, both natives of Butler county, Ohio, who came 
to this county in the year 1849, locating in Jackson township, in the village 
that at that time was known by the name of Maxwell, where Francis M. 
Gaston engaged in the general merchandise business. Upon opening his 
store in the village, Mr. Gaston gave a great sardine supper, free to all who 
would attend, as a means of advertising, in a day when newspaper adver- 
tising was not so much a factor in commercial enterprises as it is today. 
Needless to say, the sardine supper was attended by the entire countr\'side 
and the fame of the unique "spread" became enduring. About that time 
Maxwell attained the dignity of being made a postofifice, and, on account 
of there being another Maxwell postoffice in the state, it became necessary 
for the villagers to select another name for their town. In compliment to 
Mr. Gaston, and to perpetuate the fame of his sardine supper, the people 
unanimously agreed that the town should be called "Sardinia," and the post- 
ofiice department so ordered. And Sardinia it is to this day. 

Francis M. Gaston was reared on a farm in Butler county, Ohio, not far 
from the city of Cincinnati, and there he married Margaret Gray, one of 
the belles of his home neighborhood. As stated above, the Gastons came 
to this county, locating at Sardinia, where Mr. Gaston operated a general 
store for five or six years, becoming one of the best known men in that 
entire section of the county. The success which attended his efifort as a 
village storekeeper enabled him presently to purchase an excellent farm of 
two hundred and forty acres in the neighborhood, and on this farm he and 
his wife spent the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1893 and 
hers in 191 1. Mr. and Mrs. Gaston were among the most influential fac- 
tors in the life of that community. They both were persons of strong moral 



^38 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

filier and were active in promoting all causes designed to advance the gen- 
eral good. 

J.. Minor Gaston's youth was spent in and near the village of Sardinia, 
his elementary education being received in the schools of that village. This 
schooling he supplemented by a course in the National Normal College, at 
Lebanon, Ohio, following which he went to the village of Westixjrt, this 
county, where he engaged in the general merchandise business, continuing 
this form of commercial activity for four years. He also owned farm lands 
near Westport and gave these his direct personal attention. About the year 
1905, Mr. .Minor engaged in the banking business in Westiwrt with J. S. 
Morris, who previously had opened a bank there, operating the same as a 
private bank. In 1912 Mr. Gaston sold his interest in the Westport bank 
and moved to Indianapolis, in which city he aided in the organization of 
the Marion County State Bank, being elected to the position of vice-presi- 
dent of the same, holding that position until 1914, in which year he was 
elected president of the bank, a position in which he is still serving. The 
other officers of the bank are Mr. Minor's son-in-law, Clarence C. Deupree, 
another Decatur county man, who is cashier, and John Duvall, vice-presi- 
dent. With Mr. Gaston's and Mr. Deupree's connection with this bank, it 
is hardly necessary to say that all Decatur county people find a hearty wel- 
come when they step into that popular financial institution while visiting 
the capital city. 

In 1913 Mr. Gaston also helped organize the Beech Grove State Bank, 
at Beech Grove, a suburb of Indianapolis. While officially known as the 
assistant cashier of this latter institution, Mr. Gaston is practically manager 
of the same, devoting nearly all of his time to this bank, being the only 
member of the management who does so. He has disposed of most of his 
holdings in this county, though still retaining some property at Westpoint, 
which place, through long association, he still likes to think of as home. 

In 1885 J. Minor Gaston was united in marriage to Lottie Beesley, who 
was born at Brewersville, Indiana, daughter of Robert and Charlotte ( Bruni- 
ley) Beesley, the latter of whom is a native of England, ha\-ing been 
brought to this country by her parents in her girlhood, and the former of 
whom was born in this country, of English parents, his birth having oc- 
curred shortly after his parents arrived in America. Robert Beesley and 
Charlotte Brumley were married at Brookville, this state, later moving to 
Jennings county, this state, where their daughter, Lottie, was reared on a 
farm. Mr. and Mr. Beesley remained on the Jennings county farm until 
the year 1910, when they moved to Sardinia, this county, where their old 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 939 

age is being spent in quiet and pleasant retirement. During his residence 
in Westport Mr. Gaston was accounted one of the most forceful and ener- 
getic men thereabout and much credit is given him by the people of that 
village for the part he took in public affairs there. In 1906 he was the 
president of the town board. During the years since its establishment as a 
hamJet, the town had grown up around the old cemetery, creating a situa- 
tion that was very distasteful to many of the townspeople. Mr. Gaston 
promoted a movement for the location of a new cemetery, well outside the 
town limits. An ordinance to this effect was adopted by the town board and 
bonds were offered for sale. For some reason, however, these x'illage bonds 
would not sell. Upon consulting an attorney, Mr. Gaston found that he 
Avas not barred from being a buyer of the bonds, even though a member of 
the board which authorized their issue, and he purchased the entire issue on 
his individual responsibility, thus insuring to the village the location of the 
cemetery at the point most popularly favored by the people thereabout. 
Though the action in moving the cemetery for a time aroused some opposi- 
tion in the neighborhood, some desiring to retain the time-honored burial 
g-round, that opposition long since has vanished, all now agreeing upon the 
desirability of the change. Westport cemetery, the new burial ground, is a 
beautiful plot, a credit to the town, and the townspeople are proud of it. 
The first interment in the new Westport cemetery was that of the body of 
Christopher Stott, who, at the time of his death, was the oldest man in 
Sand Creek township. 

To J. Minor and Lottie (Beesle)') Gaston one child has been born, a 
■daughter, Stella Edith, who was born and reared on the same farm as was 
her father. On October 20, 1910, Stella Edith Gaston was united in mar- 
riage to Clarence C. Deupree, son of Thomas M. and Laura V. (Pritchard) 
Deupree, a member of one of the old families of this section of the state, 
who was bom at Westport, this county, on January 8, 1888, and to this 
tmion there has been born one child, a son, Robert Gaston. Mr. Deupree 
is cashier of the Marion County State Bank at Indianapolis, and a bio- 
graphical sketch of him. with a genealogy of his family, is presented else- 
where in this volume. 

Mr. and I\Irs. Gaston are members of the First Baptist church at Indian- 
apolis and are earnest in good works, the same kindly influence they exerted 
for so many years during the time of their residence in this county having 
been extended to their new field of labor in the state capital, where they 
have made many friends and are held in the highest esteem bv all who 
know them. 



940 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



ISAAC H. TAYLOR. 



The late Isaac H. Taylor, a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- 
vania, wiio came to Decatur county, Indiana, with his parents in 1842, 
became, during his life, one of the most prominent farmers of Decatur 
county, and was rated by the friends he had and the men who knew him 
as one of the best citizens of the county. His goodness of heart and gener- 
ous, lovable dis])Osition naturally attracted to him many warm and ardent 
friends whom he cherished highly. Ever tender and loving to his wife and 
children, all were left, at his death, well provided with the comforts of life 
which the husliand and father had worked so patiently and so diligently to 
acquire. 

Born on July 26. 1838, Isaac H. Taylor passed away quietly on January 
21, 1903, a few months after moving to Greensburg, Indiana. Mr. Taylor 
first settled on a farm near Horan, Indiana, which he later sold and then 
moved to a farm near Gaynorsville, on which he lived until his removal to 
Greensburg. This latter farm consisted of one hundred and sixty acres and, 
due to Mr. Taylor's prodigious toil, it was brought up to a high state of 
cultivation. 

The late Isaac H. Taylor was twice married, the first time to Mary E. 
Miller, November 18, i860. She died on November 30, 1863, and he mar- 
ried, secondly, March 9, 1865, Emily A. McConnell, who was born March 8, 
1841, in Decatur county, the daughter of Archibald and Emily (Burk) 
McConnell, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in Decatur county. Of 
their family of seven children, only one, Mrs. Taylor, is now living. The 
parents died in 1851, when Mrs. Taylor was only ten years old. Her 
mother was the daughter of John Burk, a native of Kentucky, who built 
Burk's Chapel. The six deceased children, brothers and sisters of Mrs. 
Taylor, were : Elizabeth, Patsy Jane, John Burk, Archibald, Nancy and 
Chesley. 

Of the children born to Isaac H. and Emily A. (McConnell) Taylor, 
three are deceased and four are still living: Emma, born on July 18, 1866, 
is the wife of Ira Scripture and lives at Moores Hill; George died in infancy; 
John, October 10, 1867, married Mollie S. Jackson on December 29, 1895, 
and lives in Henry county; James, October 2, 1871, lives on a farm near 
Sandusky, Decatur county; Mary died in infancy; Gertrude, October 2, 
1875, died December 31, 1893, and Hugh, February 2, 1879, living on a farm 
two miles north of Greensburg, married Otie Fiscus. 

Of the late Isaac H. Tavlor it mav be said that he was one of the best 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 94 1 

men in all Decatur county, a man whose heart was pure, whose motives 
sincere and aboveboard, and whose will was centered on any means which 
might be taken to uplift his neighbors or his fellows. During his residence 
in the country, he and his wife were loyal and faithful members of Burk's 
Chapel of the Methodist Episcopal church, a building which had been ori- 
ginally erected by Mrs. Taylor's maternal grandfather. Faithful in all of 
the duties of life, Isaac H. Taylor well deserved the confidence of his fellow- 
men. This confidence, so freely bestowed upon him, was the result of true 
merit. 



R. RAY HAMILTON. 



The Hamilton family in Greensburg township, this county, is descended 
from William Warder Hamilton, who was one of the best-known farmers 
and citizens of the state, a native of Carlisle, Kentucky, born in 1821, who 
died in 1907. Coming to Decatur county, Indiana, during the forties, he 
settled in Fugit township and became one of the largest farmers in this sec- 
tion of Indiana. He was especially well known because of his connection 
with the board of agriculture, having for some time served as president of 
that body. R. Ray Hamilton, the subject of this sketch, is a representative 
of the third generation of this family in Decatur county, a grandson of Will- 
iam Warder Hamilton. 

R. Ray Hamilton was born on April 8, 1876. the son of William Brutus 
and Catherine (Cunningham) Hamilton, the former of whom was born in 
1848 and died on September 17, 1903, and the latter of whom was born in 
Warren county, Ohio, in 1849 ^^id died in February, 1905. William Brutus 
Hamilton was one of two sons born to William Warder Hamilton and wife. 
Cassius, the other son, is a farmer living near Greensburg and is well known 
throughout the county. Mrs. Catherine Hamilton was a well-educated, 
intelligent and refined woman, who, after coming to Decatur county from 
Ohio, taught school for several years until her marriage to William Brutus 
Hamilton. They had four children : William Cassius, who is a coal dealer 
in Indianapolis; Florine, thp wife of Elmer Roland, formerly of Columlnis, 
Indiana, who has one child, Kathryn; Richard Ray, the subject of this sketch, 
and Harry Warder, a well-known manufacturer of Indianapolis, who mar- 
ried Disney Bird, to which union three children were born, two now living 
and one deceased, William Warder, Helen Florine and Harry Cassius, the 
latter of whom died in 1914 at the age of three years. 



942 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

R. Ray Hamilton received a splendid educational training for business. 
After completing the prescribed course in the public schools of Greensburg, 
being graduated from the high school, he was for some time a student in 
one of the business colleges at Indianapolis, where he was especially well 
prepared fur business. For several years he was engaged in the stone busi- 
ness with his father-in-law. Ira J. Hollensbe. At the present time they are 
engaged in the manufacture of automoliile radiators, the firm being known 
as the Take-Apart Radiator Company, the auto radiator l)eing an inveiuion 
controlled by the firm. This company has enjoyed an unusual success, due 
in a large measure to the Ijusiness foresight of Mr. Hamilton. His excep- 
tional business ability is not unusual, since his father, William Brutus Ham- 
ilton, was a ver}' successful Inisiness man. Reared on a farm, his father 
was engaged for many years in the hardware business and later became a 
pioneer promoter of telephone enterprises, in association with the Bell Tele- 
phone Company. He was the manager of many telephone companies and 
at one time, in association with fi\e other members of the family, owned the 
Hamilton Gas Company, a concern which was finally sold to the Muddy- 
fork company. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church 
and he was politically identified with the Democratic party. 

On June 8, IcSqS, R. Ray Hamilton "was married to Myrtle Hollensbe. 
the daughter of Ira J. Hollensbe. for many years a well-known manufac- 
turer of Decatur county, and to this union three children have been born : 
Ira Brutus, bom on September 4, 1899; Richard Ray, July 13. 1901, and 
William Hollensbe, November 5, 1909. 

Mr. Hamilton is a Democrat and is at present a member of the Greens- 
burg board of education. He was a member of the board at the time the 
new high school building was erected. Fraternally, he is a member of the 
Knights of Pythias and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are active meml>ers of the Presbyterian church aV 
Greensburg. 

Not only has R. Ray Hamilton made a gratifying success in business, 
Init his success has not l)een won by anv sacrifice of j^rinciple or vielding 
up of the resj^jcct of those with whom he has had dealings. As a citizen, he 
has been especially active in educational affairs and is entitled to no small 
part of the credit for the high standard of the Greensburg schools today. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are socially popular in Greensburg and are among 
the most hospitable entertainers in the city. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 945 

CLIFFORD G. ASKIN. 

Among all the numerous county reunions held at Indianapolis during, 
the summer months, meetings for the foregathering of the former residents 
of the respective counties of the state who, for one reason or another, have 
found their ways to the capital city, none is more largely attended or marked 
by a larger flow of real fraternal feeling than is the annual reunion of 
Decatur county folk now living in the capital. Much of the success and 
good fellowship of these annually recurring reunions of exiled Decatur 
county folk undoubtedly may be attributed to the untiring zeal of the genial 
president of the Decatur County Association of Indianapolis, Clifford G. 
Askin, a former well-known resident of Forest Hill, this county, who for 
many years has been engaged in business at Indianapolis, where he has made • 
a distinctive place for himself as a funeral director. Mr. Askin is one of 
the best-known undertakers in the state of Indiana, his reputation, indeed, 
extending beyond the borders of the state. He is proprietor of the well- 
known Askiti Training School of Emiialmers at Indianapolis, an institution 
which ciiunts its graduates in all ])arts of the country, and since 191 1 he has 
held the chair of embalming in the University of Michigan, at .\nn .\rbor, 
a position which has given him a most unusual opportunity to aid in the 
dissemination of proper information regarding the best and most hygienic 
disposition of the dead. In the councils of the National Undertakers' .Asso- 
ciation and of the Indiana State Undertakers' Association, Mr. .-\skin occu- 
pies an important and leading position, his counsels ever being accepted with 
respect and consideration in those bodies. .Among all the many Decatur 
county folk who have gone out into the wider world none is held in higher 
esteem here at home than he, and it very properly may be said that none 
retains a livelier interest in old home afifairs. It is his constant delight to 
keep in touch with his old home and with his many friends in this county, 
and he is. acknowledged by the Decatur county colony at Indianapolis to he 
the very life of the annual reunions of that colony in the capital city. 

Clifford G. .Askin was born at Forest Hill, this count)', on March 31, 
1878. the son of George and Hannah ( Harris) .Askin, the former of whom 
was born in 1836 and dietl on March 10, 1910. George .Askin was born at 
Tobbercurrv, near Sligo, Ireland, a son of Richard and Ann .Askin, the 
latter of whom was of English birth. Richard Askin died when his son, 
George, was ten years old, and his widow emigrated to .America with her 
little family of four sons and one daughter, of whom George was the young- 



■.g/|/| DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

est. The family landed in New York City, proceeding thence to Rochester, 
New York, in which city George remained, the other members of the fam- 
ily coming to this county, where the eldest son established a permanent home 
for his mother and brothers and sister in the Forest Hill neighborhood. 
George Askin was apprenticed to the cabinet maker's trade at Rochester, 
and remained there until he had completed his trade, at the end of which 
time he rejoined his family in this county. Here he followed his trade for 
a few years, after which he entered a general store at Forest Hill as a 
clerk. This form of business appealed to him so strongly that he presently 
bought the store from his employer and continued in business at Forest 
Hill for more than twenty-five years, becoming a man of large and admir- 
able influence throughout that whole section of the county. In the spring 
of 1896 he sold his store and bought a farm at the edge of Forest Hill, 
where he engaged in farming until 1909, in which year he retired and 
moved to Indianapolis, where his death occurred the following March. Mr. 
Askin ever was interested in movements affecting the public welfare in the 
county and particularly in that section of the county in which for so many 
years he was a leader in business afifairs. During the seventies and early 
eighties he was postmaster of Forest Hill and was very popular as an offi- 
cial, his service in that connection being fondly remembered by the older 
people thereabout. He was a member of the Methodist church, in the affairs 
of which he ever took a warm interest, and was a potent factor for good in 
the community. He was a stanch Republican, though not in any way 
offensive in his partisanship, respecting the views of others, even as he was 
firm in his own views and opinions. As a leader of the party in his section 
of the county, his political services throughout the county ever were appre- 
ciated by the managers of the party in this section of the state. 

In. 1868 George Askin was united in marriage to Hannah Harris, who 
was born at Dunlapsville, near Liberty, Indiana, a daughter of Isaac and 
Sarah (Kromb) Harris. Isaac Harris was born in New Jersey, in which 
state his youth was spent. He became a very proficient shoemaker and in 
his early manhood came to Indiana, locating at Dunlapsville, where he 
■opened a shoeshop and where the rest of his life was spent. His wife, Sarah 
Kromb, was born in Union county, this state, a daughter of John and Sarah 
(Combs) Kromb, the former of whom was a native of Holland, and the 
latter a native of New Jersey. John Kromb emigrated to this country in 
his young manhood, coming to Indiana, where he became a well-known 
pioneer of the Liberty neighborhood. Sarah Kromb grew up in Union 
•county and was married there to Isaac Harris. In 1855 Isaac Harris and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 945 

his family moved to Boone county, this state, where, in 1858, Mrs. Harris 
died, leaving seven children, Mrs. Askin being one of these. Upon the 
death of his wife, Isaac Harris moved back to Union county, where he 
remarried and moved to Rush county, where his second wife died. He 
married again and spent the rest of his life in Rush county, his death occur- 
ring in the town of Glenwood. Mrs. Askin spent her girlhood partly in 
Franklin and partly in Union county, later living at Lebanon, in Boone 
county. Upon her marriage to Mr. Askin her home was changed to Forest 
Hill, in this county, where she immediately became a strong factor in the 
social and religious life of that community, her influence ever being exerted 
for the good. She is now living in Indianapolis, honored and respected by 
all who know her. 

To George and Hannah (Harris) Askin were bom three children, 
namely: Clififord G., the immediate subject of this sketch; Henry J., a 
well-known member of the Indianapolis detective force, and Effie M., who 
married John M. Barbour and lives at Lawrence, Indiana. 

Clififord G. Askin spent his early youth in the town of Forest Hill, his 
education being received in the excellent schools of that town. When he 
was eighteen years of age his father moved to the farm, and there Clifford 
G. remained until he was twenty-four years of age, at which time he moved 
to Indianapolis, entering upon a position there with an undertaking firm. 
He remained with this firm one year, at the end of which time he formed 
a partnership with Charles H. Royster, and went into business for himself, 
the establishment of Royster & Askin at that time being located in the 
western part of the city- This firm continued operations there for five 
years, and in 1910 moved to its present centrally located and commodious 
quarters at 837 North Illinois street, in the city of Indianapolis, where it 
has a large and constantly growing patronage among the best families in 
the city. This establishment is one of the finest and most thoroughly 
equipped in the state of Indiana. 

Clififord G. Askin, as stated in the introduction to this narrative, has 
made for himself a distinctive place in undertaking circles over the state 
and throughout the middle states, and enjoys the unreserved confidence of 
business circles generally in Indianapolis. Two years after he had estab- 
lished the Askin Training School of Embalming, Mr. Askin associated with 
him in that branch of the business Dr. W. B. Ryan, another Decatur county 
man, who was added to the staff as instructor. Doctor Ryan died two years 
or more ago, since which time Mr. Askin has conducted this valuable train- 
(60) 



946 D£CATUR county, INDIANA. 

ing school alone. His position with the faculty of the University of Michi- 
gan, he having occupied the chair of embalming in that excellent institution 
since 191 1, has proved a means of extending his influence as a scientific 
embalmer into all parts of the country, and there are few hygienists who 
enjoy a better established reputation along this particular line than he. 

Mr. Askin is a member of the Tabernacle Presbyterian church at Indi- 
anapolis and is held in high esteem among his large circle of friends in the 
capital city. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
retaining his membership in the lodge at Cliffy, this county, of which lodge 
he became a member during his residence in the Forest Hill neighborhood, 
and in the afifairs of which he continues to take a warm interest. He also 
is a member of the Masonic order, his membership being held in Mystic 
Tie Lodge at Indianapolis, and he also is a member of the Loyal Order of 
Moose and of the Improved Order of Red Men, in the same city. Mr. Askin 
is president of the Decatur County Association of Indianapolis and is one of 
the prime movers in the annual meetings of that society, these meetings, held 
in one or another of the pleasant parks with which the capital abounds, prov- 
ing a season of rare enjoyment and fellowship to all the numerous Decatur 
county folk who make their home in Indiana's chief city. He is very popu- 
lar with all the members of the Decatur colony there and enjoys their high- 
est confidence and esteem! 



WILLIAM H. MIERS. 



Having resided all his life on the farm on which he was born, in Clay 
township, this county, few men in that part of Decatur county are better 
known than William H. Miers, the genial owner of "Tanglewood Farm," 
one of the most progressive and popular men in his vicinity, a brief and mod- 
est biographical sketch of whom it is a pleasure for the biographer to present 
at this point in this history of the prominent families of Decatur county. 

William H. Miers was born on the farm on which he now lives, in Clay 
township, Decatur county, Indiana, August 31, 1853, the son of John L. and 
Rebecca (Braden) Miers, the former of whom was born in 1842 and died in 
October, 191 2, and the latter of whom was born in 1839 and died in October, 
1913. John Laughlin Miers was a native of Virginia who came to this 
county at an early day and became one of the best-known pioneers of the Clay 
township section of the county. He married Rebecca Braden, daughter of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 947 

Jack Braden, a Kentuckian, wlio came to this county at an early period in the 
settlement of the same and was prominent in the pioneer life of the com- 
munity in which he located. John L. Miers was one of the most prosperous 
and influential residents of Clay township in his day and generation. He 
became the owner of three hundred acres of land, which he brought to an 
excellent state of cultivation and was regarded as one of the most substan- 
tial citizens of the county. For two terms he served as township trustee of 
Clay township and his enterprising and public-spirited administration of that 
office undoubtedly did very much toward advancing the best interests of the 
township and in the establishment of the present stable conditions therein. 
He was highly reputed throughout that part of the county and his recent 
death was the occasion for much mourning on the part of his many friends. 
The death of his widow in the following year was none the less the occasion 
of mourning, for she, too, was held in the highest respect thereabout, having 
been a woman who ceaselessly went about doing good. 

To John L. and Rebecca (Braden) Miers were born six children, 
Thomas, James and Oscar, all now deceased; Herschell, who lives on the 
Goff farm, in Adams township, this county ; Mrs. Delia Ford, of Greens- 
burg, this county, and William H., the immediate subject of this sketch. 

William H. Miers received his education in the schools of Clay town- 
ship and was reared to the life of the farm. He inherited a portion of the 
home farm, including the homestead, and added to this inheritance by buy- 
ing an adjoining tract, bringing his place up to its present acreage, one hun- 
dred and eighty acres ; all of which he has brought under excellent cultiva- 
tion, and on which he has made numerous and substantial improvements. 
The home on "Tanglewood Farm" is a pretty and comfortable brick cottage, 
trimmed in green, and the outlying farm buildings surrounding the big yellow 
barn are in keeping with the general well-kept appearance of the place, the 
whole presenting a fine picture of substantial farm life. Mr. Miers takes 
much pride in his livestock, particularly in the fine breed of his Percheron and 
Belgian horses and his Shorthorn and Jersey cattle. 

In January, 1S79, William H. Miers was united in marriage to Lida 
Graham, daughter of John G. Graham, a one-time well-known farmer of 
Clay township, this county, a large landowner in that township and in 
Bartholomew county, this state, who died some years ago at Hartsville. 

To William H. and Lida (Graham) Miers seven children have been 
born, namely: Ray, who farms a part of the Anderson farm, married Ethel 
Anderson and has three children. Dale, Margaret and Marion ; Merle, house- 
keeper for her uncle at Hartsville ; Oscar, who lives three and one-half miles 



948 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

northeast of his father's place, married Eva Worlden ; Mrs. Nellie Wildman, 
who lives on the home farm, has one child, a son, Van Pierce ; Sherman, a 
traveling salesman for the Heinze Company ; Wayne, who lives at home, and 
Gladys, a stenographer, living at Indianapolis. 

Mr. and Mrs. Miers are members of the Christian church and take an 
active and earnest part in the good works of their community, being regarded 
as among the leaders in all movements designed to elevate the standards of 
living thereabout. Mr. Miers is a Democrat and takes a good citizen's part in 
the political affairs of the county, though never having posed as an active 
politician. He is interested in all matters of good government, however, and 
is looked upon as one of the most substantial and dependable men in that part 
of the county. 



JOHN C. HAYS. 

Not only are the business interest of Decatur county well represented, 
but in the main they are under capable direction. The merchants of the 
county are enterprising, energetic and up-to-date, their stores generally being 
well-stocked and operated along modern lines. Among these merchants 
there are few who have a wider reputation for enterprise and energy than the 
affable gentleman whose name the reader notes above. No town in the 
county is better located than the pleasant village of Burney, in Clay township, 
the country thereabout being one of the very garden spots of Indiana. 
Wealthy and prosperous farmers give to the neighborhood an air of sub- 
stantiality most impressive to the casual visitor at Burney and the well-kept 
appearance of the delightful village bespeaks the enterprise and thrift of the 
inhabitants thereof. The business of the town is conducted by enterprising 
and energetic men who are devoted to the best interests of the whole com- 
munity and who are constantly striving to advance the general welfare of 
that section of the county. Among these merchants none is better known 
than John C. Hays, proprietor of the popular general store at Burney, and 
it is a pleasure for the biographer to call the attention of the reader at this 
point to some of the salient points in Mr. Hay's interesting career as a mer- 
chant and as a public-spirited citizen. Beginning practically with nothing, 
Mr. Hays entered upon his career as a merchant at Burney fourteen years 
ago, and in that time has built up one of the most successful and popular 
general merchandise stores in the county. "Satisfied customers" ever has 
been his motto, and the popularity his well-stocked store enjoys throughout 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 949 

the entire western section of the county as well as in the adjacent sections of 
Shelby and Bartholomew counties affords ample evidence that, in the direc- 
tion of his constantly growing commercial interests, he ever has been faithful 
to this motto. Mr. Hays is one of the most enthusiastic boosters of Clay 
township and the village of Burney and ever is found in the lead in aaiy 
mo\-einent designed to promote the best interests of that section of the county. 
Possessed of exceptional business ability, Mr. Hays has built up a trade of 
which any merchant in a town many times the size of Burnev might well be 
proud, and is very properly regarded as one of the most enterprising and sub- 
stantial citizens of the county. He has learned the valuable secret of being 
able to adapt his business to the territory which it is designed to cover, early 
in his experience having added to the motto above naentioned the equally 
efficacious phrase : "Quality, not f|uantity.'' By keeping his select and com- 
pact stock constantly replenished. Mr. Hays is able to cater to the discriminat- 
ing trade of that section with the best and most up-to-date goods, thus con- 
tinually making good the first part of his motto relating to "satisfied custom- 
ers." Mr. Hays maintains a motor-truck huckster service which covers the 
entire region embraced in his territory of trade and spares no effort to 
accommodate and satisfy his customers, his enterprising ways and obliging" 
manner having gained for him the undivided friendship of the whole region. 

John C. Hays was born in Clay township, Decatur county. Indiana, on 
June 12, 1874. son of Judson and Mary E. (Jones) Hays, prominent resi- 
dents of that township. Judson Hays was a pioneer tilemaker of Decatur 
county, his tile-kiln in Clay township being one of the most important indus- 
tries thereabout. Not only was the clay of that section of the countv well 
adapted to the purposes of tile-making, but Mr. Hay's careful and scientific 
study of the processes .of tile-making lent to his product a quality which 
caused it to be much sought by farmers throughout this whole region and 
thousands of acres of well-drained land hereabtnit have been greatly increased 
in value li\- the discriminating and intelligent use of the product of this once 
well-known kiln. Judson Hays died in 1895, the death of his widow 
occurring not long thereafter. Both were most estimable people and their 
passing was deeply mourned by many. 

To Judson and Mary E. (Jones) Hays were born seven children, namely: 
Flora, who married Will Pumphrey, of this county; Dora, who married 
Jacob Kuntz : John C, the immediate subject of this sketch; Mamie, who 
married Clarence Maze ; Gertrude, who married Tilden Knouse ; Katie, who 
married Walter Skinner, and Karl, who lives at Detroit. 

J. C. Hays was reared on a farm and for a time was an assistant to his 



950 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

father at the tile-kihi, but did not attempt to continue the operation of that 
plant at his father's death. Fourteen years ago he engaged in the general 
merchandise business at Burney and has been very successful. Startitig with 
a sail stock, but with a practical knowledge of the needs of his trade, he 
gradually increased the scope of his business until now he has a thriving 
trade, covering a wide territory. His commercial methods from the very 
start were enterprising, his desire to give the very best service possible lead- 
ing him to employ only the best and most approved agencies for the promo- 
tion of iiis trade. The straightforward and direct manner appealed to his 
customers immediately and it was not long until he was prospering as he 
deserved to prosper. These conditions continued and now Mr. Hays is 
regarded as one of the most substantial merchants in the western part of the 
county. 

On December 24, 1895, John C. Hays was united in marriage to Mattie 
Edwards, who was born in Kentucky, the daughter of Daniel Edwards, who 
now lives at Columbus, this state, and to this union two children have been 
born, Lory and Mrytle Irene. Mr. and Mrs. Hays are members of the 
Baptist church and take an earnest interest in the good works of the com- 
munity, being regarded as among the leaders in all movements helpful to the 
general welfare. 

Mr. Hays is a Republican and gives a good citizen's attention to the 
political affairs of the county, though never having been included in the 
office-seeking class. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at 
Burney and is one of the leaders in the affairs of that lodge. Genial, affable 
and accommodating, he is one of the most popular men thereabout and has 
hosts of warm friends. 



WEBSTER HOLLAND HOLMES. 

Among the former residents of Decatur county who now are success- 
fully engaged in business in the state capital, few are better known or have 
a more popular following among old friends in this county than Webster 
H. Holmes, a prominent building contractor, formerly of Horace, this 
county, now living in Indianapolis, where he has been quite successful in 
his building operations. 

Webster Holland Holmes was bom in Clinton county, Ohio, on June 7, 
1856, the son of the Rev. William and Elizabeth (Cowgill) Holmes, old 
and honored residents of that section of Ohio. Rev. William Holmes, a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 95 1 

"local" minister of the Methodist church, was born in New Jersey in Sep- 
tember, 1808. He grew to manhood in that state and then migrated to Ohio, 
locating in Clinton county, where he engaged in farming and where he spent 
the rest of his life. Pie was one of the best-known "local" ministers of the 
Methodist church in that part of Ohio, and for over fifty years was engaged 
in preaching the Gospel, to him ever a labor of love, for "local" ministers 
of the Methodist church received no compensation for their sei"vices in those 
days. Three of his sons served their country faithfully and well as sol- 
diers in the Union arm during the Civil War and the family was highly 
honored and respected throughout that whole section of the state. William 
Holmes was a member of an old family in New Jersey, his father being of 
sound Colonial stock, and his first wife, who, before her marriage, was 
Katherine Brouse, was also of an old family in that section. 

Rev. William Holmes married, secondly, Elizabeth Cowgill, who was 
born in Clinton county, Ohio, daughter of William Cowgill, a pioneer of 
that section of Ohio, of Scottish descent. Mrs. Holmes was a most e.xcel- 
lent woman. She lived all her life in Clinton county, both she and her hus- 
band spending their last days on the farm near Sabina, Ohio, within twelve 
miles of the point where she was born. 

Webster H. Holmes received his education in the district schools of his 
native county in Ohio, this schooling constantly being supplemented by the 
sound admonitions of his godly father and mother. Upon reaching man- 
hood he engaged in farming and for twelve years was thus engaged in 
the neighborhood of his home. In 1887 he moved to Morgan county, Ten- 
nessee, where he remained for a year, engaged in the lumber business, at 
the end of which time he moved to a farm near Williamstown, Kentucky, 
on which he lived for three years. In 1891 he moved to a farm five miles 
south of Greensburg, in this county, and became a general building con- 
tractpr, his operations in that line being extended to various parts of the 
county. This venture proving successful, he later moved to the village of 
Horace, this county, where he remained until 1906, in which year he moved 
to Indianapolis, seeking a wider field 'for his building operations, and has 
been (|uite successful in the capital city, being well recognized and respected 
among the master carpenters of that city. 

On October 19, 1876, Webster H. Holmes was united in marriage at 
Hillsborough, Ohio, to Martha E. Marsh, who was bom on October 13, 
1856, and to this union five children have been born. Aura A., Jessie L., 
Oscar W., Ilo (deceased) and Daisy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Holmes are members of the Methodist church and their 



952 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

children have been reared in that faith. Mr. Hohnes retains his memljer- 
ship in the Knights of Pythias lodge at Greensburg, and continues to take 
a warm interest in the affairs of the same, as well as in the general affairs 
of the county in which he formerly made his home. He and Mrs. Holmes 
are quite popular in the considerable Decatur county colony at the state 
capital and are held in the highest esteem by their many friends. 



CLAY ALEXANDER. 



Clay Alexander is a representative farmer, liveryman and stockman of 
Clay township. In his life he has outstripped many of those less active on 
the highway of life and during the last decade, especially, has made a con- 
siderable amount of money in the various enterprises in which he has been 
engaged. He is a man of unfailing integrity and one whose word is gen- 
erally recognized as being as good as his bond. He owns a farm three miles, 
south of Burney and is engaged in the livery, feed and sales business in 

Burney- 

Clay Alexander was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana, on June 8, 
1862, son of A. J. and Charlotta (Steward) Alexander, the former of whom 
was a native of Butler county, Ohio, born in 1839, who came to Indiana 
when he was eighteen years old, settling in Bartholomew county. He later 
owned eighty acres of land near Hartsville. but traded this for one hundred 
and sixty acres of land in this county, to which he moved and there spent the 
remainder of his active business life, Charlotta Steward, who was horn in 
Ireland, came with her parents when six years old to America. They settled 
in Bartholomew county, Indiana, where she was married to A. J. Alexander 
and by industry, economy and shrewd management, she and her husband 
became prosperous farmers. Clay Alexander was about thirteen years old 
when his parents came to Decatur county and he lived on the old Alexander 
homestead south of Burney, in Clay township, until he was twenty-seven 
years old. 

At the age of twenty-seven, Clay Alexander was married to Mollie 
Elliott, daughter of James Elliott, after which he moved to Hartsville where 
for a time he was engaged in various callings. Later he rented a farm for a 
year and then moved to Burney where he engaged in teaming and kindred 
work for fifteen years. At the end of that time. Mr. Alexander built the 
livery barn in Burney, which he still owns. He has been in the hay, straw,. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 953 

feed and livery business since that time and has a flourishing patronage in this 
county. He buys large quantities of hay and straw and ships it to distant 
points, after laailing. For ten years he has been an extensive dealer in horses 
and about three years ago purchased eighty acres of land three miles south 
of Burney. This farm is operated by a tenant and its chief products are 
corn and cIo\'er: he is also a breeder of hogs. 

Clay Alexander is a stanch Republican and one of the leaders of his 
party in Clay township. Fraternally, he is a member of the Kjiights of 
Pythias lodge in Burney. Mrs. Alexander is a member of the Baptist church. 
She is the local correspondent of the Grccnsburg Daily Nezvs and for thirteen 
years had charge of the Independent Telephone Company's plant at Burney. 
Mr. Alexander is one of the solid and substantial citizens of Decatur county 
and for the past ten years has made a remarkable record in business. Both 
he and his wife are well liked and respected by the people of the community 
in which thev live. 



CHARFES E. REMY. 



In agricultural circles in Decatur county, few names are better known 
than that of the gentleman whose name the reader notes above and few men 
in the county have constructed their careers on a more solid foundation than 
has he. Recognized as one of the most substantial and progressive farmers 
in the county, Mr. Remy also is known as a public-spirited citizen to whom 
every movement looking to the betterment of general conditions in his home 
county is welcome, finding in him an earnest and influential supporter. Mr. 
Remy brings to his farm work an active intelligence, stimulated by the best 
schooling and grounded on the fullest and latest information relating to the 
most modern methods of tilling the soil and, in consequence, has prospered as 
he deserves to have prospered. A native of this county, of as fine stock as 
ever made its influence felt here : his father a physician of note and power 
in his (\'d\. his grandfather a pioneer minister of the Baptist faith, whose 
influence in southern Indiana still goes on, even to the third and fourth 
generation, Mr. Remy \'ery properly may be regarded as one of the leaders 
in the community life of Decatur county, and the biographer takes much 
pleasure in presenting at this point a brief review of his life. 

Charles E. Remy was born on a farm in Marion township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, six miles south of the town of Greensburg, on July 15, 1869, 
the son of Dr. Alfred S. and Anna M. (Kluge) Remy, the former of whom 



954 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was born near the town of Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, and the lat- 
ter of whom was born in Pennsylvania. 

Alfred S. Reniy was born on October 4, 1819, the son of the Rev. 
James I. Remy, a native of South Carolina, of French Huguenot stock, a 
pioneer minister of the Baptist faith in southern Indiana ; a man who exerted 
a powerful influence for good throughout the region round about Brookville, 
where for many years he lived and labored. Rev. James I. Remy married 
an Adair and one of the children of this union, Alfred S. Remy, father of 
the immediate subject of this sketch, became a physician, who practiced his 
profession for many years in this county, at the same time carrying on exten- 
sive operations as a farmer. Dr. Alfred S. Remy was a graduate of Ohio 
Medical College at Cincinnati and for a time following his graduation prac- 
ticed his profession in Jennings county, this state, later coming to Decatur 
county, locating in Marion township, where he bought a farm of one hun- 
dred and seventy-one acres, to which he later added one hundred and forty 
acres, making three hundred and eleven acres in all, forty acres of which lay 
in Jennings county. 

Doctor Remy was twice married. To his union with Almira Jane 
Scoby, who was born on December 24, 1821, and who died on May 6, 1862, 
there were born four children. Dr. Alfred S. Jr., born on January i, 1847, 
who died in 1880; Henry, born on October 30, 1850, who resides at Con- 
cordia, Kansas; Mary Ellen, who died on September 21, 1852, at the age of 
one year, and Orlando Ellsworth, born on April 4, 1861, who is a resident of 
Denver, Colorado. Upon the death of his wife, Almira, Doctor Remy mar- 
ried, secondly, Anna Kluge, who was born at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Decem- 
ber 26, 1839, and who died in this county on October 28, 1898, to which 
union two children were born, Charles E., the subject of this sketch, and . 
Emma Catherine, the latter of whom was born on September 27, 1867, and 
died on September 25 of the ne.xt year. The father of these children died 
on March 31, 1890, having been a man of much influence in his day and' 
generation. 

Charles E. Remy received his elementary education in the district schools 
of his home township in this county, supplementing this schooling with a 
course in Hope College. He then entered upon his career as a farmer and 
for years lived on the home place in Marion township. He bought the 
interest of the other heirs in his father's estate and added to the home farm 
until he now owns four hundred acres of choice land in that part of the 
county. In connection with his work as a general farmer, Mr. Remy has 
given considerable attention to the breeding of live stock and has cultivated 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. g^S 

•only the best strains of stock on his farm. In 1909 Mr. Remv retired from 
active farm Hfe and moved into Greensburg, where he has a very pleasant 
home. He still gives close personal direction to the affairs of his farm and 
is keenly alive to all the advancements in the present-day science of agri- 
culture. 

On September 23, 1891, Charles E. Remy was united in marriage to 
Catherine Lowe, who was born in Decatur county, the daughter of Samuel 
T. and Martha Lowe, also natives of this county, to which union two chil- 
dren were born, one who died in infancy, and Edith, who married Charles 
Martin, of Greensburg. 

Samuel T. Lowe, who was born in this county in November, 1835, for 
many years was one of the most prominent and influential residents of 
Marion township. He was a farmer on a large scale and was known through- 
out this section as a successful stock buyer, being also a large shipper of mules. 
He was an ardent Democrat and was actively interested in the political affairs 
of the county. For many years he served as trustee of Marion township, 
his services in that connection proving of large value to the public. His 
father, Jonathan Lowe, was one of the early pioneers of this county, a native 
of Kentucky who came to Indiana at an early day in the settlement of this 
section, first settling in the Paoli neighborhood, but later coming to Decatur 
county, entering government land in Marion township. He died in 1836, 
leaving to his widow, who was Elizabeth Whitman, previous to her mar- 
riage, the duty of rearing a considerable family, most of the children of this 
family still being young at the time of their father's death. This duty she 
performed with the energy of the true pioneer mother and was able to add 
to the family's holdings by the additional entry of land in her own name. 
Samuel T. Lowe reared a large family and in his later years moved to South 
West City, Missouri, where his death occurred in March, 1913. His widow 
is still making her home in that city. 

Mr. and Mrs. Remy are members of the Presbyterian church at Greens- 
burg and are active workers therein. Mr. Remy is a Republican and takes 
an earnest interest in the political affairs of this county and the state at large. 
He several times has been a delegate to the state conventions of his party 
and in 19 12 was a delegate to the historic national convention of the party at 
Chicago. He is a member of the local lodges of the Elks, of the Knights of 
Pythias and of the Woodmen, in the affairs of all of which he takes an active 
interest. He and Mrs. Remy take a proper interest in the social affairs of 
the city in which they live and are veiy popular, being held in the highesti 
regard by a large circle of friends. 



956 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

FRANCIS AI. PUMPHREY. 

At the election in 1914 Clay township elected one of the foremost and 
most progressive citizens of Decatur county to serve in the important and 
responsible office of township trustee, one of the most important offices within 
the gift of the people: the office which bears a closer relation to the intimate 
afifairs of a community than an\- other. That the nomination for this office 
was given to 'Francis M. Pumphrey by a vote of two to one is satisfactory 
evidence that the people of the townshi]") were convinced of that gentleman's 
eminent qualifications for the proper and faithful administration of the affairs 
of this office, and his subsequent election by a very gratifying majority was 
further confirmation. Mr. Pumphrey is devoted to the school interests of 
his home township, holding the belief that in educational matters no pains or 
expense should be spared to secure the best results in behalf of the youth of 
the township. Clay township schools are well organized and the township 
high school at Burney is the pride of the township. Erected at a cost of 
something like fifteen thousand dollars, this admirable high-school building 
is thoroughly equipped with all the modern appliances for an up-to-date edu- 
cational plant and the assurance is given that Trustee Pumphrey will neglect 
no precaution necessary to further advance the high reputation this excellent 
school has earned throughout that section of the county. Unusually success- 
ful in the management of his own extensive business enterprises, Mr. Pumph- 
rey is bringing to bear on his administration of the affairs of his new office 
the same sound judgment and fine executive ability that has brought him a 
pronounced personal success, and the general consensus of opinion there- 
about is that the affairs of the township are in most competent and capable 
hands. Mr. Pumphrey for years has been largely interested in the stock- 
buying business and is known far and wide as one of the most extensive buy- 
ers and shippers of live stock in Decatur county. He owns two small farms, 
one of sixty acres, one-fourth of a mile north of the village of Burney, and 
one of forty acres, three-fourths of a mile south of that town, and, while 
giving to these farms his careful attention, makes his chief business that of a 
stock dealer, a business in which he has been actively engaged since he was 
twenty years of age. 

Francis M. Pumphrey was born on the home farm in Clay township in 
the year 1865 and has always lived in that township. He is the son of Wil- 
liam and Lodusky (Jewell) Pumphrey, former prominent and well-known 
residents of Clay township, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



957 



who died about six years ago at the age of seventy-two years, and the latter 
of whom died about twenty years ago. 

WilHani Pumphrey was a stanch and stable citizen, a successful farmer 
and a leader in the good works of the community in which he had lived so 
long. He and his wife were members of the Methodist church and their 
children were reared with the strictest regard for all the moral obligations 
of good citizenship. William Pumphrey abhorred profanity and all coarse- 
ness of speech and his sons grew up with the same feeling of repugnance 
toward such forms of expression, and it is a matter of pleasant neighborhood 
note that to this day no one can be found who ever has heard any of the 
Pumphrey "boys" swear. Though a successful farmer along the general 
lines of agriculture, William Pumphrey's specialty was the breeding of hogs 
and cattle for the market and his son, the immediate subject of this sketch, 
came into the live-stock business quite naturally. 

To William and Lodusky (Jewell) Pumphrey were born eight children, 
namely: James A., a prominent farmer of Clay township, who lives north 
of Burney, on one of the finest and best farms in Decatur county : Francis 
M., the immediate subject of this sketch; William, who lives in Shelbyville, 
Indiana ; Edwin, a progressive and up-to-date farmer living three- fourths 
of a mile north of Burney: Elizabeth, the wife of Frank Alline, a well-known 
farmer living one and one-half miles south of Burney; Fannie, the wife of 
Joseph Minor, of Burney; May, the wife of Clyde Elliott, a well-known 
farmer living one mile west of Burney, and Iva, the wife of Earl Littell, of 
Indianapolis. 

Francis M. Pumphrey was reared on the paternal farm in Clay town- 
ship, receiving his education in the excellent schools of that township. At 
the age of twenty years, he engaged in the live-stock business on his own 
responsibility and has become one of the most successful stock buyers in 
Decatur county, it being doubtful if any dealer in the county handles more 
stock in the course of a year than does he. When twenty-three years of age, 
Mr. Pumphrey was united in marriage to Margaret Stealman, daughter of 
James Stealman, a prominent farmer of the Burney neighborhood. James 
Stealman, now deceased, was a native of Virginia, whose home was near 
the famous natural bridge. 

To Francis M. and Margaret (Stealman) Pumphrey have been born 
three children, Floyd, who married May Champ and lives at Burney; Isophene 
and Marie, the daughters both being at home. Mr. and Mrs. Pumphrey are 
members of the Baptist church at Burney and take a leading part in the gen- 
eral good works of the community, being highly regarded throughout that 



958 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

whole section of the county. Mr. Pnmphrey is a Democrat and for years has 
taken an active part in local politics, though he had never been a candidate 
for public office until his recent successful candidacy for the office of town- 
ship trustee. He is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at 
Burney and has been one of the most active promoters of the interests of 
that popular organization. His extensive business affairs have brought him 
into touch with the leaders of the business interests of Decatur county for 
years and he enjoys the unbounded confidence and the utmost esteem of all 
his associates. 



HENRY M. REDELMAN. 

Henry M. Redelman, farmer and stock breeder of Marion township, this 
county, is a representative of the second generation of the Redelman family 
in America. The owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land, one 
hundred acres of which is in timber, situated in Marion township, Mr. 
Redelman has been a breeder of live stock for many years. He owns four 
registered Percheron mares, two Percheron stallions, a German coach stallion, 
Ernus, and one jack. He began breding Aberden Angus cattle in 1898, and 
now raises, feeds and sells a great many head every year. He also keeps 
thoroughbred Duroc-Jersey hogs, which he raises for breeding purposes, 
selling them all over Decatur county. His breed is widely and favorably 
known, particularly since his farm is immune from cholera. He also has 
specialized in poultry and is an extensive fancier of thoroughbred Barred 
Plymouth Rocks. He sells pullets, roosters and settings and has a large 
business in poultry. Of the stallions which Mr. Redelman owns, "]Massala" is 
an educated horse that has been taught many tricks. A fine driving mare has 
also been trained to perform many tricks. Mr. Redelman's fine farm house 
is thoroughly modern, having been remodeled in 191 3 and painted a salmon 
color. Tt is equipped with an acetyline-light plant and with a private water 
system. A large yellow barn, forty-six by fifty-six feet, with sheds on three 
sides, giving plenty of room, and other attractive out-buildings, including a 
garage, make the Redelman farm one of the most attractive spots in Marion 
township. The owner and proprietor of this farm has every reason to be 
proud of his success as a farmer and breeder. 

Born on May 31, 1854, in Decatur county, Indiana, Henry M. Redelman 
is the son of Mathias and Mary ( Bergsterman ) Redelman, both natives of 
Germany, the former of whom was born in 1820, and died in 1855, and the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



959 



latter of whom was born in 1826, and died in 1866. Mathias Redelman 
came to America in 1849 and after spending a few years in Cincinnati came 
to this county, locating in Marion township, where he purchased a farm two 
miles south of that now owned by his son, Henry M. He and his wife were 
the parents of two sons, Henry M. and John W., the latter of whom died in 
1895. After her husband's death, Mrs. Mathias Redelman married Bernard 
Rolfes, to which union one child was born, Herman, who died in infancy. 
After Mrs. Rolfes" death, in 1866, Bernard Rolfes married an aunt of 
Henry M. Redelman's. Mrs. Mary Redelman, the widow of Frank, who- 
was the mother of eight children at the time of the marriage, and who after 
her second marriage gave birth to three more. Of the eight children born 
to Frank and Mary Redelman, the whereabouts of two, H. B. and John, are 
unknown. Of the others. Ferdinand, is living at Peoria, Illinois; Rosina 
married Adam Ruhl, and died in Nebraska ; Mrs. Christina Ruhl lives in 
Minnesota ; Frank lives in Franklin county ; Joseph is deceased, and Mrs. 
Mary Wagner lives in Peoria, Illinois. The three Rolfes children are Her- 
man, of Washington township ; Elizabeth, who married Orville King, of 
Greensburg, and Mrs. Katie Stier, of Harris City. 

Beginning life on his own account in 1869, at the age of fifteen years, 
Henry M. Redelman learned the cigarmaker's trade in Cincinnati. After 
serving his apprenticeship he worked for three months in Indianapolis and 
then went to St. Louis, where he found his trade unprofitable. About that 
time he began selling medicine, traveling with a horse and rig in Illinois in 
1873 and in Missouri in 1874. In the fall of 1874 he returned to Indiana, 
driving through from St. Louis. Here he followed his business for several 
years, eventually settling on a farm in 1885. 

Two years before removing to the farm, Henry M. Redelman was 
married, on November 27, 1883, to Sarah A. Hermann, who was born in this 
county on February 25, 1864, the daughter of Joseph and Susanna (Young) 
Hermann, the latter of whom came to this country at the age of six years 
with her parents, who located in Ohio. There were five children in the 
Hermann family, those besides Mrs. Redelman being as follow: Susanna, 
now deceased, who married Valentine Hahn, of Marion township, this 
county ; Lizzie, who, upon the death of her sister, Susanna, married the 
latter's husliand, Valentine Hahn, and is now living in Marion township ; 
Josephine, who married Michael Wurtz, of Indianapolis, this state: and 
Henry, a well-known farmer of Marion township, this county, who married 
Katie Lohman. The mother of these children was twice married, her first 
husband having been a Mr. Farraday, a native of Germany, who died about 



■960 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1849, to which union there were born two children, Mary, now deceased, 
who married Ben Flack, of Indianapolis, and Anthony, who married Jennie 
Holwell and lives in Colorado. 

To Henry M. and Sarah A. (Hermann) Redelman have been born six 
children, namely: George F., cashier of the bank at New Point, this county; 
Walter B., who owns a farm near Slabtown, one mile north of his father's 
home; Mae J., the wife of T. A. Woods, of St. Denis, Jennings county; 
Edward V., who is employed by the Sears-Roebuck Company, of Chicago, 
and Maurice H. and Arthur S., living at home. George F. Redelman mar- 
ried Lena Spitzmesser and they have one son, Norbert. Walter married 
Amelia Zaphe and they have one daughter, Edna. Mrs. May Woods has one 
child, Marjorie. Edward married Laura Ruberg. Mr. and Mrs. Redelman's 
children, several of whom now have homes of their own, are leading honor- 
al)le and useful lives in the various communities in which they reside. 

The success of Henry M. Redelman as a farmer and stock breeder has 
not been won without patience, toil and consistent diligent effort. He is a 
man of generous impulses, who takes a commendable interest in the welfare 
of his neighbors and who is a popular citizen of Marion township. There are 
no better citizens living in this county than Henry M. Redelman. Mr. and 
Mrs. Redelman are members of St. Mary's Catholic church at Greensburg, 
active in all good works, and their children have Ijeen reared in that faith. 
Mr. Redelman is a Democrat and for years has taken a good citizen's part in 
the political affairs of the county, ever having been an exponent in the best 
sense of that term. 



JOHN GRAHAM EVANS. 

In any review of the lives of those men and women who wrought largely 
and well in that portion of Decatur county comprised in Jackson township, 
the historian is compelled to give due weight to the influence exerted in the 
■early period of the settlement of that section by the Evans and the Davis 
families. These families for many years have been prominent in all the good 
works of that community, few families therealiout having done more for 
the material and social advancement of that section than they. When, l)y the 
marriage in 1887, of John Graham Evans and Emma B. Davis, there was 
effected a happv union, all the neighbors joined in wishing the new home well, 
for the union was regarded universally among the friends of the young cou- 
ple as one of the most fitting that could be brought about. As predicted by 




JOHN (!. KVANS. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 961 

all, the new home prospered and \ery properh' became one of the social cen- 
ters of that part of the county, the genial hospitality of the host and hostess 
and the engaging qualities of the children who pi^esently came to bless that 
union, making the Evans home one of the most delightful in the county. 
This home was established in a fine, large farm residence which Mr. and Mrs. 
Evans caused to be erected on their Jackson township farm, one of the most 
substantial houses in the county; white and green, standing in the midst of 
a large, well-shaded lawn, with farm buildings of the most substantial char- 
acter — an immense barn, painted yellow and white, with outbuildings to 
match. In the fall of 19 14, the head of this pleasant family met his death 
as the result of an accident, Mr. Evans having died from injuries received in 
a fall from the haymow. His widow and tiiose of- his children who have 
not yet married and left the paternal roof, still occupy the Evans homestead 
and in their hearts is enshrined the memor}- of a kind and devoted husband, 
a loving and indulgent father. 

The late John Graham Evans was born on the farm on which his whole 
life was spent, in Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, on May 6, 
1864, the son of William A. and Emily (Hice) Evans, and died at the same 
place on November 23, 1914. William A. Evans, who was born on Novem- 
ber 3, 1835, and died on October 11, 1910, came to this county with his fath- 
er, William Evans, from Hamilton county, on November 5, 1837. At that 
time a dense forest marred the site of the present beautiful Evans home in 
Jackson township, for it was there that William Evans settled. He cleared 
the forest and established a prosperous home and there his son, ^Villiam A., 
was reared and in turn established his home there, to be succeeded by his 
son, the late John G. Evans. 

On December 16, 1858, William A. Evans was united in marriage to 
Emily Hice, a member of one of the pioneer families of Decatur county, and 
to this union there were born three children, John Graham, the subject of 
this sketch; Milton E., a farmer of Jackson township, and Winston, deceased. 
Mrs. Evans died in June, 1898, and Mr. Evans married, secondly, February 
19, 1901, Melissa Thompson, who died on April 20, 1908, and on July 8, 
1909, he married Sarah Updike, who survives him. After his second mar- 
riage, Mr. Evans retired from the active duties of the farm and located in the 
village of Letts, this county, where his last days were spent. He is survived 
by two sisters, Mrs. Williams, of Delhart, Texas, and Mrs. Martha Fraley, 
of Forest Hill, this county. Mr. Evans was a good man and a good farmer 
and had prospered largely. He was an active member of the Presbyterian 
(61) 



962 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

church and tor many years was one of the most inliuential men in his part 
of the county. 

John G. Evans was reared on the paternal farm, receiving his education 
in the local schools and grew up to be one of the most highly-respected )-oung 
men in Jackson township. On March 28, 1877 he united with the Presby- 
terian cJuirch and on February 3, 1900, became a member of the Mt. Aerie 
Baptist church, becoming a trustee of that church in 1906 and ordained as a 
deacon in April, 1907. Mr. Evans cultivated his farm of two hundred and 
ninety acres in accordance with the latest discoveries in agricultural science, 
using the must modern appliances in the operation of the same. He took 
a deep interest in affairs outside the immediate range of the farm and was 
one of the most active men of affairs in that part of the county. He was a 
director in the First National Bank of Westport and of the State Bank at 
Letts, and also was interested in various other enterprises of an important 
character. The social side of his nature was one of Mr. l"^\-ans's most engag- 
ing qualities and he was one of the most popular men in that part of the 
county. He was a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Westport and of the 
Knights of Pythias lodge at Letts, taking a warm interest in the aft'airs of 
both these organizations, both of which passed earnest resoluti-ons of respect 
and condolence upon his passing. No man in the county took a deei)er inter- 
est in good government than did Mr. E\'ans, and he was looked upon as one 
of the leaders of the Democratic party in his township. In the fall of 190& 
he was elected to the responsible and important position of township trustee 
for Jackson township and should have served for si.\ years, his term iieing 
due to expire on January i, 1915. He was performing excellent service in 
this office, when his untimely and lamented death cut short his useful tenure. 
As noted above, Mr. Evans farmed on a large scale and was very successful 
in his agricultural undertakings; he also was an extensive breeder of Duroc- 
Jersey hogs. 

On October 6, 1887, John Graham Evans was united in marriage ta 
Emma B. Davis, who was born in Jackson township, this county, on Novem- 
ber 13, 1864, the daughter of Aaron and Jane (Barrett) Davis, both natives 
of Franklin county, Indiana. 

Aaron Davis was born on May 16, 1833, the son of James and Martha 
(Smathers) Davis, both natives of Kentucky. James Davis was the son of 
Matthias Davis, a native of Wales, of Welsh and Scottish parentage, who- 
came to this country and was a soldier in the War of 18 12. He married 
a Miss McClellan, a member of the same family from which Gen. George B. 
McClellan, of Civil \\'ar fame, sprang, and located in the Mt. Sterling neigh- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 963 

borhood of Kentucky, where James was born and reared. In 1S30 Matthias 
Davis left Kentucky and came to IntHana, locating in Franklin county, from 
which ix)int he moved to this county, settling in Salt Creek township, where 
his death occurred in 1840. He and his wife were the parents of ten chil- 
dren, Melinda, James, Joseph, Elizabeth, Isaac, Daniel, Allan, Ambrose, Wil- 
liam and Mathias. 

James Davis, who was born in 1798 and died in 1866, was married in 
Kentucky to Martha Smathers, a daughter of Hugh Smathers, a native of 
Ireland, who imnngrated to America, took part in the Indian wars and in the 
War of 1812 and went to Kentucky, where he married and prospered. In 
1830 he came to Indiana and ten years later emigrated to Iowa, where he 
spent the remainder of his life. Hugh Smathers was twice married, his Sec- 
onal wife, who was a Miss Hopkins, having been the mother of three chil- 
dren, Hugh, Sabina and Benjamin. To the union of James Davis and 
Martha Smathers there were born ten children, namely: Mrs. Sarah Shelton, 
Harrison, a well-known resident of Clay township ; Matthias, deceased ; Mrs. 
Nancy Pavey, Mrs. Sabina Burkman; Aaron, father of Mrs. Evans; Mrs. 
Andocia Sharp; Mrs. Eliza Barnes; Martha and Elizabeth. The mother of 
these children died in 1866. 

Aaron Davis was reared on the home farm in this county, receiving such 
educational advantages as the schools of his boyhood afforded, and at eigh- 
teen years of age began to work for himself as a farm hand. When twenty- 
one years old he married and settled on a small farm in Sand Creek town- 
ship, which he sold and bought a farm in Clay township. Four years later 
he sold this farm and bought one hundred and sixty acres near the village of 
Letts, in Jackson township. Here he prospered and gradually added to his 
holdings until he was the owner of two hundred and forty acres of excel- 
lent land, on which he erected a fine, large two-story brick house. In 1881 
he and O. S. Mitchell built a grain elevator at Letts and for some time he 
was successfully engaged in this Inisiness, but in 1894 sold his interest to his 
partner and retired from active business. He was a Republican and took a 
warm interest in local politics, being one of the strongest factors in the pro- 
motion (if the cause of good government in that i)art of the county. 

On October 24, 1858. .\aron Davis was united in marriage to Jane 
Barrett, who was born in Franklin county, this state, October 10. 1837, the 
daughter of Charles and Mildred (Gentry) Barrett, natives of \'irginia. 
Charles Barrett was a soldier in the War of 1812 and died in I*"ranklin coun- 
ty in 1837. His wife was the daughter of Clairborn Gentry, a nati\e of \'ir- 



964 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ginia, and who came of an old Colonial family, who settled in Franklin coun- 
ty in 1837. 

To Aaron and Jane (Barrett) Davis were born eight children, namely: 
John C, 'a former instructor in the United States army, in service in Cuba, 
now living in Montana; Albert, who lives in Idaho; Emma B., the widow of 
Mr. Evans; Mrs. John Shafer, who lives in Pierce, Colorado; Mrs. Ida M. 
Moore, who lives in Champaign, Illinois; Rev. Henry Davis, a minister of 
the Baptist church, who, on September 27, 1899, married Eva White and 
lives at Eugene, Oregon; Everett, who lives in the state of Washington, and 
Clifford C. who is operating the old home farm. 

To John Graham and Emma B. (Davis) Evans were born six children, 
as follow: Mrs. Ethel Williams, of Letts, this county, who has a daughter. 
Ruth; Mrs. Hazel Gilmour, of Jackson township; Nelle, a teacher in the 
schools of Jackson township; Mildred, a student in the Newburg high school; 
Blanche, who is in the sixth year of her school work, and Russell, who is in 
the fifth grade of his school work. 

Mrs. Evans is a member of the Mt. Airie Baptist church and is devoted 
to the good works of the same. Her influence is felt in many ways through- 
out that part of the county in which she lives. 



ALBERT LINK. 



Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and, 
as a usual thing, men of honorable and humane impulses as well as of energy 
and thrift have been patrons of husbandry. The free outdoor life of the 
farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind 
and self-reliance which characterize true manhood. No greater blessing can 
befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the healthful, 
life-inspiring work of the fields. Albert Link is a prosperous and skillful 
young farmer of Clay township, who has always enjoyed the best advantages 
of farm life. At the present time he is farming one hundred and thirty- 
three acres of land of his own and an additional farm of ninety acres, alto- 
gether one of the finest tracts of land in the county. He has a magnificent 
home situated on a knoll, with a wide lawn and many shade treees. Two 
large yellow barns and other outlniildings in a splendid state of repair, make 
his home one of the most attractive in that section of the county. The farm 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 965 

is owned jointly by Mr. Link and his father-in-law, John F. Templeton, who 
specialize in cattle, but plant forty acres of wheat and sixty acres of corn, 
yielding from seventy-five to eighty bushels to the acre. 

Albert Link was born in Greensburg, this county, on January 29, 1891, 
the son of Henry and Elizabeth Ling, natives of Germany, the former of 
whom was born in 1854 and who came to America in 1880, settling in Greens- 
burg, where he engaged in the meat business with Charles ZoUer, Sr. He 
made a success of this business and retired a few years ago, now living in a 
fine home in the southeastern part of the city. Of the eight children born to 
Henry and Elizabeth Link, seven are living : Anna ; Lizzie, who married 
Thomas Miller, of Clinton township; Cora, the wife of Roy Privett, of 
Greensburg; Albert, who is the subject of this sketch; Charles, a traveling 
salesman, living in Greensburg, and Lewis and George, who live on their 
father's farm on the outskirts of Greensburg. Albert Link was educated in 
the public schools of Greensburg, Indiana, and early in life took up the 
butcher business with his father, in which business he was engaged until his 
marriage. 

In October, 1909, Albert Link was married to Lela May Templeton, 
daughter of John F. and Elizabeth (Pavy) Templeton, the former of whom 
was born in Franklin county, Indiana, in 1856, and who is the brother of 
Nelson M. Templeton, whose biographical sketch, presented elsewhere in this 
volume, gives the history of the Templeton family. Mr. Templeton lived 
on the farm for twenty years and today is considered an able and wealthy 
farmer. In 191 5 he enjoyed a trip to the Pacific coast, attending the Panama- 
Pacific exposition. Mrs. John F. Templeton's family history is presented in 
the biographical sketch of her father on another page of this volume. Mrs. 
Albert Link was born on the Templeton homestead, the only child born to her 
parents. She and her husband have two children, John Henry and Mary 
Elizabeth. 

Albert Link has a herd of twenty-seven thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle, 
including twenty-two cows, a source of considerable profit. The Link home 
is situated some distance from the main road and is surrounded by a large 
lawn, shaded by two rows of fine ever green trees. The approach to the 
house and lawn consists of a beautiful graveled driveway, leading from the 
Columbus and Greensburg pike. Large maple and locust trees furnish addi- 
tional shade and the house is flanked by an orchard on the west. The land, 
which is level, consists of a rich loam. 

Intelligent and keen, Albert Link is one of the leading young farmers 



966 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of Clay township. Mr. and Mrs. Link are members of the Baptist church. 
He is identified with the Republican party and the Loyal Order of Moose. 
Mr. Templeton is also is a Repulilican and he and his wife are also members 
of the Baptist church. 



JOSEPH S. MINOR. 



Joseph S. Minor, farmer and railroad man, enjoys the distinction of 
owning and living in perhaps the finest residence in Burney. which is second 
only to Greensburg in importance as a city of this county. Mr. Minor owns 
a farm of one hundred acres, part of which lies at the north edge of Burney, 
and consists of the very best land to be found in Clay township. 

Joseph S. Minor was born at Hartsville, in. Bartholomew county, Indiana, 
in 1873, ^""^ is the son of John and Mary E. (Burney) Minor, the latter of 
whom was a native of Decatur county, whose father and mother also were 
natives of this county. John Minor was a native of New Jersey, who came 
to Bartholomew county when a young man and settled on a farm near 
Hartsville. After his marriage to Mary E. Burney, they began life on the 
farm. At the age of forty years John Minor passed away suddenly, leaving 
a widow and a family of eight children, of whom Joseph S., the subject of 
this sketch, was next to the youngest. At the time of his death, John Minor 
left one hundred and twenty acres of land, rather heavily mortgaged. Mrs. 
Minor traded this tract in Bartholomew county for one hundred and twenty 
acres where the town of Burney now stands. This was a master stroke, 
netting Mrs. Minor a large profit. She was a woman of great business 
ability and native shrewdness, who not only kept what her husband left, but 
paid off the indebtedness. As her children became of age she bought and 
paid for the inherited interest of each of the eight children. 

After trading for the Clay township farm, Mrs. Mary E. Minor was 
married, in 1880, to Harrison Davis, and at his death, about eighteen years 
later, she also purchased the interest of his heirs, who numbered five. She 
was a member of the Baptist church. Educated in the common schools of 
Decatur county, Indiana, by extensive home study she kept herself well 
informed on current topics, and was a subscriber to the best newspapers, 
periodicals and farm papers. She always displayed an intelligent interest in 
politics and was able to discuss political affairs as few women of this county. 
Mrs. Minor died in 1913, at the advanced age of seventy years, retaining her 



I 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 967 

wonderful mental faculties to the last. She was the mother of eight children, 
namely: James, who lives in the West; Mrs. Jennie Hansel!, deceased; 
Milton, who lives in Burney, this county ; Mrs. Minerva Cummins, a resident 
of Hartsville; William B., who lives south of Burney; Taylor, a resident of 
Richmond, Indiana ; Joseph S., the subject of this sketch, and Esta, who died 
when a child. 

At the age of nineteen years Joseph S. Minor left home to study tele- 
graphy and railroad work. For a year he was clerk in a general store in 
Burney. At the age of twenty-one he was married to Fannie Pumphrey, 
daughter of William Pumphrey, Sr., whose family history is contained else- 
where in this volume. For twenty years Mr. Minor has been the railroad 
agent at Burney. 

Joseph S. Minor is a Progressive in politics and is one of the substantial 
citizens of Clay township. He is recognized as a man who is alert to every 
possibility of making money and aside from his railroad work and agricul- 
tural interests owns a considerable amount of gilt-edge stocks. Practically 
everything he has today he has made himself, though no doubt he inherited 
his mother's keen business ability. Mrs. Minor is an active member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. She and her husband believe in getting all out 
of life that is possible. They have an automobile and enjoy practically all 
of the luxuries and con\'eniences available to people of this section. 



JOSIAH WARREN ROBERTSON. 

Josiah Warren Robertson, a general farmer and stockman of Adams 
township, this county, belongs to an old family of Decatur county, his father 
having come here about 1829, during his day and generation having become 
one of the most prosperous farmers in this section of Indiana. It is a matter 
of no small peronal pride to have lived all of one's life in the township and 
county of one's birth. Men, who are so fortunate as to have enjoyed a large 
success in the community of their birth, are entitled to the respect and confi- 
dence of their neighbors and this is a distinction which Josiah Warren Rob- 
ertson enjoys in a high degree. 

Born on April 29, 1854, in Adams township, Josiah Warren Robertson 
was reared in that township. The old homestead is within sight of his present 
home and is located on the adjoining farm. His parents, Oliver P. and 
Mary A. (Davis) Robertson, were early settlers in Adams township, the 



968 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

former having been born in Lavvrencebnrg, Dearborn county, Indiana, on 
August I, 1825, the son of John and Ruth (Ridlen) Robertson, natives of 
Maryland and early settlers in Dearborn county. After coming to Adams 
township in 1829, the family became very prosperous, and there, for nearly a 
century, the Robertson family has been rcognized as one of the leading fac- 
tors in the agricultural life of the community. Mary A. Davis, the second 
wife of Oliver P. Robertson, was born on June 15, 1833, the daughter of 
John W. and Sarah (Forsythe) Davis, natives of New Jersey, who came to 
Decatur county about 1830, settling in Adams township. Mrs. Mary A. 
Robertson died on May 25, 1907. She was the mother of seven children, all 
of whom are living, namely: Josiah W., the subject of this sketch; J. Frank 
and Will, both of whom live in Adams township ; Charles, who lives at Acton, 
in Marion county, this state; Edward, who lives in Adams township; Lydia, 
who is the wife of Elmer Shelhorn, and Ruth, who is housekeeper for her 
two brothers, Josiah W. and Edward. 

Oliver P. Robertson was first married to Nancy Edrington, who was 
born in 183 1 and who died in June, 1852. She was the daughter of Hiram 
and Rhoda Edrington, natives of Kentucky and pioneer settlers in Adams 
township. After coming to this township, they cleared the land, built a log 
house and later erected a large brick house, now owned by E. Shellhom. 
Oliver P. and Nancy Robertson had two children, Louisa L., who is deceased, 
and Lafayette, a farmer of Adams township, this county. At the time of his 
death, in 1907, Oliver P. Robertson owned one hundred and sixty acres of 
land, which is now known as the old Robertson homestead and which is 
owned jointly by his daughters, Lydia and Ruth. Josiah W. Robertson has 
lived in his present home since 1901, moving to this farm from the old home 
place. 

Mr. Robertson is a Progressive in politics, but has never taken an active 
interest in political matters. He is a man of generous and humane impulses 
and is popular in his neighborhood because of his many good works, his 
cordial relations with the citizens of his home township and his upright, 
honorable dealings with the public. He lives in a large brick house situated 
on his farm of three hundred and six acres and is engaged in general farming 
and stock raising. He is one of the most extensive stockmen of this town- 
ship, his annual output of the farm being two carloads of hogs and two 
carloads of cattle, Mr. Robertson is accustomed to buy live stock for feed- 
ing purposes in the city market and, after they are fed out on the farm, are 
sold to the packing houses in the city. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 969 

REV. JAMES WESLEY TURNER, A. M., D. D. 

Not too often can be repeated the life story of one who has Hved so 
honorable and useful a life and attained to such notable distinction as has the 
gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch; one of the most 
successful and distinguished ministers of the Methodist Episcopal church in 
the state of Indiana. His character has been one of signal exaltation and 
purity of purpose. Well disciplined in mind, maintaining a vantage point 
from which life has presented itself in correct proportion ; guided and guarded 
by the most inviolable principles of integrity and honor, such a man could not 
prove other than a force for good in whatever relation of life he may have 
been placed. His character is the positive expression of a strong nature and 
his strength is as the number of his days. His career has been a long, busy 
and useful one, and his name is honored by all who have had occasion to 
come in contact with him on life's pathway. Doctor Turner has dignified 
and honored his profession by his able and self -abnegating services through 
long years of earnest and indefatigable effort in a noble cause. His life has 
been one of concentration to his calling and well does he merit a place of 
honor in this history touching upon the lives and deeds of those who have 
given the best of their power and talent for the aiding and betterment of their 
kind in this county. 

Tames Weslev Turner was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, on August 
II, 1857. the son of Rev. Isaac and Alice (Ivenyon') Turner, to whom but 
two children were born, the other having been Alice, the wife of Rev. M. A. 
Farr, who died at Shelbyville, this state. Rev. Isaac Turner was born in 
England in 1830, and was educated in his native country. Studving for the 
ministry, he became identified with the Wesleyan Methodist church, in which 
he attained considerable prominence as a preacher. In 1854 he came to 
America and located in Dearborn county, where he continued his ministerial 
labors. He preached throughout southern Indiana, his circuit being a very 
large one, embracing the territory from Brookville to Napoleon. In that 
early day traveling facilities were very poor in this section of the state, and 
Isaac Turner made most of his journeys on horseback. He lived for many 
years at Smyrna, this county, where he presided over a large circuit, but in 
later years located in North Madison, where his death occurred in 1905. As 
one of the pioneer preachers of his section of the state he exerted a large 
and beneficent influence on the side of morality and higher living, and his 
name is revered by many who knew him in his active years. His wife, Alice 
Kenyon, also a native of England, was a member of the Kenyon family noted 



970 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

for its scholarly attainments. Her father, James Kenyon, was a man of 
much learning and served for many years as a tutor in families of the 
nobility. 

James Wesley Turner received his elementary education in the common 
schools, and then became a student in Moore's Hill College, where he received 
the degree of Master of Arts in 1880. Subsequently, in 1905, his alma mater 
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Rev. J. W. Turner, 
entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church in 1877, his first 
charge being that of the Arlington circuit, which he filled for a short time. 
Entering then u])on the regular itinerary, he was first appointed to the Milroy 
circuit, later serving one year at Laurel, three years at Irvington, a suburb 
of Indianapolis, three years at Edinburg, four years at Madison, and then 
was transferred to the Trinity church at Louisville, Kentucky, where he 
remained five years. From Louisville he went to the Trinity church at 
Evansville, Indiana, and four years later was appointed presiding elder of 
the Evansville district, in which position he served with eminent ability and 
success for five years. During the following two years he accepted nominal 
appointments and at the end of that period accepted the pastorate of Rush- 
ville church, where he remained for two years. Because of failing health. 
Reverend Turner felt the necessity of withdrawing from active labors for a 
time, and, locating in Clinton township, this county, he is living there with his 
family on a farm of two hundred and sixty-seven acres, comprising their 
present estate. There Mr. Turner liuilt a splendid house, beautifully located 
on a hill commanding a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and 
there he is spending his days in quiet enjoyment of the fine library which he 
owns, valued at about nine thousand dollars and considered one of the best 
private collections of books in the state of Indiana. A special room was 
built in the house for the care of these books. Mr. Turner's farm comprises 
a magnificent tract of land which is in a high state of cultivation and which 
is operated by his sons, Harry D. and James W., Jr. The place is well 
improved and is numbered among the most producti\e farms in the locality. 

Doctor Turner has been a life-long Republican and has given earnest 
heed to the welfare of his community in the casting of his ballot.. Fra- 
ternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, belonging to the 
commandery of the Knights Templar at Evansville. A well-educated man, 
broad-minded and liberal in his thought and attitude toward the great ques- 
tions of the day, Mr. Turner has long been recognized as a man of superior 
qualifications and attainments and for a number of years has been a popular 
lecturer, among his lectures being the following : "Three Indices of the 



DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 97I 

Infinite," "True Intelligence and its Practical Manifestations," "Wasted 
Forces,'' and "Philosophy and Christianity." 

On July 29, 1880, Rev. James Wesley Turner was united in marriage 
to Lizzie Woodfill, who was born in Greensburg, the daughter of William S. 
and Sarah (Talbott) Woodfill, who were for years among the most prom- 
inent residents and influential citizens of Decatur county, Mrs. Turner's 
Grandmother Hendricks having been given the privilege of naming the town 
of Greenburg. W. S. Woodfill was born in Owen county, Kentucky, Novem- 
ber 16, 1825. the son of Gabriel and Eleanor (Pullam) Woodfill, of Welsh 
and English extraction, respectively. The Woodfill family was established in 
Pennsylvania in early colonial days. Rev. Gabriel Woodfill, the great-grand- 
father of William S., emigrated from Pennsylvania to Kentucky in an early 
day in the settlement of the latter state, locating in Shelby county, thence 
moving to Jef¥erson county, Indiana, where he spent the remainder of his 
life. He was a minister of the Gospel, a pioneer in the Methodism of Ken- 
tucky and Indiana, and a man of large influence. His son, Andrew, the 
grandfather of William S. Woodfill, was born in Pennsylvania, but spent 
most of his life in the neighborhood of Madison, Indiana. He married a 
Mitchell, and to that union were born twelve children, among whom was 
Gabriel, the father of William S. William S. Woodfill was educated in the 
schools of Greensburg, and in 1825 became a partner with his father in a 
general store at Greensburg. In January, 1863, the father retired from active 
business, and William took into the firm two brothers, John and James, the 
business being conducted under the firm name of Woodfill Brothers. Various 
changes later were made in the copartnership, and the firm was conducted 
under various names, but always by a member of the family, being now under 
the individual management of W. W. Woodfill. In 1875 William S. Wood- 
fill organized the Greensburg Gas and Electric Company, of which he was 
president at the time of his death. He -also owned various commercial and 
industrial interests and four valuable farms in this county. He was a faithful 
Methodist in his religion, and an earnest Republican in his political views, 
while his fraternal membership was with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. To him and his wife were born four children, namely: Lizzie, 
wife of the subject of this .sketch; William Wirt, a Greensburg merchant; 
Harrv Talbot, superintendent of the Greensburg gas and electric plant, and 
Web. The mother of these children died on October 31, 1898. 

To Rev. J. W. and Lizzie (Woodfill) Turner have been born the fol- 
lowing children: Rollin A., an attorney in Greensburg; Sarah, wife of 
Lewis Uhl, a pottery manufacturer in Huntingburg, Indiana, and who has 



972 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

three children, Alice, Robert and Hannah; Lieut. William W., U. S. N., a 
graduate of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, now a professor 
of electricity in the academy; Harry D. and James W., successful farmers; 
Rachel K., a graduate of the Greensburg high school of the class of 191 5, and 
Web W., who is attending the Sandusky centralized school. 



HENRY MOZINGO. 



Perhaps the best-known citizen of Clinton township, this county, is 
Henry Mozingo, who for many years has been one of the leading corn grow- 
ers in the state of Indiana, and who in the township of his residence has 
been prominent politically, having been elected as trustee on the Progressive 
ticket in the fall of 1914. Mr. Mozingo, by careful attention to the details 
of farming, has reduced it almost to an exact science and has gained prom- 
inence as a corn grower and stockman. He is accustomed to sell annually 
about three hundred bushels of seed com, though in 19 15 he sold five hundred 
bushels, for which he received two dollars and a half a bushel. In these times, 
when fifty bushels to the acre is an exceptional yield in this state, Mr. 
Mozingo's success is apparent by contrast ; since he grows more than ninety 
bushels to the acre on a part of his land, and last year had one hundred and 
twenty acres of corn which averaged seventy-five bushels to the acre. He 
makes a specialty of Reed's yellow Dent, and Johnson county white corn, 
having taken many prizes on the product of his farm. He took the fourth 
and sixth prizes in the state corn show ; fourth prize on ten ears of yellow 
corn, and sixth on one ear of yellow. He also took sixth prize on ten ears of 
white in the same show. At the Clarksburg corn show he took four first 
prizes, and his son, Arthur, took second on ten ears of white, and on a single 
ear, ten ears mixed, and second sweepstakes. Mr. Mozingo himself won 
the sweepstakes at Clarksburg and at the Greensburg corn show, Arthur won 
sweepstakes and a silver cup, winning a trip to Purdue University in 1912 as 
a result of his splendid showing in the corn show. Mr. Mozingo's daughter, 
Grace, is a noted breeder of White Wyandottes, keeping about one hundred 
and fifty pure-bred chickens, and when she exhibited at Greensburg won first, 
second and third on cockerels ; first and second on pullets ; first, second and 
third on hens, and first on pens. 

Henry Mozingo was born on a farm four miles south of Greensburg 
on December 25, 1871, the son of James and Lydia (Caseldine) Mozingo, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 973 

natives of Decatur county, the former of whom was born in 1841, and died 
in May, 1913, and the latter of whom was born in 1853. James Mozingo 
was the son of Henry Mozingo; a native of Kentucky, who walked from 
Kentucky to Indiana in 1832 and entered land in Marion township, this 
county, where he built a log cabin. Later he returned to his native state and 
bought back witli him his mother and the family. His mother lived to be 
one hundred and four years old. The older Henry Mozingo, who was born 
in 1809, died in 1888. He was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln, and an 
ardent member of the Republican party. His wife, Elizabeth Mozingo, died 
in 1905. Of their twelve children, only five are living, Mrs. Mary Riley and 
Mrs. Eliza demons, of Greensburg; Mrs. Nancy Tremain, of Columbia, 
Missouri ; Mrs. Belle Marlow, of Missouri, and Mrs. Edna Beagle, of near 
Westport, this county. 

James Mozingo, the father of Henry Mozingo, resided for a long time 
on the farm entered by his father, but in 1888 purchased a farm in Marion 
township, on which he spent the rest of his life. He was a progressive 
Republican in politics and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. All of the nine children born 
to James and Lydia (Caseldine) Mozingo are living. In the order of their 
birth they are as follow : Henry, the subject of this sketch ; Mrs. Minnie 
Skinner, who lives near the Mt. Pleasant church; Mrs. Carrie Tumilty. who 
lives near Greensburg ; Ed. who lives near Mt. Pleasant ; Everett and May 
(twins), both of whom live on the home place; Mrs. Nona Cheek, who lives 
at Harris City; Mrs. Bessie Stoneking, of Osgood, and Clarence, who lives 
at home. May and Everett, twins. Mrs. James Mozingo is still living at her 
home on the old farm. 

Educated in the Hazelrigg district school, where he received only a 
limited education, Henry Mozingo was able to supplement the education he 
received at that time by assistance from his good wife, now deceased, who 
was a teacher for five years in Jennings and Decatur counties. On February 
28, 1900, Henry Mozingo was married to Ada Holcomb, a well-known 
teacher in the public schools of Decatur county, who was bornon a farm four 
miles east of Westport, the daughter of D. W. and Mary Halcomb, old resi- 
dents of Decatur county. To that union six children were born, Grace, 
Arthur, \^ernon, Ernest, Frank and Helen. The mother of these children 
died on December 20, 1914. 

A Progressive in politics, and an ardent admirer of Colonel Roosevelt 
and former Senator Beveridge, Mr. Mozingo was elected township trustee 
on the Progressive ticket in the fall of 1914, succeeding Ed Meek to that 



974 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

office. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Knights of Pythias and has 
filled all of the chairs in the Odd Fellows lodge. Mr. Mozingo is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was his wife, and their children have 
been reared in that faith. 

Not the least of Henry Mozingo's achievements is the breeding of fine 
hogs, cattle, horses and mules on his farm of three hundred and seventy-five 
acres in Clinton township. \\'hile his fame as a farmer may be attributed to 
his success with corn, ordinaril}- he keeps one hundred head of cattle, and 
more than that many hogs on the farm. He also has at the present time 
eighty-two head of horses and mules, and always keeps from fifty to seventv- 
five head. The extensive scale upon which Mr. Mozingo carries on farming 
in this countv clearlv entitles him to foremost rank as a scientific farmer. 



HENRY A. DRAPING. 



Henry A. Draping, now a well-knuwn and prduiinent farmer of Marion 
township, this county, was born on December 21, 1873, in that township in a 
log and frame house built by his father a few years before, a son of William 
and Mary (Tresler) Draping, and he and his brother George are operating 
two hundred acres of land in Marion township, doing general farming. 
Their land is fairly level and well-tiled. The place has been impro\-ed with a 
comfortable white house of seven rooms, a good barn forty-eight by seventy 
feet, tool and carriage sheds, etc. They feed about forty head of hogs 
annually. In addition to his farming interests, Henry Draping also has oper- 
ated a threshing-machine, in season, for the past twenty-two years and a 
corn-shredder for the past sixteen years. His brother, George Draping, 
also operates a saw-mill and does commercial sawing, his three sons assisting 
him in that work. 

William Draping, father of the subject of this sketch, was born on 
June 3, 1838, and died on April 20, 191 1. His wife, Mary Tresler, was born 
on January 28, 1849, and died on March 26. 1902. William Draping was 
born in Germany and came to .\merica about 1865. settling in Marion town- 
ship, this county, where he e\'entually bought the place now owned by his 
sons. At the time of purchase, the ])lace was all in woods, and with the 
assistance of his sons, it was soon i>ut in a tillable condition. P)efore mar- 
riage, Mr. Draping worked at various points, following the trades of stave- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 975 

maker and cooper. To this couple were born seven children, Frank W., 
Regina, Henry, George, Albert, Frederick and Lizzie. Frank W. is a 
farmer in Marion township. Regina died when six years of age. George 
was born on July i6, 1876. He and his brother, Henry, have been in charge 
of the home farm about twehe years. Albert and Frederick are dead. Lizzie 
married a Mr. Fonseth, of Marion township, and died on May 30, 1912. 

\\' illiam Draping's father was born in Germany and at the age of four- 
teen came to America, landing at New Orleans, going to Cincinnati. He 
learned both the cooper and tailor trades, and once operated a tailor shop in 
Cincinnati, in partnership with his brother, August. In 1861, he moved to 
Ripley county, Indiana, and on March 26, 1868, came to Decatur county and 
went to farming. His wife was Mary Anna Trisler. 

In March, 1904, Henry Draping was united in marriage to Clara Oetjen, 
of Napoleon, Indiana, who was born on October 12, 1882, in. Napoleon, a 
daughter of Henry and Mary ( Brandt) Oetjen, natives of Hanover, Germany 
and Napoleon, respectively. The former, a tailor bv trade, who came to 
America at the age of fourteen years, died in 1895. To Henrv and Clara 
(Oetjen) Draping have been born four children, namely: Alvena, born on 
April 6, 1905; Walter, December 15, 1907: Elmer, January 16, 1911, and 
Herbert, February 9, 1913. 

Mr. and Mrs. Draping are members of the Lutheran church and their 
children are Ijeing reared in that faith. Mr. Draping is a Democrat and 
takes a good citizen's part in the political affairs of the county, and is one of 
the best-known men in that part of the county. He served as one of the 
jurymen in the celebrated Beogle murder trial. 



ALEXANDER HILLIS. 



It cannot be urged too strongly upon those who read the biographies of 
those who have passed on, the importance of securing from the older mem- 
bers of the present generation, as well as from the few still left of the pre- 
ceding generation, their store of ancestral knowledge, before death comes to 
claim his own, after which much interesting and valuable data inevitably will 
remain a sealed book. Persons who take pride in their ancestral records 
ought not to permit present opjiortunities to be neglected, and the lessons on 
genealogv presented in this volume ought not to be overlooked. 

The late Alexander Hillis, a one time well-known farmer of Marion^ 



976 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

township, this county, was born on August 2, 183 1, a son of John and Ann 
(Hazelrigg) Hillis. He died on June 15, 1910, at the old Hillis home, south 
of Greensburg, where he owned one hundred and twenty acres of land. He 
was an industrious, energetic man, and a kind husband and father. 

John Hillis was a native of Kentucky. His wife, Ann, who was born 
on May 23, 181 1, was a daughter of Alese and Kitty Hazelrigg. The Hillis 
family came to Decatur county in 1830, in which year John Hillis entered a 
tract of land, where the Hillis home now stands. He was a very intelligent 
and able man and traded and bought until he had a fine farm of over four 
hundred acres, becoming a wealthy man in an honest, straightforward way. 
John and Ann HilHs were the parents of eight children, namely: Alexander, 
the subject of this sketch : Martha Ann, now deceased, who married Mar- 
cellus Wright; Sarah Catherine, born on February 2, 1837, now deceased, 
who married William Carper; Mrs. Margaret Jane Foley, a widow, living at 
Greensburg, this county; William Wallace, born on January 27, 1840, who 
died at the age of ten years; Sophronia, born in 1848, died at the age of 
nineteen years ; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Christy, now deceased, born on March 
15, 1845, and Mrs. Nancy Miranda Cobb, January 18, 1848. 

Alexander Hillis was married to Elizabeth McCullough, who was born 
on February 22, 1832, in Ripley county, a daughter of William and Drusilla 
(Morgan) McCullough, of Kentucky. Drusilla Morgan was born at Mor- 
gan's Station, Kentucky, a daughter of John Morgan, founder of Morgan's 
Station. The McCulloughs came to Decatur county in 1833 ^^'^ '^ter in that 
year settled in Ripley county, where William McCullough opened a country 
store. He spent the rest of his life there and was buried at Cross Plains. 

To Alexander and Elizabeth (McCullough) Flillis were born the fol- 
lowing children: Morgan A., born in 1854, was accidentally killed in 1898; 
John W., February 12, 1858, died on August 19, 1884; Frank O., April 20, 
1866, who lives in Milroy, where he operates a machine shop, married Flora 
Doles and has three children, Loren, Elizabeth and Thomas ; Lizzie, Novem- 
ber 2y, 1866, is now deceased ; Clara, a skilled music teacher, who was edu- 
cated in the Conservatory of Music at Indianapolis, has large classes at Milroy 
and Westport, and Hetty, who lives at home. 

Mr. Hillis was a devoted and consistent member of the Christian church, 
as is his widow, and their children were reared in that faith, growing up to 
be useful members of the community. Mr. Hillis was a Republican and 
ever gave his attention to all matters of good government. He was a good 
citizen and a generous neighbor, being held in the highest regard throughout 
the community in which he so long had made his home, and was sincerely 
mourned by many at his passing. 






DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



JEPHTHA LAYTON. 



977 



The late Jephtha Layton, of Marion township, was well known during 
his life time in Decatur county: first, because he lived in this county all of his 
life, or practically so, and second, because, for many years, he was engaged in 
operating a saw-mill at Slabtown, in Marion township, where he did an exten- 
sive business in lumber and from which he furnished a great deal of the lum- 
ber for the building of Greensburg Moreover, he became an expert judge 
of timber and, as a result of his extensive dealings, became quite wealthy, 
accumulating a great deal of land and other property. He was a man who 
devoted himself closely to his own personal business and whose relations with 
the public were based upon the most rigid code of honorable and upright 
dealings. 

Jephtha Layton was born in Kentucky on July 25, 1823, and died near 
Madison, Indiana, on August i, 1891. He was the son of John and Mary 
Layton, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was of English parentage. 
About 1830 John Layton came to Decatur county and here settled on a farm 
south of Greensburg, which is now owned by Green B. Barnes. At that 
time Jephtha Layton was only seven years old. He continued to live at home 
with his parents, assisting his father in the work on the farm, until his mar- 
riage in 1852 to Susan McLaughlin, who was born on October 20, 1827, and 
who, left an orphan at a tender age, was reared by friends of her parents' 
family. She died on August 7, 1890, a little less than one year before the 
death of her husband, the subject of this sketch. 

In 1855 Jephtha Layton formed a partnership with his brother, James, 
and they established the old Layton mill at Slabtown, on the Greensburg & 
Layton's Mill turnpike, where they did an extensive business in hard lumber 
and especially in the manufacture of shingles, the mill being a lumber station 
for a large expanse of territory. After the death of his father, in 1891, 
Frank Layton took up the work of this mill and is still continuing its opera- 
tion. In 1880 Jephtha Layton erected a large brick house, manufacturing 
his own brick, on the farm. Jephtha and James Layton built this house. 
John and Cyrus Layton were associated with their brothers for some time, 
but they died soon after the venture was started. In 1870 Jephtha and James 
Layton dissolved partnership. 

To Jephtha and Susan (McLaughlin) Layton were born six children, 
namely : .\^■arilla, who married Obadiah Martin, of Marion township, lives 
on part of the old farm and has two children, Zola, a teacher in the public 
(62) 



9/8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

schools of Marion township, and Ottis, a farmer; Nancy Ann, who died at 
the age of sixteen years; Mary, who is at home; Frank, who is a farmer, 
well-driller and saw-mill operator of Marion township; John, who died in 
the West, and Florence, who also is at home. Florence and Mary own one 
hundred acres of land, which their brother, Frank, for the most part culti- 
vates, but part of the land is rented out to others. 

As above stated. Jephtha Layton died. in 1891. Five years later his 
brother, James, with whom he had been associated for many years in busi- 
ness, died in the large frame house which he had built in Slabtown, in 1896. 
Jephtha and James Layton were among the younger children of a large 
family born to John and Mary Layton. The others were : Mrs. Emily 
Fletcher, Allen, John and Mrs. Mary Downey (twins), Mrs. Harriett Mc- 
connell, Mrs. Matilda Ransted, Mrs. Betsy Bonderant, John and Cyrus. 

As men who did real constructive work in the material development and 
upbuilding of Decatur county, it would be difficult to find anyone who would 
pass the Layton brothers. It might be said with some truth that, had they 
not operated a saw-mill in that part of the county, some one else would have 
done so. Nevertheless, the fact remains that they possessed the foresight to 
erect a mill and that their estimates of the commercial possibilities of such an 
enterprise were pre-eminently correct. The Layton family will go down in 
the history of this county as one which contributed very largely to its material 
advancement. 



JAMES CLINE. 



James Cline. one of the prominent leaders in the councils of the Demo- 
cratic party in Decatur county, and the present assessor of the county, is a 
well-known farmer of Marion township, born on March i, 1864, in that 
township, and the son of Francis and Catherine (McCormack) Cline, both 
natives of Ireland, the former of whom was born in 1816, and died in 1891, 
and the latter of whom was born on September 8, 1823, and died on May 7, 
191 5, past the age of ninety-one, the oldest woman in Decatur county. She 
came to America from her native country when a girl with relatives, and was 
married in New York City to Francis Cline. Her husband, a native of Ire- 
land, came alone to America when a lad and after working in New York 
City for a time moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, from which place he emigrated 
during the fifties to Decatur county, purchasing a farm of forty acres in 
Marion township. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. g^g 

Although James Cline was born in a pioneer log cabin, his father subse- 
quently built another house, and it was there that he was reared. Fishing 
and hunting were good in those days, and the life of a country lad offered 
more wholesome if not greater diversion than it does today. James Cline 
was one of three children born to his parents. The other two, who were 
elder, were Airs. Katie Smith, of Napoleon, Ripley county, whose husband 
is cashier of the Napoleon bank, and .\nna, a member of the Sisters of 
Charity, who died in 1909. 

Educated in the common schools of Marion township, and in the normal 
at New Marion, James Cline taught school for twenty-two years and six 
months, beginning at the age of twenty-two years, and performing all of this 
service in Marion township. In the meantime he purchased a farm in Marion 
township, and, after improving it, sold it in 1898 and removed to Greens- 
burg, where he began the study of law. Finding the law distasteful, he 
returned to the farm in 1900, having purchased his present farm of eighty 
acres at Slabtown, in Marion township. This farm was badly run down, 
but Mr. Cline has since erected a fine house and other buildings and has the 
farm well fenced and well drained. It is regarded as one of the best country 
homes on the Michigan road, and is located si.x miles southeast of Greens- 
burg, and six miles from Napoleon. 

Interested in politics from the time of his boyhood, Mr. Cline served on 
the Democratic county central committee and as township committeeman 
for Marion township. He has also attended several Democratic state con- 
ventions, and is well acquainted with the Democratic leaders in the state of 
Indiana. In the fall of 1914, having received the nomination for county 
assessor, he was triumphantly elected to a four-year term, and is now serving 
in this office. 

On April 27, 1893, James Cline was married to Margaret Foley, who 
was born in Salt Creek township in June, 1865, daughter of Michael Foley, 
and who died on February 20, 1898. To this union three children were 
born, one of whom died in infancy. The two living children are Mary, who 
is her father's housekeeper, and Anna, who was graduated from the Academy 
of the Immaculate Conception at Oldenburg, Indiana, on June 17, 1915, hav- 
ing completed a four-years' course. 

A member of the Greensburg Catholic church, James Cline is also a 
charter member of the Knights of Columbus at Greensburg, and has been 
prominent in that organization since the Greensburg lodge was instituted. 
The deep and active interest which Mr. Cline has always taken in the councils 
of the Democratic party in Decatur county has not prevented him from look- 



980 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ing carefully after the interests of his home, his family and his farm. With- 
out any qualifications or modifications, it must be conceded that he has per- 
formed every duty which devolves upon a citizen of this great country. Loyal 
to his home, his neighborhood, his county and to his state, he has a host of 
friends, men who are attached to him by the warmest ties of personal rela- 
tion, and who hold him in the highest regard. 



JOSEPH MOENKEDICK. 

Like many others of Ohio's sons and daughters who have adopted Indi- 
ana as their permanent home, the gentleman whose name forms the caption of 
this sketch has been loyal to the home of his adoption, and well may he feel 
satisfied with his success in producing on his farm in this county the best 
that nature wills. His splendid acres, his fine family of children, and his 
remunerative crops, all contribute toward making him a satisfied man. Mr. 
Moenkedick has won the respect and confidence of the citizens of Marion 
township, and has trained his children along the same lines. 

Joseph Moenkedick was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, on July 11, 1859, a 
son of Henry and Catharine Moenkedick. Henry Moenkedick was born in 
Germany in 1818, and came to America in 1857, settling in Decatur county, 
where he bought a farm in 1865. He lived in a log cabin, which is still 
standing, and where his son Joseph, the subject of this sketch, spent his child- 
hood. Henry Moenkedick. in old age, moved to Millhousen, where his last 
days were spent, his death occurring in 1890. By his first wife, he had two 
children, Mrs. Theresa Herbert, of Ripley county, Indiana, and Joseph. 
Henry Moenkedick's second wife was a widow, Mrs. Moller, to which union 
there was no issue. 

At the age of fourteen years Joseph Moenkedick started in to earn his 
living, receiving at first but five dollars a month, which wage gradually was 
increased until he was receiving twenty dollars a month, and eventually he 
earned enough to pay one thousand six hundred dollars down on a farm 
costing him three thousand two hundred dollars, the balance to be paid in 
eight years. He now has a well-improved farm, on which he has spent about 
nine thousand dollars in improvements. Mr. Moenkedick's farm covers one 
hundred and twenty acres of very productive, level land, located a quarter of 
a mile from the pike road, on which he has a substantial brick dwelling. He 
raises from fifteen to eighteen head of cattle and from twenty-five to forty 
hogs annually. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 98 1 

On April 19, 1893, Joseph Moenkedick was united in marriage to Anna 
May Hessler, who was l)orn on August 26, 1S66, at Millhousen. this county, 
a daughter of Adam J. and Katharine (Stahl) Hessler, to which union the 
following children have been born : Theresa, Louis, Catharine, Henry, Will- 
iam and Joseph, all of whom are at home save Catherine, who is living in 
Greensburg. Mrs. Moenkedick's father, Adam J. Hessler, was born in 1840, 
and died in March, 1903. He was a native of Millhousen, a son of John 
Hessler, and his wife was a native of Germany. Adam J. Hessler was a 
farmer all his life. His father, John Hessler, a native of Germany, was the 
first shoemaker in Millhousen. Mr. and Mrs. Moenkedick are members of 
St. Mary's Catholic church at Greensburg and their children have been reared 
in that faith. Mr. Moenkedick is a Republican and is warmly interested in 
the county's political affairs, being an earnest supporter of all measures 
designed to advance the public welfare. 



WILLARD A. MIERS. 



Few men living in Decatur county are better known than Willard A. 
Miers, a prominent farmer and stockman, living a quarter of a mile south 
of Burney, in Clay township, on a farm consisting of two hundred and fifty- 
seven acres of level land and of first-class soil. He is known to the world 
of harness horsemen as the man who bred and trained "Little Snapp," which 
at three years old held the world's record for geldings. 

^Villard A. Miers was born on the old homestead, which he now owns, 
in 1858, the son of Thomas S. and Mahala (Braden) Miers. Thomas S. 
Miers was born in Ohio, and came to Decatur county when seven or eight 
years old with his father, Thomas Miers, who was one of the early settlers 
of Decatur county, and who died a short time after settling in Clay town- 
ship. Thomas S. Miers was one of the most successful farmers of Decatur 
county, having accumulated at the time of his death six hundred acres of 
land. Most of his mone}' he made out of hogs and corn. 

Willard A. Miers started life for himself when about twenty-one years 
old. He has been a very successful farmer and stockman, and especially suc- 
cessful with horses and mules. He bred and trained "Little Snapp," which 
at three years old held the world's record for geldings of that age and con- 
tinued to hold the record for three successive years. Mr. Miers has bred and 
raised se\eral other horses, which while not holding world's records, never- 
theless have distinguished themsehes for speed. He is still actively engaged 



982 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

in operating his farm and is still as enthusiastic as a youngster in regard to 
his horses. He trains and educates his own animals. He has now a four- 
year-old filly in whose veins runs the blood of Allen Winters, and Allen 
Winters won the fifty-thousand-dollar Derby, which to horse lovers is the 
big event of the grand circuit. He is a true lover of the sport of kings and 
never intends to give it up. declaring the chances for him are too good to 
quit. He is one of the well-to-do farmers of Decatur count}-, but his heart 
is in and with his horses. 

Mr. Ivliers laso handles jacks, mules, cattle and hogs. He has been 
handling jacks ever since he started in business, and all of his animals were 
bred and raised by himself. His two oldest jacks are two of the best-boned 
and largest animals in the middle West. His fes are one-third greater than 
the average fee, yet, despite this, he enjoys a large patronage. He also has 
six jennets and breeds and sells these animals for the market. He raises 
three or four jacks every year, and these animals bring on an average from 
twelve hundred to fifteen hundred dollars per head. It can readily be seen 
that some of the profits of the farm come from the jacks, jennets and mules. 
Jennets irdinarily bring from five hundred to eight hundred dollars. Not 
every man who has engaged in this business has made a success of it, but Mr. 
Miers is one of those men who has succeeded in a large mesaure. He employs 
two men the year round and several additional men during the busy season. 

In 1895 Willard A. Miers was married to Lilly Johnson, the daughter 
of John and Sally (Jones) Johnson, members of an old family in Decatur 
county, now living retired at Burney, Indiana. To this union three children 
have been born, Braden Johnson, Bessie and Alice Nevada. Mr. and Mrs. 
Miers are members of the Methodist church at Burney and their children 
have been reared in that faith. The Miers home is situated in Burne}' on 
twenty acres of land at the south edge of town. The stock farm and race 
track are situated about a quarter of a mile south of town. Mr. INIiers is 
devoted to his business and personally attends to all the details of managing 
every department of the farm. 

Mr. Miers is a Democrat, although not greatly interested in politics. 
For many years he has been a member of the Masonic lodge at Milford. He 
is possessed naturally of a genial disposition, which has been no small factor 
in his large success. Ten years of his life were spent in Greensburg, and 
Mr. Miers is quite as well known there as he is in Clay township. There is 
an old saying that every man has his own trade. The truth of this saying is 
generally acce]3ted. and, assuming that it is correct, no one will doubt that 
Willard A. Miers has found the business of life not only that which he likes 
best, but the one in which he could have been most successful. 



I 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 983 

WATSON BOSTIC. 

A 'veteran of the Civil War, who enlisted in the service of his country 
when a lad of seventeen years, enduring many hardships and privations, 
Watson Bostic, a successful farmer of Clay township, this county, and for 
twenty years the local representative of the Continental Fire Insurance Com- 
pany of New York, was born in 1847, the son of Mathias and Elizabeth 
(Jones) Bostic, the former of whom was a native of Ohio, and the latter of 
Maryland. Mathias Bostic was an early settler of Dearborn county, Indi- 
ana, one of four brothers, who, with their sister, came from Ohio to this state. 
The Bostics were also identified with the early history and settlement and 
development of Decatur county, having come here from Dearborn county in 
October, i860. Mathias Bostic died about 1858 in Dearborn county, and 
after his death his widow married a man of the name of Fowler, and they 
came to Decatur county in i860. Mr. Bostic's mother died near Milford. 
By her first marriage she had three children; Watson, the subject of this 
sketch; Richmond B., who died in 1891, and Mrs. Serinda Elliott, who is 
deceased. 

At the outbreak of the Civil War Watson Bostic was a lad of only 
fifteen or sixteen. In the winter of 1863 and 1864 he joined the One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was 
organized in Greensburg, and served until the end of the war, attached to the 
Twentv-third Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Bostic fought at 
the battles of Nashville and Franklin. At Nashville, he was stricken down 
with measles and disabled for service, losing the use of his voice and suffer- 
ing other disabilities from which he has never wholly recovered. He was 
discharged from the service in June, 1865. At the end of the war Mr. Bostic 
came back to Decatur county, and worked on a farm for some time. Subse- 
quently he emigrated to Adams county, Illinois, and after being there for a 
year or two returned to Decatur county. 

On August 27, 1868, Watson Bostic was married to Debby Reeves, who 
was born on May 7, 1850, the daughter of N. G. and Jane Reeves, the former 
of whom came to Indiana from Ohio, and the latter of whom came here from 
North Carolina. To this union four children were born, namely : Jennie, 
who married T. C. Goff, of Greensburg, now living at Milford, and has two 
sons, Lloyd Gallentine and Artie, who live with their grandfather; Rilhe, 
who married M. B. Chambers, a well-known farmer, living on the Vernon 
road in Clay town.ship and has four children, Watson, Flossie, Hilda and 
•Cecile Anna; Charles Ora, who died in 1890, and Mrs. Nora Barnes, widow 



984 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of George Barnes, now lives at home with her father. The mother of these 
children died on September 15, 1914. 

Mrs. Watson Bostic's mother was the daughter of William Craig, a 
weaver of coverlids, who lived in this county. The Bostic family has in its 
possession a coverlid woven in 1844, and in perfect condition. They also 
ha\-e a pair of tongs made by Mrs. Bostic's great-great-grandfather, who 
was a blacksmith by trade. 

In 1884 Mr. Bostic purchased ninety-six acres of land and has added to 
this tract until he now owns two hundred and fifty acres, situated two miles 
from Mil ford and two miles from Burney on the Vernon road and in a very 
fertile section of Clay township. He has always been an industrious farmer 
and a hard worker. In 1904 he purchased the tract upon which he now 
lives, and more land in 1910 and now owns, in all, two hundred and fifty 
acres. The soil originally grew sugar trees, poplars and walnut. Mr. Bostic 
has made every dollar he has by his own hard work. A good deal of his 
money has been made by raising and feeding hogs. 

In the community where he lives Watson Bostic is known as a dyed-in- 
the-wool-Republican. He has always been greatly interested in politics and 
is regarded as one of the leaders of his party in Clay township, having been 
on the firing line in most of the campaigns. He is a man of liberal views, 
conscientious and sincere, who inspires confidence in his fellows. For nearly 
forty years he has been a member of the Masonic lodge at Milford and is a 
member of the Greensburg post of the Grand Army of the Republic. The 
family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Bostic has 
always taken a prominent part in local religious work. In fairly good health, 
he is of an optimistic turn of mind and is considered one of the substantial 
citizens of Decatur countv. 



CECIL G. HARROD, M. D. 

The man who devotes his talent and energy to the noble work of min- 
istering to the ills and alleviating the sufferings of humanity, pursues a call- 
ing which in dignity and importance is second to none other. If true to his 
profession and earnest in his efforts to enlarge his sphere of usefulness, he 
is indeed a benefactor to mankind. To him more than to any other man 
are entrusted the safety, comfort and lives of the people. In the professional 
ranks of this county Dr. Cecil G. Harrod. a physician and surgeon of Burney, 
has stood for many years as one of the leading physicians of Decatur county 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 98 s 

and his practice probabl}- is equal to that of any other physician in the county. 
ReaHzing early in liis career as a physician that to obtain a success in the 
medical profession, he must have, not only technical ability but also broad 
human sympathies. Doctor Harrod has endeavored conscientiously and dili- 
gently to develop himself along these two lines. He has dignified and hon- 
ored the profession to which he belongs by his noble services in this county. 

Dr. Cecil G. Harrod, of Burney, is the scion of two very old families in 
America. Born in 1884, he is the son of Charles Fremont and Olive (Gard- 
ner) Harrod, natives of Scott county, Indiana. Charles Fremont Harrod, 
who is now fifty-eight years old, and who was born in Scott county, li\'es on 
a farm and is a successful and well-known school teacher, who follows this 
profession because of his native love of the work. He is well and favorably 
known in Scott county. He was named for John C. Fremont, the first candi- 
date of the Republican party for the Presidency, and is a stanch Republican. 

Doctor Harrod's mother, who before her marriage was Olive Gardner, 
and is now fifty-si.x years old, is the daughter of James Gardner, a prominent 
citizen of Scott county, who was honored by the people of that county, by 
election to several different positions of trust and responsibility. The Gard- 
ners originally came to Indiana from Virginia, and an ancestor of Doctor 
Harrod's mother came over to .\merica in the "Mayflower." The family is, 
of course, of English origin. 

The Harrod family came to Indiana from Kentucky, having previously 
emigrated to the latter state from Virginia. It was the great grandfather 
of Charles Fremont Harrod, who entered the land which the latter now owns 
in Scott county. This family also is of English origin. The Harrod family 
is one of professional men, nearly all of the male members having been law- 
yers or physicians. Former Judge Willard New of the Indiana appellate 
court, who is now a practicing lawyer in Indianapolis, is a cousin of Doctor 
Harrod. 

In iqii F)r. C. G. Harrod, of Burney, this county, was graduated from 
the medical department of the University of Louisville, a medical school well 
known throughout the Middle West for the high standard of its instruction. 
Immediately after his graduation. Doctor Harrod located in Burney and 
began the practice of his profession. His ])ractice has grown from year to year 
until he now enjoys probably as large a practice as any physician in Decatur 
county. Indeed, he is the busiest man in Clay township and his books show 
that in a single day, he made twenty-nine professional calls. He never wastes 
a minute of time to reach a case. He believes in giving to each case his 
greatest skill, energy and talent. In his home township, where he is so well' 



■986 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

known, he is regarded as a human dynamo and no man is more popular with 
the people of Clay township. He is a man of most kindly impulses, broad 
and liberal in his views and generous by nature and he occupies a firm place 
in the hearts of the people of the neighborhood covered by his practice. 



IRA C. CARMAN. 



The student of Decatur county history does not have to make searching 
investigations to discover that Ira C. Carman for many years has been one 
of its most active farmers and stock raisers as well as one of its most influen- 
tial citizens. From time to time, he has added to his land holdings until he 
now has two hundred and sixty-seven acres lying two and one-half miles 
northeast of Burney on the Hope, Milford and Greensburg pike. Yet Air. 
Carman himself would say that he has had no time to accumulate monev l:)Ut 
rather would have what he can buy with a dollar than to keep the dollar for 
its own sake. In his entire business career he has been zealous of his credit 
and this is one of the large secrets of his success. Aside from being an exten- 
sive landholder, he is a stockholder in the Hope bank and has at least ten 
thousand dollars worth of property in Burney, against which there is not one 
cent of indebtedness. This is the present condition of affluence of a man 
who, less than twenty-five years ago, began life with a poor horse and cow 
and without a dollar in the world. A man who has made money easily, Ira 
C. Carman has likewise been what might be called a liberal spender. 

Ira C. Carman was born in 1859 in Ripley county, Indiana, and two 
years after his birth was brought to Decatur county by his parents, Reuben 
and Rebecca Jane (Jones) Carman. nati\'es of Ohio, who settled on a farm 
near Milford. The father was a successful farmer and a well-respected man 
in the community, one of the local leaders of the Republican party. In 1866 
the family moved to Missouri, where a little later Reuben Carman died, leav- 
ing a wife and six small children. The mother remained about two years in 
Missouri and then came back to Decatur county, settling near Milford, where 
she reared her family. On the tri]i to Missouri the Carmans had been accom- 
panied by Thomas Fowler and family, Ira Sathmarsh and Watson Bostic, a 
young man. 

To Reuben and Rebecca Jane (Jones) Carman were born si.x children, 
two of whom, William Reuben and Elmer E., are deceased. The living 
children are Mrs. Lodicy Elliott, the widow of James Elliott ; Mrs. Elizabeth 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 987 

Pumpher, the widow of Lon Puinpher; Ira C, the subject of this slsietch; and 
Mrs. Mary B. Raymond, the widow of Wilham Raymond. Frank Carman 
is a half brother of Ira C. The mother of these children died in 1884. She 
Avas a woman of rare business ability and reared her family to honorable and 
useful lives. 

Ira C. Carman Ijcgan life for himself at the age of eleven vears and by 
the time he was twenty-five years old had begun to accumulate a little proi>- 
erty. In 1880 he was united in marriage to Emma Peddicord, the daughter 
of Levi and Hulda (Henshaw) Peddicord, and to this union two children 
have been born, Edward, born in 1882, married Mattie Thompson and lives 
on the home place, and ]\Iaude, the wife of J. J. Boyle, principal of the high 
school at Columbus, Indiana. 

Mr. Carman has been a very successful farmer and business man. About 
seventeen years ago he purchased ninety acres of land and began to raise hogs 
and cattle. Previous to that time he had worked for three years by the day 
and finally got together a "plug" horse and one cow. Subsequently, he had 
an opportunity to farm on the shares for Frank Butler. This was his start 
in life. He saved about four hundred dollars, which he paid on his first 
ninety-acre tract of land. He then began farming on a large scale and at 
different times has cultivated as much as five hundred or six hundred acres 
of land and at the present time is farming about five hundred acres and rais- 
ing about one hundred and eighty acres of corn each year. Two years after 
he purchased his first tract of land, he bought another tract of one hundred 
and seventy-eight acres, being compelled to borrow the money to make the 
first payment. He paid for this farm in ten or twelve years, an exceptional 
record for money making, there having been numerous predictions at the 
time that he would fail. Many years ago he began breeding and dealing in 
nniles and is todaj' one of the best-known mule breeders in the state of Indi- 
ana. The mule business has been one of the great sources of his revenue, 
but by no means the greatest. Mr. Carman attriluites his success more to 
hogs, corn and clover. He buys and matches mules, fattens them and sends 
them to market. His farm is one of the most highly improved farms, all 
things considered, to be found in Decatur county, particularly when external 
improvements are considered. It is well-drained, has splendid outbuildings 
and a three-story bank barn, equal to any to be found in the county. A lover 
of good horses, Mr. Carman also has had considerable success with raising 
them. He has a large silo on the farm made of vitrified tile. His land is 
gently undulating and formerly grew sugar trees and black walnut. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Carman has always been an active political 



988 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

worker and is a firm believer in the principles of the party of Abraham Lin- 
coln. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Milford and of the Knights 
of Pythias at Burney, being one of the trustees of the latter lodge. Mr. and 
Mrs. Carman are members of the Methodi.st church at Milford and liberal 
supporters of the same and are held in the highest regard throughout that 
whole section of the countv. 



EDWARD A. JACKSON. 

Practically industry, A\isely and consistently followed, never fails to 
bring success. It carries a man onward and upward, brings out his indi- 
vidual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The 
greatest results in life are often attained bv simple means in the exercise of 
the ordinary cjualities of common sense and perseverance. The everyday life 
with its cares, necessities and duties affords ample opportunity for acquiring 
experience of the best kind and its beaten paths provide a true worker with 
aliundant scope for eft'ort and self improvement. Edward A. Jackson, one 
of the prominent citizens and farmers of Clay township, this county, belongs 
to an old family of that section. 

Edward A. Jackson was born in Decatur county in 1837. the son of 
\\'illiam T. and Margaret T. (Myers) Jackson, the former of whom was a 
native of Ohio, who came to Decatur county, settling in Clay township with 
his parents when a mere lad. He was born in Cincinnati about 1829, and 
died in 1889 at the age of sixty years. William T. Jackson was the son of 
William D. Jackson, who was born near the mouth of the Chickahominy 
river in Charles City county, Virginia, on October 13, 1797. The family 
originally lived in York county, a few miles east of the Chickahoiuiny river 
in a very uphealthful region. The parents of William D. Jackson were 
stricken A\ith malarial fe\er and died, leaving a large family of destitute chil- 
dren. The boys of the family were bound out to farmers of the neighbor- 
hood to lives of bitter toil, while the girls were sent to a public institution. 
William D. Jackson was one of these boys and was compelled to work in 
the fields with the negro slaves under the direction of a cruel overseer. The 
Jackson family is of Irish origin, and William D.. being of a fiery Celtic 
nature, could not endure such a life. One day he crossed the James river and 
left the countrv. After walking for man}' miles he reached Petersburg, and 
there learned the tailor's trade. .At the same time, however, he had a strong 
inclination for the sea. His brother, Henr\', did becotne a sailor and another 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 989 

brother, John, also went to sea and was shipwrecked and lost. William D. 
Jackson was accustomed to ride the river boats on the James river in follow- 
ing his trade as a tailor and on one of these trips got off the boat at a small 
town, called Crocks Ferry, on the Nanticoke river, and there met his future 
wife, Amelia Hillman, a daughter of Samuel Hillman, a merchant who kept 
the store at Crocks Landing. They were married in 1823, and, after living 
in Maryland until 1831, crossed the Alleghany mountains in a covered wagon 
and proceeded down the Ohio river by boat to Cincinnati, and there found 
work. At Cincinnati William D. Jackson met the elder Nicholas Longworth 
and with his assistance engaged in the real estate business and accumulated 
a snug fortune, which he invested in a farm of one hundred and sixty acres 
in Fugit township, this county, in 1840. In 1844 he moved to this farm, and 
afterward owned various farms in this county, and here spent the remainder 
of his life. By his marriage to Amelia Hillman, William D. Jackson had a 
large family of children, of whom William T. was one. 

William T. Jackson was about eighteen years old when he came to 
Decatur county with his parents. His wife, who before her marriage was 
Margaret Myers, was the daughter of Thomas Myers, one of the early set- 
tlers of Decatur county, and one of the wealthiest and most prominent men in 
pioneer times. After the Civil War William T. Jackson removed to Hend- 
ricks county, where he engaged in the dry goods and general mercantile busi- 
ness, and then moved to Milford, this county, where he owned a store, and 
kept the postoffice, also owning a large farm, now a part of the M. F. Miers 
land. Late in life William T. Jackson and wife removed from their farm 
in Clay township to Greensburg and there died. His remains are buried in 
the historic old cemetery at Milford. Of the children born to William T. 
and Margaret T. (Myers) Jackson, four are deceased and four are living, the 
latter being Annie, Edward A., Harry and William E. William E. lives in 
Washington township, this county, and Harry lives in Idaho. The deceased 
•children were James, Benjamin, Adelaide and Jessie. 

On .^pril 14, 1880, Edward A. Jackson was married to Mary T. Burney, 
the daughter of S. M. and Sarah (Pumphry) Burney, old citizens of this 
■county. S. M. Burney was born about 1814 in North Carolina and came 
to Decatur county with his parents in pioneer times, when Clay township was 
nothing but a wilderness. The family settled on a farm, which Edward A. 
Jackson now owns, and which is known as the old Burney farm. The par- 
ents of S. M. Burney spent the remainder of their lives in Milford, the 
mother having died in the home of her son, S. M. Burney, who was a very 
successful farmer and owned several hundred acres of land in this county. 



990 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

He gave five hundred dollars to the town of Burney when it was founded and 
purchased stock in the railroad when the latter was constructed through that 
section. Burney was named for him. He was a progressive, broad-minded 
man, whose word was as good as his bond. A public-spirited citizen, he 
donated several hundred dollars to the building of the Methodist churches at 
Milford and at Burney. He was a stanch Democrat and true to his party. 
^Vhile he never asked for office, he always held at heart the welfare of his 
party and his country. He left the impress of his character and his influence 
upon the life of this community, and died full of honors, as only a private 
citizen who has done well his duty, can die, passing away in 1901 at the home 
of his daughter, Mrs. Edward A. Jackson. 

Mrs. Jackson was born in Clay township on the old Burney homestead, 
where she still lives, in i860, one of nine children, born to her parents, six 
of whom are living and three of whom are deceased, James B., Lawrence 
and John B., deceased, and Mrs. ]\lelinda Michael, Joseph, Mrs. Anne Littell, 
Edgar, Mrs. Ina Lewis and Mrs. Jackson, living. 

About 1900 Edward A. Jackson sold the farm which he had owned 
previously and purchased at seventy dollars an acre two hundred acres of 
land, later buying the Dovey farm of ninety acres. This is the farm in Clay 
township, which Mr. Jackson owns, and is now almost invaluable. It lies at 
the edge of a growing and hustling town, where live as good people as are 
to be found anywhere on earth. Mr. Jackson has been a successful farmer, 
his chief products being hogs and corn. He feeds two or more carloads of 
hogs every year. His land is especially adapted for raising corn. Origin- 
ally wet and marshy, drainage has transformed the land into a fertile garden 
producing abundantly almost anything that may be sown or planted. 

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have a beautiful home. The live in a massive 
brick house built by Mrs. Jackson's father, the late S. M. Burney, a half 
centur}^ ago. It is a monument, strong and substantial, to the memory of a 
man who did things well. The brick was burned on the farm and practically 
all of the timber and all of the material used in the house were taken from 
the farm. 

To Edward A. and Mary T. (Burney) Jackson two children have been 
born, Harry and Burney. Harry Jackson, who was born in 1888, married 
Verna Jewell, the daughter of William and Leona Jewell, who live near the 
Decatur and Bartholomew county line, and to this union two children have 
Ijeen born, Freda and William Edwin, the latter named after his grandfather 
Jewell. Burney Jackson, who is a well-known young farmer of this county, 
married Zelpha Galbraith, daughter of Andrew and Lena Galbraith. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 99I 

Edward A. Jackson is a Democrat and while not especially active as a 
political worker, has the interest of his party at heart. He and his wife are- 
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a charter member of 
the Knights of Pythias lodge at Burney. He is a stockholder in the Third 
National Bank at Greensburg, and also a stockholder in the Hope State Bank 
at Hope. Mr. Jackson has been a valuable citizen in this community, whose 
life and career are thoroughly appreciated by his neighbors, all of whom hold 
him in the highest esteem. 



SAMUEL B. HANKS. 



Samuel B. Hanks, a representative farmer and stockman of Clay town- 
ship, this county, descended on his paternal side from the family which gave 
to the world the mother of .Abraham Lincoln, is known as one of the alert, 
progressive and liberal-minded farmers of this section. A man of wide 
information and reading he has been for many years a leader among the 
farmers of Clay township, having lived on his present fine farm in that town- 
ship since the time of his marriage, in 1907. 

Born in Clay township. Decatur county, Indiana, in 1877, Samuel B. 
Hanks is a son of Newton and Mary (Alley) Hanks, the latter of whom was 
the daughter of Samuel B. and Nancy fSelby) Alley, and the former of 
whom was born May 14, 1837. in Bradford county, Kentucky, the son of 
Sidnor D. Hanks, a pioneer citizen in that state. To Newton and Mary 
(Alley) Hanks were born four children, Nannie and Hattie, deceased; .Sam- 
uel R., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Amelia Boyce. Newton Hanks, 
who now lives in Covington, Kentucky, was a soldier in the Civil War, having 
enlisted three times and having served until the close of the war. His wife 
died in 18(53. Newton Hanks has always been an ardent Democrat and is a 
member of the Baptist church. 

Samuel B. Hanks was educated in the common schools of this county 
and at the Central Normal College at Danville, Indiana, as well as at Franklin 
College, receiving a liberal classical education, admirable preparation for the 
duties of life. On September 10, 1907, he was married to Delia Davis, the 
daughter of James B. and Martha (Ewing) Davis, pioneer citizens of this 
county, to which union has been born one child, a daughter, Mary Caroline, 
who was born on December 25, 1902. Mr. and Mrs. Hanks are members of 
the Baptist church and are active in all good works in their neighborhood, 
being held in the very highest regard by all in that community. Mr. Hanks- 



•992 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

is a Democrat and takes a warm interest in the political afifairs of the county, 
being an ardent advocate of the principles of good government. He is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Burney and is popular with all the 
members of that lodge, as well as in the community at large. 



JAMES G. DAVIS. 

The commencement of the Davis family in Decatur county dates from 
the time that the late James Davis came to America, a poor lad of eleven 
years, from that country which has given to America so many of her dis- 
tinguished citizens and especially so many of her successful farmers and 
financiers. There is a flavor of romance in the career of this poor Irish lad, 
who after settling in Decatur county, Indiana, acquired during his life time 
nearly three thousand acres of land, and came to be known throughout the 
length and breadth of this county, and of adjoining counties, for his shrewd 
and far-seeing judgment. Nevertheless, in all of his dealings he was known 
as a man whose word was a good as gold, honest and true in all the relations 
of life. He was, however, a speculator in land and owned five hundred acres 
in Daviess county, and the balance in Decatur and Shelby counties. That he 
was honored and respected is amply proved by the fact that on many occa- 
sions he was chosen to administer and settle up estates. It is a son of this 
Irish lad who, by diligent application of his native faculties, became a well- 
to-do citizen, that is the subject of this sketch. James G. Davis is an enter- 
prising farmer of Adams township, where he owns two hundred and sixty- 
four acres of land and where he is known as a large stockman. 

James G. Davis was born on March 28, 1876, on the Davis homestead, 
where he now lives. His parents, James and Sarah E. (Braden) Davis were 
natives of Mayo, Ireland, and Decatur county, Indiana, respectively. The 
former was bom April 26, 1829, and died May 5, 1904, and the latter was 
born January 10, 1837, in Clay township, Decatur county, and died June 12, 
191 1. 

After attending school near his home, James G. Davis lived with his 
father until the latter's death in 1904, and at his death receixed the old family 
homestead as a part of his inheritance. During these early years of his life 
he was engaged in farming, and was very successful, learning from his father 
the rudiments of agriculture. On his Adams township farm he now has an 
.annual output of more than two hundred head of hogs. In 1913 he erected 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 993 

at a cost of eight thousand dollars, a splendid modern home of twelve rooms, 
which is equipped with every modern convenience available to residents of 
the countryside. Not only is there a large barn on the farm, but there are 
also many other substantial buildings. 

On December 24, 1907, three years after the death of his father, Mr. 
Davis was married at the age of thirty-one to Flora M. Champ, of near 
Burney, the daughter of F. Marion and Jennie Virginia (Boyce) Champ. 
The father is still living two miles west of Burney. The mother died on 
January 21. 1909. To Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been born two children, 
Sarah \'irginia, born on November 15, 1909, and Francis Marion, on July 
5, 1910; the former of whom is six years old and the latter is four. 

Although Mr. Davis is an ardent Democrat, the pressure of his own per- 
sonal business has been too great to permit him to participate actively in poli- 
tical affairs, leaving such matters to others. Fraternally, he is a member of 
Mil ford lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. Mr. Davis and family are all- 
active workers in Union Chapel United Brethren church. Not only is Mr. 
Davis a large contributor to the church, but he takes a commendable interest 
in the various activities of Union Chapel, and is a man of strong religious 
instincts and impulses. So far as he is able, Mr. Davis is bent on carrying 
forward the ambitions and ideals of his worthy father. It is not too much 
to say that he has taken his place in the foremost ranks of the citizens of 
Adams township, and is today regarded as a wise and capable leader in all 
worthy enterprises which reflect the interest of the public as a whole. 



THEODORE ELLIOTT. 



Theodore Elliott has long been one of the active farmers and leading 
•citizens of Clay township, this county, and at the present time owns a quarter 
section of land two miles southeast of Burney, a farm of gently undulating 
and fertile soil. His father was a veteran of the Civil War and his mother 
was reared in pioneer times on the broad prairies of the Hawkeye state. 

Theodore Elliott was born in Clay township, near Clifty creek in 1850, 
the son of John P. and Margaret (Heron) Elliott. The latter was born at 
Woodburn, Ohio, the daughter of Samuel Heron, a native of Ohio, who 
moved to Iowa, when Margaret was a small child and settled on the Des 
Moines river. He was the first white settler in that section of the Hawkeye 

(63) 



994 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

State and one of the first in Iowa, the Indians at that time holding practically 
undisputed possession of the country. Samuel Heron became the first mail 
carrier of the state; in fact, he laid out the first established mail route in 
Iowa. His first home was within speaking distance of an Indian village. 
His wife. Nancy Heron, the grandmother of Theodore Elliott, herded cattle 
on the prairies amid the dangerous attacks by the Indians. For the most 
part, however, the Indians were peaceful at that time. Samuel Heron and 
his wife spent their last days in the state of Iowa. There were several chil- 
dren born to them, of whom Margaret, the mother of Mr. Elliott, was the 
second. It was while on a visit to Iowa that John P. Elliott was married to 
Margaret Heron. 

After their marriage, John P. Elliott and his wife returned to Decatur 
county and settled in Clay township, where the former engaged in the saw- 
mill business on Clifty creek. He combined farming and the milling business 
until the outbreak of the Civil War, at which time he enlisted at the first call 
of President Lincoln for volunteers. He became a member of the Seventh 
Indiana Regiment Volunteer Infantry and, as color bearer of the regiiuent, 
served two years, being discharged for disability. At the time he was some- 
what past the prime of life. He was a brave and capable soldier and intensely 
patriotic. He came from a family of soldiers, his grandfather, McClure 
Elliott, having been a soldier in the War of 1812. John P. Elliott served 
in some of the bloodiest and fiercest battles of the Civil War, among which 
was the battle of Antietam and the Wilderness campaign. He was a stanch 
Republican and true to the principles of the great Lincoln. After the war, he 
came back, to Decatur county and died here about 1900, the last years of his 
life being spent in Greensburg. He was a member of the Grand Army of 
the Republic. A successful farmer and business man, he owned at the time 
of his death, eight or nine hundred acres of fine land. 

Of his five children, Harry, Mary, Martha, Theodore and James, all 
are living save the last named. Harry lives at Westport, Mary at Greens- 
burg, Martha at Greensburg and Theodore is the subject of this sketch. 

After living at home on the farm with his parents until he had reached 
his majority, Theodore Elliott was married to Ida Barger, daughter of Will- 
iam and Mary Ellen (Lowry) Barger, the latter of whom is a descendant ot 
Captain Lowry, one of the oldest and most prominent of Decatur county set- 
tlers, having come here from Kentucky. To this union one child was born, 
Glenn, who lives on the old farm near Burney. Mrs. Ida Elliott died on 
December 4. 1886. Fifteen years later Mr. Elliott married, secondly, Sarah 
Steelman, daughter of James S. and Anna (Peggs) Steelman, prominent resi- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 995 

dents of Clay township, this county, both now dead, the former of whom was 
born in Union county, Indiana, and the latter in Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. 
Elliott are members of the Methodist church at Burney, active in all neigh- 
borhood good works, and are held in the highest esteem throughout the com- 
munity in which they live. 

Mr. Elliott, who now is living retired from the active work of the farm, 
is a progressive citizen, liberal and broad-minded in his views. He is a 
Republican and intensely loyal to the party of his father and the party of 
Abraham Lincoln. Having enjoyed during his youth more than the ordinary 
advantages for obtaining an education, having attended Hartsville College, 
he is well informed and up-to-date, one of the most substantial citizens in 
that section of Decatur county. 



JAMES L. POWNER. 



The career of the late James L. Powner was one marked by earnest and 
indefatigable application; not only to his vocation as a farmer, but to the 
general affairs of life. He was a soldier in the Civil War, where his fidelity 
was of the highest type and the kind which won for him the confidence and 
esteem of his superior ofiicers and which later, in the peaceful pursuits of life, 
won for him the unbounded respect of the public generally. His death on 
October 2^. 1888, was mourned throughout this county, for he was a good 
man, true to all the relations of life. 

P>orn in Franklin county, Indiana, in 1837. the late James L. Powner 
came to Decatur county when a young man and here he lived until the out- 
break of the Civil War, when he enlisted in the Seventh Regiment, Indiana 
Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Welsh. He served two years in 
this regiment and was then discharged on account of disability. After recup- 
erating at home for six months, he re-enlisted in the One Hundred and 
Thirt\-se\'enth Regiment, Indiana \ dlunteer Infantr}', and served until the 
end of the war, being mustered out as a sergeant, with a record of brave and 
efficient soldier. James L. Powner had an intense love for his country and his 
Hag and fought in some of the bloodiest Ijattles of the Civil War, among 
which were the battles of the Wilderness and Antietam. Intensely interested 
in the politics of his country. Mr. Powner later was always on the firing line 
of the Republican party, to which he was attached throughout his life. 

On September 12, 1S65, James L. Powner was married to Abigail 



996 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Gibson, a daughter of Stewart and Mary (Bell) Gibson, natives of Penn- 
sylvania. Mrs. Powner, who was born in i<S45, in Lawrence county, Penn- 
sylvania, fifty miles from Philadelphia, now lives on a beautiful farm of one 
hundred and seventy-six acres in this county, three miles southeast of Burney, 
on the Liljerty church road, and two miles west of Liberty church. 

Mrs. Powner's father, .Steward Gibson, was the son of James David 
Gibson, a native of Ireland, who came to America some time during the 
American Revolution and settled in Pennsylvania, where he spent the remain- 
der of his life. He was a prosperous farmer and at his death left his children 
a comfortable fortune. Of the five children born to James David Gibson 
and wife, Steward Gibson, the father of Mrs. Powner, was the eldest. He 
was married in Pennsylvania to Mary Bell, who was the daughter of Jere- 
miah Bell, a colonel in the Revolutionary army. The Bells were of English 
descent and an intensely patriotic family. Col. Jeremiah Bell was a man of 
more than average ability. Until his buildings were burned by the British 
and his property confiscated by the king's army, he was the richest man in 
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. On the vast estate in Pennsylvania still 
stands the old colonial mansion, in good repair, kept just as it was during 
the War for Lidependence. Col. Jeremiah Bell served throughout the war 
and after its close, returned to his home and family, spending the rest of his 
life in Lancaster county. He married a Miss McCullough, a member of one 
of the old and prominent families of Pennsylvania, to which union there 
were born but two children, of whom Mar\', the mother of Mrs. Powner was 
the younger. Steward Gibson and Mary Bell were married about 1835 and 
lived in Pennsylvania until about 1850, when they came to Decatur county, 
Indiana. Their five children were born in Pennsylvania, and when I\Irs. 
Powner was five years old the family came to this county. L'pon their arrival 
in Decatur county they settled in Clay township, where their descendants 
now form a numerous connection. For his time. Steward Gibson was fairly 
prosperous and was a farmer and stock buyer, widely and favorably known 
throughout this county. In later life he moved to Oregon and lived with his 
eldest daughter, his death occurring in that state in 1900. 

The five children liorn to Steward and Mary (Bell) Gibson are as 
follow: Mrs. Jane Courtney, of Spokane, Washington; James David, of 
California; John Stewart, deceased, wlio lived in Kansas; Abigail, the widow 
of Mr. Powner, of this county, and Reuben, of Iowa. 

To James L. and Abigail (Gibson) Powner was born but one son, 
Elmer Margin, born on August 28, 1866, a bachelor, who lives with his 
mother on the home farm. Elmer M. Powner is a Republican, as was his 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



997 



father before him, and is a substantial citizen. Although a broad-minded 
and progressive citizen like his father, he is a man of quiet and unassuming 
manners, a great student of the literature of the day and a progressive and 
keen thinker. Mrs. Powner is a woman of far more than average ability. 
When she was left a widow, the farm which she now owns was heavily mort- 
gaged and she was without experience in the world of business. Most ser- 
iously handicapped for the want of experience, she grappled bravely with the 
problems of life as they confronted her and by virtue of her keen intelligence, 
she mastered these problems. She is today known as one of the substantial 
business women of Decatur county. Aside from her business ability, she is . 
a woman of striking personality, loved and respected by a legion of friends 
in Clay township. Mrs. Powner is now contemplating a trip to Pennsylvania 
to visit the old colonial homestead of her grandfather. Col. Jeremiah Bell, of 
Revolutionary fame. 



COL. BENJAMIN COREY SHAW. 

A generation ago the late Col. Benjamin Corey Shaw was one of 
Indiana's most distinguished and best-known citizens. Descended from an 
old English family and the son of the first white child born in the fort at 
Cincinnati, Ohio; a colonel in the Civil War and treasurer of state in Indiana, 
Colonel Shaw had indeed a distinguished record and one of which his 
descendants now living in Decatur county well may be proud. He was a man 
of wonderful ability, both native and acquired, a natural leader of men. 

Benjamin Corey Shaw was born near Oxford, Ohio. February 3, 1830, 
the son of James and Sarah (Stearns) Shaw, the former of whom was a 
native of England, who came to America when a mere lad. The latter was 
born in the old fort which stood on the site of the present city of Cincinnati, 
at that time no more than a trading post on the outpost of civilization. Sarah 
Stearns was probably the first white child born in Cincinnati, her mother 
having taken refuge in the fort after her husband had been murdered by the 
Indians. After his marriage, James Shaw settled on a farm near Oxford, 
Ohio, and there he reared his family of eight children, of whom Benjamin 
Corev was probably the fifth. The father died when this son was about 
fifteen or sixteen years old and the widowed mother, after bringing the family 
to Decatur county, married Isaac Wolverton, a prominent resident of this 
county. 

When about eighteen years old Benjamin C. Shaw left his mother's home 



998 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and went to Greensburg, where he learned the carriage builder's trade, in 
which he was engaged until the breaking out of the Civil War. At the first 
call for troops he joined the Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 
and was presently sent back home with a commission to organize another 
regiment. In obedience to this commission he organized the Sixty-eighth 
Regiment. Indiana Volunteer Infantry, of which he was colonel commanding 
until the battle of Winchester, in which engagement he was so severely 
wounded that it was necessary to send him home on account of disabilities. 
He later returned to the front, but his injuries had been too severe to permit 
further service, and he presently resigned his command. 

After the war Colonel Shaw returned to Greensburg and resumed work 
at his trade, but remained in business there only a short time, in 1866 remov- 
ing to Indianapolis, where he engaged in carriage and wagon building and 
created an extensive industry there. Eventually, he drifted into politics and 
in 1876 was elected treasurer of the state of Indiana, being re-elected in 
1878. He was always in the thick of the political fight and for years was 
one of the foremost counselors of the Democratic party in Indiana, for 
several terms serving as a member of the Democratic state central committee. 
He was a member of the Masonic order and a Knight Templar and also was 
adjutant-general of the Loyal Legion and a member of the Grand Army of 
the Republic. 

About 1882 Col. Benjamin C. Shaw moved to Toledo, Ohio, where he 
was engaged as superintendent for the Milburn wagon works. Later he took 
a position at Racine, Wisconsin, as manager of the plant at that place and 
became finally superintendent of the great Studebaker plant at South Bend. 
Upon leaving South Bend he returned to Indianapolis and shortly afterward 
was appointed chief of the registry department of the postofiice there, a posi- 
tion he held for eight years, or until his death, which occurred on April 10, 
1901, at his home in Indianapolis. 

On March 24, 1850, Benjamin Corey Shaw was married to Elizabeth A. 
Cov, the daughter of William and Sarah (Robinson) Coy, the former of 
whom was a native of Kentucky, who came to this section of Indiana very 
early in the settlement of the same and made a home in the wilderness, clear- 
ing the dense timber for that purpose. To this union were born eleven chil- 
dren, of which remarkable family only two. Miss Fannie and Mrs. Edna 
Shaw Byers, the wife of George W. Byers, are now living. The deceased 
children were Sarah Jane, Henry Clay, Mrs. Molly Shaw (Weller) Shaffer, 
of Indianapolis, Martha, Emma, Oliver Perry Morton, Ida, Etta and Eddie. 

Miss Fannie Shaw, one of the living children born to Colonel Shaw and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 999 

wife, was born in Greensburg in 1861, and when only four years old was 
taken by her parents to Indianapolis, to which place they removed at that 
time. She was educated in St. John's Academy and after her graduation 
returned home and remained with and cared for her father and mother as 
long as they lived. She is now living with her sister, Mrs. George Byers, to 
whom she has always been closely attached by the keenest ties of sisterly 
affection. Mrs. Byers was born on October 17, 1873. 

This remarkable family has brought honor and distinction to Decatur 
county and to the state of Indiana; in fact, honors which the two living 
■descendants appreciate highly. Colonel Shaw was more than a distinguished 
citizen ; he was a kind and loving father and his memory is cherished with 
the utmost devotion by his daughters. 



JAMES M. BYERS. 



James M. Byers, a prosperous farmer living two miles east of Burney, in 
Clay township, in this county, who owns two hundred and forty-five acres of 
gently undulating land, is one of the most useful citizens living in Decatur 
county. Highly spoken of by his neighbors, he has a host of friends in the 
county and is still active in farm work at the age of seventy years. 

James M. Byers was bom in Rush county, this state, in 1845, the son 
of James R. and Sarah (Carr) Byers, both natives of Kentucky, who came 
to Indiana about 1840, settling on a farm in Rush county, where they became 
prosperous citizens and well respected in the community. In 1857 they moved 
to Decatur county, locating on the farm now owned by their son, J. M. 
B)'ers, the subject of this sketch. James R. Byers was the son of John Byers, 
of Scotch-Irish descent, who came with a number of sturdy families to 
America and became an influential pioneer citizen of Kentucky. James R. 
Byers accumulated a great deal of valuable land in this county. His wife, 
Sarah Carr, who was born in Kentucky in 18 17, was the daughter of George 
Carr, also an early settler in this county. 

James M. Byers lived at home with his parents as long as they lived and 
has never married. At their death, he succeeded to the home farm, which he 
has operated ever since. Though an ardent Republican, he has never tried 
for political office, but has always been active in the campaigns of his party, 
and his influence is always counted on the right side of every public question. 
Friends are lavish in their praise of his character, his industry and his wise 



lOOO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and prudent management. He has a fertile farm and is comfortable and 
happy, enjoying the confidence and esteem of many friends. Any commun- 
ity or any county may well be proud of such a man as J. M. Byers. 



WILLIAM A. LAWSON. 

The late \\'illiam A. Lawson, at the time of his death, in 1904, was a 
prosperous farmer li\'ing five miles west of Greensburg and owned at the time 
of his death three hundred acres of land. During practically all of his life, 
he was a resident of what is known in this section as the Lawson neighbor- 
hood, and was one of the most highly respected citizens of the community. 

William A. Lawson was born in Virginia in the year 1837, the son of 
James and Jane (Jones) Lawson, natives of that state, who came to Decatur 
county over a ha\i century ago, and settled on what is now known as the 
Harrison Davis farm. They were prosperous citizens in their day and gen- 
eration and accumulated considerable property. There on that farm William 
A. Lawson grew to manhood and recei\-ed the rudiments of an education. 

In 1857, at the age of twenty years, William A. Lawson was married to 
Permelia Braden, the daughter of Jackson P. and Nancy (LeMasters) Bra- 
den, the former a native of Kentucky, of Irish descent, who came to Decatur 
county about 1823, settling in Clay township, where he rented land, now- 
owned by his descendants. At the time of his death, in 1857, Jackson Braden 
was the owner of fourteen hundred and eighty acres of land in Clay township. 
He was a prominent Democrat in his day and generation and a member of the 
Methodist church, assisting materially in the work of erecting the church at 
Mil ford. Mrs. Lawson, who was born on the old Braden homestead in 1839, 
is a splendid type of the hearty womanhood of pioneer times in Indiana. 

To Jackson P. and Nancy (LeMasters) Braden were born the following 
children: Euphemia, now deceased, who married Anderson Miers; Elizabeth, 
deceased, who was the wife of Evan Miers: Jane, deceased, who was the wife 
of Dr. J. L. Wooden, also deceased: Rebecca, deceased, who was the wife of 
John L. Miers: William, deceased; Marietta, the wife of Judge Roberts, of 
Colorado; Seth, deceased; James L., deceased; Sarah E., now deceased, who 
married James Davis; Permelia. the widow of Mr. Lawson; Mahala, who 
married Samuel H. Ewing; Seth, deceased, and a daughter who died in in- 
fancy. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Lawson settled on a farm near the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. lOOl 

old Lawson liomestead, near where Mrs. Lawson's father also had entered 
land, and in a region known as the Braden neighborhood, and there they 
made their home. To their union eleven children were born, namely : Seth, 
a farmer, who lives in Swinton, Missouri : Mrs. Jennie L. Gallentin, of 
Elreno, Oklahoma; Cora, who died in infancy; Mrs. Sarah Henderson, who 
died on February ii, 1895; Josephine, who lives with her mother; Mary, 
who married Carl Johnson of Clay township; Samuel, a farmer of Clay 
township, this county: Herschel, a farmer, of Swinton, Missouri; Cloe, who 
married Clarence Johnson, of Clay township, Decatur county, and two others 
who died in infancy. 

The late William A. Lawson was a prominent man during his day and 
generation. He and his wife did much to help lift the standard of citizenship 
in this county and to make this section the prosperous and successful agricul- 
tural community that it is today. William A. Lawson was a Democrat, a 
stanch believer in the principles of his party and an ardent worker in behalf 
of the party's success. Mrs. Lawson is a member of the Christian church at 
Milford, as was her late husband, and is a good Christian woman, a decided 
influence for good in the cnmnumity where she has lived so long, and enjoys 
the respect and esteem of all who know her. 



ALLEN JEWELL. 



Among the prosperous farmers living near Burney, in Decatur county, 
the venerable Allen Jewell, a veteran of the Civil War, is one of the most 
eminently respected of men, a substantial citizen who owns one hundred and 
sixty acres of fertile land in that community. 

Allen Jewell was born in this county on February 25, 1844, the son of 
Horace and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Jewell, the former of whom was born in 
Kentucky in 1808, a son of Allen Jewell, a native of Kentucky, and one of the 
pioneers in that state. In 1832 Horace Jewell came to Indiana from Ken- 
tucky, locating in this county, and here spent the rest of his life. He was a 
strong factor in the early development of this county, having been a leader in 
many of the movements which resulted in extensive public improvements. 
Throughout his life he was identified with the Whig party and was a member 
of the LTnited Brethren church. He was an honest and well-respected citizen 
and an ancestor of whom his descendants may be justly proud. He died in 
1873. Elizabeth Buchanan, to whom he was married in 1838, bore him eight 



I002 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

children, as follow: Eliza Jane, who married Thomas Townsend; Luduska, 
who married William Pumphry, of Decatur county ; Melconia, who married 
James Lawson ; Allen, the subject of this sketch; James C, who lives in 
Bartholomew county: Elijah J., who lives in Arkansas: Mary Emily, who 
married Cyrus Pumphrey, of Bartholomew county, and Noah, deceased. 

Allen Jewell was a lad of seventeen years when the Civil War broke out 
and he joined the Seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, commanded 
by Colonel Welsh. On the first day of the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 
1864, he was taken prisoner and was confined in the Confederate prison pen 
at Anderson\-ille for ten months. Upon being- exchanged he was discharged 
'on March 25, 1865. The war terminating shortly thereafter, he returned to 
Decatur county. During his services as a Union soldier he participated in the 
battles of Winchester, Virginia, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Antietam, 
Gettysburg. Greensborough and South Mountain, his active service terminat- 
ing at the battle of the Wilderness, where he was captured. 

In 1867 Allen Jewell was united in marriage to Fannie Pumphrey, 
'daughter of Eli and Elizabeth (Knight) Pumphrey, prominent residents of 
this county, and to this union one son was born, J. E. Jewell, born in 1869, 
a bachelor, who has always remained on the home farm with his father, the 
two being in partnership in operating the farm. Mrs. Jewell died in 1898. 

Mr. Jewell and his son, J. E., are both ardent Republicans, always having 
been stanch and true to the party of Lincoln, and Allen Jewell is a member of 
the Baptist church. J. E. Jewell is a member of the Masonic lodge at M\\- 
ford. While intensely patriotic and loyal in his pohtical affiliations and 
beliefs, Allen Jewell has never sought office. He and his son have a com- 
fortable, happy home, when old-fashioned hospitality may be found in abund- 
ance. Their present fine home, one mile east of the pleasant village of Bur- 
ney, was erected in 1898, the commodious barn, forty by forty-four feet, 
having been built in the same year, the other improvements on the farm being 
in keeping with the substantial character of the two central buildings. The 
house is a comfortable and convenient nine-room dwelling, of modern con- 
struction, with hot-water heating plant, one of the pleasantest homes there- 
about. Allen Jewell started without a dollar, but he and his wife, by good 
management and industry, accumulated the snug fortune of which thev were 
possessed at the time of Mrs. Jewell's death, and which Mr. Jewell still 
prudently conserves, a fortune honorably won, the fruit of honest toil. Allen 
Jewell is one of the best citizens of Decatur county ; broad-minded, liberal and 
a clear thinker. Patriotic in his devotion to his country and a Christian man 
in every respect, he is held in the highest regard throughout the whole countv 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IOO3 

JOHN T. MYERS. 

One of the well-recognized functions of a publication such as this is. is to 
recognize those citizens who represent most ably the various vocations and 
the various spheres of human endeavor. In this connection the life and 
works of John T. Myers, a well-known farmer of Clay township, this county, 
should be mentioned, he being the owner of a productive farm of fifty-six 
and three-quarters acres, a part of the old Richard Wright homestead. 

John T. Wright was born on the Myers horiiestead, in Clay township, this 
count}', in 1851, the son of William H. and Elizabeth (Annis) Myers, the 
former of whom was born in Kentucky, a son of George Myers, also a native 
of that state, who came to Decatur county in pioneer times. Frank Myers, 
the father of George Myers, was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, who 
moved to Kentucky at an early day in the settlement of that state. 

William H. Myers, who died in 1906, was a successful farmer and owned 
about three hundred acres of land in this county. He was a Democrat in 
politics, a member of the Liberty Baptist church, and was highly respected 
in his community. Of the nine children born to William H. and Elizabeth 
Myers, four, William M., Mrs. Alice Sanders, Mrs. Elsie Sharp and Monroe 
M., are deceased. The living children are James A., George M., John T., 
Mrs. Ida May Johnson, of Indianapolis and Merritt Elwood, of Oklahoma. 

Reared on a farm in this county, John T. Myers was married in 1875 
to Minnie Wright, daughter of Richard and Luvicia (Stark) Wright, the 
former of whom was a native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, who came to 
this county in pioneer times. He settled in Clay township on a farm that 
his father had entered from the government, the same being the one now 
■owned by John T. Myers. A successful farmer, he spent the rest of his days 
in Clay township and his word was known to be as good as his bond. He 
was a member of the Democratic party and was elected trustee of Clav town- 
ship. Religiously, he was identified with the Baptist church, having been one 
of the founders of the church at Liberty ; in fact, having given the ground 
upon which the church was built, and was also one of the trustees of that 
church and a deacon. His wife was a daughter of Caleb S. and Anne 
fBoone) Stark, the latter of whom was one of the characteristic women of 
her generation, of a strong and fearless character, a cousin of Col. Daniel 
Boone, of Kentucky. Luvicia Wright was a woman widely known for her 
charitable disposition, who was always ready to lend a helping hand to the 
needy. She also was a member of the pioneer Baptist church. 

Of the children bom to Richard and Luvicia (Stark) Wright, four are 



1004 DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 

deceased. The living children are Sarah L., who married Theodore McGee, 
of Iowa; Caleb S., of Decatur county; R. T. W., of Colorado Springs, Colo- 
rado; Minnie A., who married Mr. Myers, and Loda W., of Westport. The 
deceased children were Frances Catherine, Charles W., William \X. and 
Ruth A. 

r^ollowing his marriage Mr. Myers settled on a farm near Horace and 
has succeeded very well as a farmer ; but, better than his success in business, 
is the honor and respect which he enjoys in the community in which he lives. 
Although a stanch Democrat, politically, he has always been an independent 
thinker and to some extent votes independently. 

To John T, and Minnie (Wright) Myers have been born four children, 
one of whom, Lula M., died in infancy. The living children are Charles, 
born in 1876, .who lives in Connersville, Indiana; Frank, 1878, who lives in 
Clay toM'nship, this county, and Forrest M., 1889, who lives at home with his 
parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Myers are members of the Liberty Baptist church and 
their children have been reared in that faith, the family being eminently 
respected in that community. 



JOHN HUNTER. 



The respect which should be accorded to the brave sons of the North, 
who left their homes and the peaceful pursuits of civil life to give their ser- 
vices and their lives, if need be, to preserve the integrity of the Union, is due 
the memory of the late John Hunter, of Clay township, this county, who at 
the time of his death, owned a farm of one hundred and twenty-two acres of 
excellent land on the Greensburg pike. 

The late John Hunter was born on May 2, 1842, the son of Lewis and 
Maria (Martin) Hunter, natives of Indiana. When a young man he came 
to this county and became a successful farmer. 

During the early period of the Civil War, when the Thirty-seventh Regi- 
ment Indiana Volunteer Infantry was being recruited, John Hunter joined 
Company H, of that regiment, and served altogether three years and forty 
days. He was a brave and efficient soldier and returned home with honors 
for his valiant service. In the severe engagement at Dug Gap, Georgia, he 
was wounded and was laid up three months. 

At the close of the war, Mr. Hunter came back to Decatur county and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IOO5 

was married on August i6, 1866, to Mahala Davis, a daughter of Mathias 
and Elizabeth (Miers) Davis, natives of Decatur county and members of 
old and prominent families. To this union were born eight children, namely : 
Mrs. Annie Hunter, deceased; Lewis M., of Montana; George W., deceased; 
Mathias D., who lives on a farm five miles east of Greensburg, in this county; 
John F., of Colorado; William R., deceased; Albert E. E., of Clay township, 
this county, and E\-erett R., also of Clay township, this county. On July 2^], 
1908, Everett R. Hunter was united in marriage to Minnie Ramer, of Shelby 
county, this state, daughter of Joseph and Etna (Risk) Ramer, the former a 
native of Ripley county, Indiana, and the latter a native of Decatur county, 
who are now living on a farm in Clay township, this county, and to this union 
has been born one child, a son, John L. B.-, born on September 8, 1909. 

Mrs. Mahala Hunter died on December 8, 1891, and on May 2, 1893, 
Mr. Hunter married, secondly, Kittie Miers, a daughter of T. J. and Oliva 
(King) Miers, the latter of whom was the daughter of John G. and Sarah 
(Ewing) King, well known in this county. John G. King was a prosperous 
farmer and, at one time in his life owned several hundred acres of land. His 
family were early settlers in Decatur county and became permanently estab- 
lished in the agricultural life of this section and in the affections of the people. 
To this second marriage there were born four children, as follow: Mary J., 
born on March 28, 1894; Joseph Dewey, May 25, 1898; Roberta E., Novem- 
ber 8, 1899, and Edith Irene, July 12, 1901. The Hunter family is considered 
one of the well-to-do and prominent families in this county. The Hunter 
farm is one of the richest in Decatur county and is composed mostly of level 
black soil of great fertility. 

Mrs. Hunter was educated in the common schools of Decatur county and 
in the teachers' training school at St. Paul, Indiana, which was in charge of 
L. D. Braden at that period. After finishing her education, Mrs. Hunter 
taught school for one year before she was married. She is a woman of most 
genial presence, kind and loving, broad-minded and liberal in her views ; a 
typical woman of this century. 

The late John Hunter was always a Republican, taking a great interest 
in the welfare of his party, yet he was somewhat independent in liis \oting, 
more of a patriot than a partisan. He was a charter member of the Knights 
of Pythias lodge at Burney and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic 
at Greensburg. He passed away on September 25, 1910, at the age of sixty- 
eight years, full of honors in the comnninit}' w^here his life had Ijeen spent. 
John Hunter was a progressive citizen in the broader sense of the word and 
his loss was keenly felt and widely mourned by the people of the township in 
which his influence had so long been exerted for good. 



I006 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JOHN A. .MIRES. 

It is interesting to note tlie growth and development of the county from' 
the beginning, to follow its lines of progress and especially the vocational 
bent of its citizens in the work of advancing the material interest of the com- 
munity. John A. Mires, a well-known farmer of Clay township, this county, 
and the proprietor of a beautiful and fertile farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres on the Columbus & Greensburg pike, six miles from Greensburg, is one 
of the strong and sturdy citizens of Decatur county, who has especially helped 
to ])ri:imote the agricultural development of the count}- : who is an up-to-date 
farmer and business man, a public-spirited citizen and progressi\'e in all of 
the relations of life. 

John A. Mires was born in Clay township. Decatur county, Indiana, in 
1867, the son of Thomas J. and Sarilda (Kingl Mires, both natives of 
Decatur county, the former of whom was the son of Anderson and Euphemia 
(Eraden) Mires, Euphemia Braden having been one of the daughters of 
Jackson Braden, a prominent pioneer of this county. Thomas J. Mires early 
in life purchased t]:e .\be Ewing farm near the Ewington postoffice on the 
Columbus & Greensburg pike, and there spent the rest of his life, his death 
occurring when he was about hfty-eight years of age. He was a successful 
farmer and had a host of friends. About 1865 Thomas J. Mires was mar- 
ried to Sarilda King, and to this union six chihlren were born of whom John 
.\., the subject of this sketch, was the eldest. 

.-Vfter living at home until he had reached his majority John A. Mires 
was married, in 1888, to Fannie Pavy. daughter of Ralph P. and Nancy 
(Davis) Pavy, the former of whom was the son of John and Mary (Stewart) 
Pavy. John Pavy was born near \'evay. in Switzerland county, this state, 
and was a brother of Jefferson Pavy, the father of the Pavy sisters, further 
reference to whom is made elsewhere in this volume. Born in Vevay, 
Indiana, on July 2-:^. 1824, Ralph P. Pavy came to Decatur county in 1837 
and settled in Clay township nn the farm where he spent the rest of his life, 
his father also dying there. Ralph P. Pavy was a man of literary talent, 
though handicapped by meager educational ad\-antages. He had a powerful 
mind, the influence of which was felt in Decatur and surrounding counties. 
.■\ teacher by profession, he taught his first school in Clay township in 1844, 
when twenty-five years old, and was intimately acquainted with Edward 
Eggleston. He was deeplv interested in civic affairs and served as county 
assessor of Decatur county. His father, John Pavy, was a skillful carpenter, 



1 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. lOO/ 

\vho built the house which is still standing on the farm owned by John A. 
Mires, the farm still being known as the old Pavy farm. This house was 
built in 1839 and is one of the oldest houses standing in Decatur county. 
John. Pavy also was a Baptist preacher and was said to have been the most 
highly educated minister of his day in this section. Though farming was 
his occupation, he preached on .Sundays at Greensburg; a pure labor of love, 
for he received no pay for his services. 

In iS^Ci Ralph P. Pavy was married to Nancy Davis, who was born in 
Kentucky in 1827 and who died in March, 191 5, at the age of eighty-eight 
years. She was a daughter of James and Martha (Smothers) Davis. James 
Davis was a prominent farmer of Frankfort county, Kentucky, a member 
of the Baptist church and a man of strong religious convictions, who went to 
Jennings county, Indiana, and settled on a farm where he spent the rest of 
his life, rearing a family of eleven children, of whom all are now dead save 
Mrs. Elizabeth Brett, widow of Thomas Brett, of Bartsville, Bartholomew 
county, this state. To Ralph P. and Nancv (Davis) Pavy were born the 
following children: Jane, who married John Burney: \V. S., who married 
Eliza McCintic ; Lucy, who married John Umpshire ; Mary, who married 
Commodore James, and Fannie, who married John A. Mires. 

Always interested in politics, the late Ralph P. Pavy cast his first vote for 
General Scott, the Whig candidate for President, in [848. In 1856 he became 
a Republican and was a patriotic supporter of the Union arm\' during the 
Civil War. He was a member of the Christian church at Milford and when 
he died his funeral was the largest ever witnessed in Decatur county up to- 
that time. 

Mrs. John A. Mires was born on November 11, 1866, in Clay township 
and was educated in the common schools of that township and at Hartsville 
College, where she studied music. After her graduation, she taught music 
in Decatur county for five years <ir until her marriage in 1889 to Mr. Mires. 
Mr. and 3.Jrs. Mires ha\'e had one son, Ralph, who was born on September 
15. 1892. He married Alpha Hancock and the young couple live with Mr. 
and Mrs. Mires. After their marriage. John A. Mires and wife started life 
on the old Pavy farm, which they still own and where they still live. From 
1903 until her death, Mrs. Mires's mother lived with them. 

At the close of Cleveland's last administration. Air. Mires purchased his 
farm, going in debt for the entire tract, and it is now clear of all encum- 
brances. John A. ]\rires is a man of pleasing manners and well respected by 
all who know him. He is a progressive farmer and has a fertile and highly- 
productive farm, which he is operating with much success, specializing in the 



I008 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

raising of hogs and mules. He is a Republican, but more a patriot than a 
partisan. A man of strong convictions, his party must be right to win his 
support. Mr. and ]\Irs. Mires are members of the Christian church at Mil- 
ford and are held in the highest esteem throughout that section of the county 
in which their influence has been for years so strongly exerted in behalf of 
all goods things. 



JONATHAN L. ALLEY. 

Jonathan L. Alley, a farmer living four and one-half miles southeast of 
Burney, in Clay township, this county, was born in 1865, the son of Samuel 
B. and Nancy (Selby) Alley, the former of whom was born in Franklin 
county, this state, on January 6, iSig, the son of Cyrus and Charity (Nelson) 
Alley, the latter of whom was the daughter of Daniel Nelson, whose brother, 
Thomas Nelson, Jr., was one of the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. 

Cyrus Alley was born in Virginia in 1792, the son of Samuel Alley, 
whose wife, a Hollander, was one of a shipload of Dutch girls sent over 
from Holland, whose passage was paid for by their prospective husbands, 
one hundred pounds of tobacco being the fare for such passenger. Samuel 
Alley was a native of England, a member of an aristocratic family and one 
of the early settlers of Virginia. Cyrus Alley migrated with his family from 
Virginia to the spot where Cincinnati, Ohio, is now situated and after remain- 
ing there for a short time pushed on to Franklin county, this state. Later 
he came to Decatur county, bringing with him his family, and his father, 
Samuel, w^ho received the first deed in Clay township. Cyrus Alley arrived 
in Decatur county about i8j8 and entered land in Clay township, where his 
descendants live to this day. He was a prosperous farmer and a broad- 
minded man and reared a large family of children, of whom Samuel B. was 
one of the youngest. 

When Samuel B. Alley was about twenty-two years old he was married 
to Nancy Selby, who was the daughter of Joshua and Lydia (Townscnd) 
Selby, the latter of whom was born in 1824 in Harrison county, Kentucky. 
Joshua Selby was a native of England, who came to America when a young 
man, settled in Virginia and later migrated to Kentucky, where he married 
and reared his family. He was a minister in the New Light church and a 
large slave-holder, who, after going over to the Christian church, became con- 
vinced that slavery was not consistent with religion, and one Sunday morn- 



DECATUR COUNTY. INDIANA. IOO9 

ing after holding a meeting of prayer, freed his slaves. This action was so 
strongly condemned by the people of his community that he left Kentucky 
and came with his family to Decatur county, where he became a strong factor 
in the life of the newer community. He and his wife reared a large family, 
Nancy, the mother of J. L. Alley, being one of the youngest of these children. 
She was married to Samuel B. Alley in Decatur county. They settled on a 
farm in Clay township and became prosperous. Samuel B. Alley was a mem- 
ber of the Christian church and a man of resolute and fearless character as 
well as of generous disposition and was widely known in this county, his 
home being famous for its hospitality, a popular stopping place for stock 
buyers and travelers. He died in September, 1892, his wife having preceded 
him to the grave aljout eight years before, her death having occurred in 
February, 1884. 

To Samuel B. and Nancy ( Selby) Alley were born seven children, as 
follow : Mary E., who married Newton Hanks, now deceased ; Mrs. Charity 
Henderson, who lives in Oklahoma; Hiram O., of Oklahoma City: Joshua S., 
of Shelby county, Indiana ; Mrs. Elizabeth Wasson, of Burney, this county ; 
Mrs. Ida M. Howard, wife of James Howard, who lives on a part of the old 
Samuel B. Alley homestead, and Jonathan L., the subject of this sketch. 

Born on the old Alley homestead on September 27, 1865, Jonathan L. 
Alley grew to manhood on the Clay township farm and was educated in the 
common schools of that neighborhood. When he was twenty-two years old 
he was married to Lucy Ewing, a daughter of Joshua Ewing, one of the 
triplets born to Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Ewing, pioneers of this section, whose 
family historv is to be found elsewhere in this volume, and to this union four 
children ha\'e been born, namely : Samuel B., Jr., who died on July 12, 1889; 
Alice E.. who died on February 6, 1893; Hester Allie, wife of Dr. E. A. 
Porter, of Burney, and Gail S., at home. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Alley settled on a farm near the 
Noroo school and accumulated considerable property. But a chain of unfor- 
tunate circumstances befell them and with fires, droughts and the panic of 
i8'93 they suffered considerable financial loss. In connection with his general 
farming, Mr. Alley engages extensively in stock raising, in which he has had 
much success, making a specialty of Duroc -Jersey hogs, also maintaining 
quite a herd of dairy cattle. 

Like his ancestors, J. L. Alley is a Democrat in politics. He is a member 
■of the Presbvterian church, the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of 
Pythias, and was master of the Milford lodge for three years. His father 
(64) 



lOIO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

also a Mason. While Mr. Alley does not own land, he is what might be 
called a large farmer, and is one of those men who may be depended upon to 
regain his fortune. He is well known and well liked in the community in 
which he resides and is held in high esteem. 



LAWRENCE O. BLACKMORE. 

The late Lawrence O. Blackmore, scion of an old American family, was 
bom in Shelby county, Kentucky, in 1818, the son of Owen \V. and Eliza 
(Fulton) Blackmore, and the eldest of a family of six children. In 1835 
Owen Blackmore and his family came to Decatur county and settled on a 
farm in Washington township, now owned by W. E. Jackson, where they 
lived for several years, later moving to another farm which they purchased. 
A man of strong and generous characteristics, Owen Blackmore was highly 
respected. He was a Republican and a devout member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. He died in 1885. 

Lawrence O. Blackmore was born in Kentucky in 18 18, and in 1840 was 
married to Elizabeth Finley, who died in 1842. In 1844 he married, secondly, 
Nancy Jane Houston, to which union was born one son, James Blackmore. 
Mr. Blackmore's second wife died in 1846, and in 1848 he married Frances 
W. M^allace, a daughter of John and Jane (Ouigley) Wallace, the former of 
whom was a native of Maryland, the scion of an old and wealthy family of 
that state, who came to this county with his family from Rockridge county, 
Virginia, in 1837. To this third marriage seven children were born, namely: 
Mrs. Eliza Jane Smiley, the widow of George W. Smiley; Lawrence O., of 
Clay township, this county : Sarah H. ; Samuel Edgar, of Shelby county ; 
Elisha W., deceased; Lenora Anne, who died in infancy, and Mrs. Frances 
Olive Crawford, the wife of Doctor Crawford, of Milford. Of these children 
Miss Sarah H. Blackmore owns ninety-six acres of gently undulating farm 
land and lives in the old ancestral home of the Blackmores, called "The 
Pines." She was born on August 20, 1852. 

Lawrence O. Blackmore was one of the substantial citizens of Decatur 
county and was highly respected. One of his strong characteristics was his 
generosity. He reared a large family, but was always helping others who 
were less fortunate than himself. He was a Republican in politics and a 
member of the Methodist church. He was a man of strong convictions and 
of great culture and wide information, possessing a great love for his family. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. lOI I 

He died on September i8, 1893, and his passing was widely and sincerely 
mourned. He was a man who always saw the higher side of life and his 
daughter. Sarah Blackmore, accounts for his sturdy traits of character as 
having been inherited from his father's family, and for his refinement and 
culture as having been inherited from his mother's family. 

Of Owen W. Blackmore, it may be said that he was born in Maryland 
or Virginia in 1793. His father's Christian name is not known, but his 
mother's maiden name was Mary Wilson. She was a daughter of John 
Wilson, a native of Maryland, of English origin, members of a wealthy and 
distinguished family that owned a great deal of land where Washington, 
D. C, now stands. John Wilson was a Federalist in politics and a man of 
large mold, both mentally and physically. He was one of the patriots of his 
time, strong in his convictions and a natural leader of men. He owned a 
palatial home and a vast estate in Maryland. It is said that he owned so 
many slaves that he did not knok all of them. He was the father of a laree 
family, of whom Mary Wilson, the grandmother of Miss Blackmore was 
one. 

About 1 816 Owen W. Blackmore was married in Kentucky to Eliza 
Eulton. daughter of David and Nancy (Rankin) Fulton, who was born in 
1798 and died in 1847, at the age of forty-eight. Her father, David Fulton, 
was born in 1771. The Fultons were an old and aristocratic southern family, 
distinguished in many lines of endeavor in which they engaged. Nancy 
(Rankin) Fulton, the great-grandfather of Miss Sarah Blackmore, was born 
in 1776, the year made historic by the declaration of American Independence. 
Her grave and that of her husband are enclosed by a stone wall in a field on 
the old Fulton farm in Shelby county, Kentucky, the only graves on the farm, 
the substantial old wall being a monument to the noble character of the 
deceased as well as a mark of the love of their descendants, who have too 
much reverence for the graves of their venerated ancestors to erect a more 
pretentious monument. 

When Owen W. Blackmore was a mere lad his father died and his 
mother married a second time, which act so enraged her father and her 
brothers-in-law, that they kidnapped the lad and took him to Kentucky, where 
he grew to manhood. 

On the old Blackmore farm in Clay township, Decatur county, now 
owned by Miss Sarah Blackmore, is a spot made historic by the "Hoosier 
School Master." Before the robbery recounted in that story, the robbers met 
at a place on Miss Blackmore's farm and she has seen the poplar fence rail 
which the robbers whittled while they were waiting. Miss Blackmore's 



IOI2 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

mother relates an interesting incident of Revolutionary days, a tradition 
handed down by her father. During the Revolution, John Wallace, then a 
little boy, was sent by his mother to town to buy a teakettle and to pay for this 
kettle he was given five hundred dollars in Continental money. John Wal- 
lace, the grandfather of Miss Blackmore, was a soldier in the War of 1812, 
and Owen W. Blackmore, her grandfather, was also a soldier in this war. 

The Blackmores, the Fultons and the Wallaces, ancestors of Miss Sarah 
Blackmore, have been prominent in the life of this country and have added 
distinction and honor to Decatur county, in which many of the members of 
this family and of their descendants have figured so conspicuously. 



E.STILL A. GIBSON. 



Very few young men living in Clay township, this county, are so well 
known as Estill A. Gibson, for many years a capable and successful teacher 
of Decatur county, who is now engaged in the mercantile business at Horace. 

Estill A. Gibson was born in Grant county, Kentucky, on September 16, 
1885. the son of William and Mary (Dunn) Gibson, natives of Grant county, 
Kentucky, the former of whom was born there about 1857, and who came to 
Decatur county in 1905, purchasing a farm near Burney, where he now 
lives in a pleasant, modern home. William Gibson is the son of William 
Gibson, Sr., a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, who in his early life removed to 
Kentucky and became an intimate companion of Davy Crockett, with whom 
he experienced many thrilling adventures in different parts of the country. 
William Gibson, Sr., accompanied Davy Crockett on his famous western 
trip and made many exploring expeditions with him. He was a Democrat in 
politics and a man of great natural ability, being especially well informed on 
Biblical literature and kindred topics. Although a great reader he had had 
few educational advantages. Born in 1810, he died in 1896, leaving five 
children, of whom William Gibson is the eldest. The latter was born in 
Kenton county, Kentucky, in 1857 and, like his father, endured the hardships 
of pioneer life. He had not the advantages of a liberal education, but was a 
natural lover of reading and educated himself largely by home study, pos- 
sessing today a wide knowledge of historical literature, having read a great 
deal of "Ridpath's History of the World." As was his father, William Gib- 
son is a Democrat and has always been interested in politics. He is a mem- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IOI3 

ber of the Baptist church, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and active 
both in the church and the lodge. In 1884 he was married to Mary Dunn, 
who was born in 1859, the daughter of James Harry and Caroline (Barker) 
Dunn, natives of Kentucky, members of old and well-established families in 
Harrison county, that state, the Barkers being a very prosperous family, in 
whose veins flowed a strong strain of the blue blood for which the state of 
Kentucky is famous, and to this union five children have been born, namely: 
Estill H., the subject of this sketch; Ernest, who lives in Minnesota; Caroline, 
the wife of Clyde Layton. of Decatur county; Cora, who died in 1897, and 
Floyd, who is at home. 

Beginning life for himself at a very early age, Estill A. Gibson has 
attained a practical and broad education by dint of hard work and in the face 
of many discouragements. He received the rudiments of an education in the 
common schools of Grant county. Kentucky, later attended the Williamstown 
high school and. since coming to Indiana, the Marion Normal School. He 
began teaching in 1903 in Kentucky and after his first term attended the 
University of Kentucky at Lexington. After teaching another year in Ken- 
tucky he came to Decatur county with his parents in 1906, and began teaching 
in Decatur county in the winter, attending normal schools in the summer. 
After teaching for nine consecutive years he abandoned the profession and 
entered the mercantile business at Burney. After being thus engaged for a 
short time, he sold his store at Burney and moved to Horace, where he is now 
engaged in business and is doing very well. 

In 1908 Estill A. Gibson was married to Stella E. Porter, the daughter of 
Mathias R. and Mary S. (Sturgis) Porter. Mathias R. Porter was born in 
Decatur county in 1848. At the beginning of the Civil War he enlisted in the 
Seventieth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for 
three years, being a participant in numerous sever engagements. He finally 
was sex-erely wounded and was brought home. Mrs. Gibson was one of sev- 
eral children born to her parents. Her sister, Georgia, married Orlando 
Robinson, of Horace. She herself was Iiorn on July 16, 1884, in Clay town- 
ship and was educated in the common schools of Decatur countv and at the 
State Normal School at Terre Haute. \Mien seventeen years old she, too, 
began teaching, and taught for nine terms. To Mr. and Mrs. Gibson one 
child has been born, a son, Rupert Porter Gibson, who was born in 1912. 

Like his father, E. A. Gibson has always l)een interested in politics and 
is one of the leaders in the councils of the Democratic party in this county. 
He has a good business in the town of Horace, where he lives, and is highly 
spoken of by the people of that community. 



IOI4 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

WILLIAM DAVIS. 

Not many years ago in Clay township, this county, a young farmer began 
his married Hfe with less than one thousand dollars and within seven years 
he owned live hundred and thirteen acres of land, all of which he made and 
paid for himself. This enterprising farmer is William Davis, a well- 
known citizen of Clay township, whose home farm of two hundred and eleven 
acres lies eight miles southwest of Greensburg. 

William Davis, the son of George T. and Mary (Case) Davis, was born 
in Sand Creek township, Decatur county, in 1848, and lived on the old home 
farm until twenty-one years of age. George T. Davis was a native of Frank- 
lin county, born in 18 18, who died on January 17, 1909, at the age of ninety- 
one years. He came to Decatur county when a young man, after his mar- 
riage, and settled on a farm in Sand Creek township, where he spent the rest 
of his life. He was a successful farmer and accumulated considerable land, 
being the owner of one hundred and eighty acres at the time of his death. 
George T. Davis was the son of Robert Davis, who came to Decatur county 
in pioneer times and entered three eighty-acre tracts, which, later in life, he 
gave to his children. At the time this land was given to George T. Davis by 
his father he set out some locust trees that are still standing. A member of 
the Whig party until 1856, George T. Davis became a Republican upon the 
formation of the latter party. He was a member of the Masonic lodge at 
Westport and of the Baptist church at Letts. He and his wife were the 
parents of eleven children, of whom seven are still living, namely : William, 
the subject of this sketch ; Isane, of Iowa ; Thomas C, of Tennessee ; Alartha, 
of Vernon, Indiana ; John, of Letts Corner, this covmty ; Lavina, who married 
John Jerris, of Marion township, this county, and Mrs. Hannah Brown, of 
Connersville, Indiana. 

In 1870 William Davis was married to Harriet Hunter, the daughter 
of Lewis and Mirah (Martin) Hunter, both natives of Dearborn county, this 
state, the former of whom was born in 180^1 and died in 1859, and the latter 
of whom was born in 18 14 and died in 1848. Lewis Hunter moved from 
Dearliorn county to Jennings county in an early day and spent the rest of his 
life in that county. After the marriage of Mr. Davis, in 1870, he and his 
wife lived on a farm and he worked by the month. After a few years of 
hard and diligent labor, he rented a farm and finally purchased two hundred 
and ninety-nine acres, paying seven or eight thousand dollars for the prop- 
erty. He paid this debt off in seven years and then purchased two hundred 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IOI5 

and thirteen acres more, having come to own, within seven years, five hundred 
and thirteen acrees. At that early period he received no financial assistance 
and was not benefited by any legacies. He has made his money from the 
live-stock business, buying, feeding and selling cattle and hogs. For years he 
was a large dealer in live stock and some weeks shipped between five and ten 
thousand head of hogs, mostly to Louisville. 

To William and Harriet (Hunter) Davis two children have beeen born, 
James G., who farms the home place, married Mrs. Dora Stout, widow of 
Albert Stout, and daughter of Herman Myer, and has three children, George 
W., Mary and Denzel D., and Nora, who married Ralph McGee, of Greens- 
burg, a farmer, and has one child, a daughter, Orpha. Mr. and Mrs. Davis 
are members of the Baptist church and are regarded as among the leaders in 
the good works of their community. 

Mr. Davis is a Republican and is a strong believer in the Republican 
principles. He was beaten by only one vote for trustee in Sand Creek town- 
ship, at a time when the normal majority of the opposition was one hundred. 
Fraternally, he is a memlier of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at 
Greensburg. First and last a stockman, Mr. Davis feeds about fifty head of 
cattle every year and has two silos. The land is gently rolling and originally 
grew sugar trees and walnut, as well as yellow poplar. Broad-minded in his 
views and charitable in his attitude towards others, Mr. Davis is always 
ready to help the unfortunate and is a good, strong, substantial citizen. 



LAWRFNCE O. BLACKMORE. 

On a beautiful farm of three hundred acres, one-half mile east of Mil- 
ford, in Clay township, Decatur county, there live Mr. and Mrs. L. O. Black- 
more, among the most prominent and influential residents of the coimty. 
They are well-to-do farmers, surrounded with all of the comforts and many 
of the lu.xuries which life in the country now so generously offers. Mr. and 
Mrs. Blackmore are very well circumstanced and spend their winters in 
Florida. 

L. O. Blackmore, son of Lawrence O. and Frances (Wallace) Black- 
more, was bom in 1850 on the old Blackmore homestead in this county. The 
late Lawrence O. Blackmore was the son of Owen W. and Fliza (Fulton) 
Blackmore, the former of whom was born in Maryland or Virginia in 1793, 
his mother, a daughter of John Wilson, a native of Maryland, of English 



IOl6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

origin, member of a wealthy and distinguished family that owned a large 
amount of land where Washington. D. C, now stands. Eliza Fulton was the 
daughter of Da\'id and Nancy ( Rankin) Fulton, of an old and aristocratic 
southern family, distinguished in many lines of endeavor. On another page 
of this volume there is presented in detail, in a nieninrial sketch relating to- 
the late L. O. Blackmore, father of the subject of this sketch, a history of 
these interesting families, to which the reader is respectfully referred in this 
connection. 

The late Lawrence O. Blackmore was the eldest of a family of six chil- 
dren. He married Frances W. Wallace, daughter of John and Jane (Ouigley) 
Wallace, the former of whom was a native of Maryland, who came to this 
county with his family from Rockridge county, Virginia, in 1837, and to this 
union were born se\en children, as follow : Mrs. Eliza Jane .Smiley, widow 
of George W. Smiley ; Lawrence O., the subject of this sketch : Sarah H. ; 
Samuel Edgar, of Shelby county; Elisha W., deceased; Lenora Ann, who- 
died in infancy, and Frances Olive, the wife of Doctor Crawford, of Milford. 

L. O. Blackmore was educated in the common schools of E)ecatur county 
and spent one year at Holbrook Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. He was 
about ten years old when the Civil War broke out and, near the close of that 
struggle, tried to enlist, but his father, finding out his intentions, promptly 
put him to work hoeing corn, which soon dissipated his desire for warfare. 
When about twentv-five years old, Mr. Blackmore began life for himself. 
He rented land for six years and during that time accumulated some two- 
thousand dollars, which sum he paid on the farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres. As a matter of fact, he spent one thousand dollars in improvements 
and thus had only a one-thousand-dollar equity in the farm, which cost him 
six thousand dollars. Mr. Blackmore has added to this original tract until 
he now owns three hundred acres, having paid from fifty to one hundred and 
ten dollars an acre for his land. His money has been made from corn, hogs 
and cattle, and he now has an admirably improved farm. A partner whom he 
took into the farming business eight years ago is now worth at least ten 
thousand dollars, a distinct evidence that agriculture on the Blackmore farm 
is lieing made to pay. 

Li 1877 L. O. Blackmore was married to Fannie C. O'Byrne. the daugh- 
ter of Henry O'Byrne, a native of L-eland, who came to America and settled 
in Franklin county. ]\Irs. Blackmore's mother, who was a Barbour, was a 
native of that county. Henry O'Byrne was a successful business man and 
farmer and died at the age of about fifty years, being the owner of al)out 
twelve hundred acres of land. Mrs. Blackmore spent five years in the Oxford 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 101/ 

Female College at Oxford, Ohio, and was graduated in 1875. Upon her 
graduation she went to Indianapolis and spent two years there, at the end of 
which time she and Mr. Blackmore were married. She is a cultured and 
refined woman and a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
at Milford, to which church Mr. Blackmore also is attached, they being 
regarded as among the leaders in all good works thereabout. Mr. Blackmore 
is a Republican and takes an intelligent interest in the political affairs of the 
county. He is a stockholder in the Third National Bank at Greensburg and 
prominent, not only in agricultural circles, but in the financial circles of this- 
county. There are no more highly respected citizens living in Decatur county 
than Mr. and Mrs. L. O. Blackmore, and they are held in the highest esteem 
in their large circle of friends. 



JAMES HOWARD. 

One of the successful farmers, strong and conservative characters, good 
citizens and ardent Democrats of Clay township, this county, is James How- 
ard, who owns sixty-six acres of splendid land in that township, three miles 
northwest of Burney and three miles southwest of Milford. 

James Howard was born in Xoble township, Shelby county, Indiana, in 
1861, the son of John and Mary ( Pullen) Howard, the former of whom was 
a native of Butler county, Ohio, the son of Aaron Howard, a nati\e of Ohio. 
John Howard came to Decatur county when he was eight }-ears old with his 
father, .Aaron, who settled on a farm in Washington township, west of 
Greensburg, known as the Ralston farm. Aaron Howard was a prosperous 
farmer and a well-known citizen of this county. For twelve years he served 
as county assessor and, being an ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the 
councils of his party. He and his wife were the parents of five children, of 
whom John Howard, the father of James, was the second child. He was 
born in Ohio and grew to manhood on his father's farm in this county. 
When about twentv-five years old, he was married to Mary Pullen, a native 
of \'irginia, born in 1831, the daughter of William and Martha (Hogue) 
Pullen, both nati\es of tliat state. William Pullen, a farmer by occupation, 
came of a good old \'irginia family, all of whom were Democrats of the old 
school. 

To' John and Marv (Pullen) Howard were born se\en children, namely: 
Dennis, who is a resident of Shelbyville, this state ; James, who is the subject 



]Oj8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of this sketch; Sarah Jane, who is the wife of John Moore, of Johnson 
county, Indiana; Jessie, who h\es in Michigan; flattie, who is tlie wife of 
Wilham R. Braden, of Shelby county, Indiana; Othor, also a fanner of the 
same county, and Oscar, who also lives in that county. 

After being reared to manhood on his father's farm, Jaiues Howard 
was married in 1882 to Ida Alley, a daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Selby) 
Alley. A history of the Alley family is presented elsewhere in this volume 
in the biographical sketch relating to J. L. Alley. After their marriage, Mr. 
and Mrs. Howard began life on a farm in Shelby county, where they lived 
until about 1885, when they moved to the farm upon which they now live. 
To them four children have been born, two of whom are living and two 
deceased, namely : Opal, who married Conda Steward, of Bartholomew 
county, this state, and has one son, Howard Donald, who was born on 
October 12, 1914; Alley, who died at the age of four years; a child who died 
in infancy, and Oscar, who lives at home with his parents. Mr. Howard is 
very proud of his only grandchild and especially proud because Howard 
Donald is a very lively little youngster. 

James Howard is a Democrat, stanch and true to the mandates of his 
party organization and the principles for which his party stands. He has 
always a deep interest in politics and is one of the leaders of his party in 
Clay township. Mr. and Mrs. Howard and family are members of the 
Christian church at Milford. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias lodge at Geneva, in Shelby county. Progressive, public-spirited, lib- 
eral and broad-minded, he has contributed in a rather large measure to the 
material advancement of this county and no man is more popular in the neigh- 
bi>rhoo(l where he lives than he. 



JOHN W. CORYA. 



Practical industry and good luanagement never fail to bring success, 
carrying the worker onward and upward and bringing out the strong points 
of his character at the same time, acting as powerful stimulants to the efforts 
of others. It is always refreshing to consider the character of self-made 
men, among whom may be mentionetl John W. Corya, a prosperous Clay 
township farmer, living three and one-half miles northwest of Burney and 
three and one-half miles southwest of Milford, who owns four hundred and 
seventeen acres of splendid farming land. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



IOI9 



Jolm W. Corya was born in Jefferson county, Indiana, in September, 
1858, the son of Francis M. and Lucinda (PhilHps) Corya, the former of 
whom was a native of that same county, the son of Philip and Isabeha 
(Boicourt) Corya. Phihp Corya was a native of Pennsylvania, of German 
origin, who was brought when 3 mere lad to Jefferson county, Indiana, by 
his parents, who were well-respected German farmers. Isabella Boicourt 
was a native of Decatur county and the Boicourt family is of French extrac- 
tion. Although Fucinda Phillips's mother, who was a Wilson, was a native 
of this coimty, her father was a native of Ireland, reared as a Protestant. 

John W. Corya left home when about six years old to live with an 
uncle in Jefferson county, Indiana, where he remained until thirteen years of 
age, at which time he began life for himself by working in a store in Jen- 
nings county. After working in this store as a clerk for seven years and 
learning the principles of good business, he spent a short time in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, in the produce commission business. He then went to Colorado, where 
he was employed in gold and silver mines, running a pack-train of burros, 
carrying ore and supplies to and from the mines. 

The Marshall Pass Basin of Colorado every winter fills with snow and 
until late in the spring is impassable. While engaged in running the pack- 
train, in the spring of 1883, John W. Corya, then a young man of twenty- 
five, went through this pass with his train of burros earlier in the season than 
anyone Ijefore him had ever been able to make the trip. After spending five 
years in the mines, he returned to Indiana and settled in Jennings county, 
where he was married to Flora Galloway, the daughter of William and Eliza- 
beth (Parker) Galloway, the former of whom was a native of Indiana, whose 
father came from Kentucky, and the latter of whom was the daughter of 
Enoch Parker, a native of. Jennings county, Indiana, a member of an old and 
established family of that county. 

After his marriage, in 1887, J"li" W. Corya located at North Vernon, 
this state, where he engaged in the produce business. One year later he and 
his wife went to West Virginia and after staying there but a very short time, 
came back to Indiana and settled in Decatur county. One year later they 
moved to the northwestern part of Missouri, where Mr. Corya rented a farm, 
on which thev li\ed for three years. There he was fairly successful but 
eventualh' he returned to Jennings county, Indiana, and for ten years was 
engaged in the mercantile business. Upon selling out this liusiness, in 
December, igoj, he came to Decatur county and purchased a farm of two 
hundred and eighty acres in Clay township from Joseph Burney. The build- 
ings on the farm were dilapidated and hardly fit for human habitation. There 



I020 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

were scarcely any fences and the farm was ver}- much run down in every par- 
ticular. That was twelve years ago and today John W. Corya owns four 
hundred and seventeen acres of laml and has erected on the farm a splendid 
home of nine rooms, modern in every respect and costing five thousand dol- 
lars. He has two large and substantial barns, one sixty by one hundred and 
twelve and the other fifty by sixty-four feet. Besides the home farm in Clay 
townshij), Air. Corya owns a farm of one hundred and thirty-se\-en acres of 
well-improved land in Bartholomew county. 

When John Corya started on the farm in Clay township, he had twelve 
thousand dollars and toda}' he could "cash out" any time for more than fifty 
thousand dollars, success having crowned his efforts in these short twelve 
years. It may be said in ])assing that neither Mr. Corya nor his wife has 
inherited to exceed five hundred dollars, their large success being the result 
of their own hard work and jjrudent management. ]\Ir. Corya has specialized 
in breeding Western lambs and usually feeds about one thousand head of 
sheep. He is preparing to extend his operations so that he may feed fifteen 
hundred or more. There are two silos on one of his farms, a great help in 
feeding. 

To John W. and Flora ( Galloway) Corya four children have been born, 
namely : Delta, who was born in North Vernon in 1888 and who lives at 
home: Horace, who was born in Jennings county in 1893 and who is also at 
home: Russell, born in Jennings county in 1889, and Erma, who was born in 
1906, died in 1907. 

There are no more stanch or true Republicans living in Decatur county 
than J(jhn Corya, who is steadfast to the principles of the party of Abraham 
Lincoln and who believes that party is eminently capable of administering the 
affairs of this government. He is regarded as one of the leaders in the 
councils of the Republican party in Decatur county. Formerly, Mr. Corya 
was a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Ncjrth Vernon. Russell 
Corya, the youngest son of Mr. Corya, who is now a student of the agricul- 
tural course at Purdue University, won a jjrize for the best acre of corn raised 
in Ciay township in 1914. 

John Corya is a man of more than ordinary ability. He has a liking for 
and an aptitude for politics. Being a prduounced optimist in his views, he is 
naturally popular with his neighbors and fellow citizens. With all of his 
puldic interests he is, nevertheless, a man of strong domestic temperaments 
and devoted to the interests of his family, all of whom are held in high esteem 
throughout the section of the countv in which they reside. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 102 1 

JAMES A. PUMPHREY. 

James A. Pumphrey. the proprietor of "Spring Dale Farm," comprising 
one hundred and ninety-five acres of fertile land located one and one-half 
miles north of Bnrney and one and one-half miles southwest of Milford, is 
one of the prosperous citizens of Clay township, this county. This farm not 
only lies in the garden spot of the great Hoosier commonwealth, hut is itself, 
in fact, one of the most desirable farms in the community. No better land is 
to be found anywhere. "Spring Dale Farm" is so named from a fine spring 
which never freezes and never goes dry. The picturesque springhouse was 
built over this spring more than a half century ago. The farm was entered 
by Captain Lowry, who came to Decatur county in 1823. It has changed 
hands only twice since that time, once when Captain Lowry deeded it to the 
late William Pumphrey and the second time when the latter deeded it to his 
son, James A., the subject of this sketch. 

James A. Pumphrey was born on the old Pumphrey homestead in Clay 
township in 1863. He grew to manhood on that farm and was educated in 
the district schools of Clay township, after which he began the business of life 
for himself. 

On February 7, 1884, James A. Pumphrey was married to Mary E. 
Mandlove, a daughter of William A. and Nancy J. (Edwards) Mandlove, 
the former of whom was the son of James and Sarah (Bean) Mandlove. 
James Mandlove, a native of Kentucky, was born in 1816 and died in 1862. 
His wife was born in England in 1820, the daughter of William and Sarah 
Bean. William Bean was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church in 
England, who immigrated to America late in life, when Sarah, the grand- 
mother of Mrs. Pumphrey, was only two years old. The voyage required 
nine weeks and one of Sarah's sisters died and was buried at sea. James 
and Sarah Mandlove began life in Decatur county on a farm, after having 
settled in Clay township on the site of the present town of Burney. In that 
day Clay township was a dense wilderness, the few inhabitants marking the 
trails through the dense forests by "blazing" the ways, gashing the trees to 
mark the little-traveled routes. The grinding for the household was done at 
the Critser mill on Cliffy creek, which mill is still standing and still in opera- 
tion. James Mandlove was one of the prominent citizens of Decatur county 
during his day, at one time being rated as the wealthiest man in the county. 
He died in 1862, at which time he owned a large tract of land and a store at 
Milford which in that day was a thriving town. He was a Democrat and a 
member of the Methodist church. 



I022 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

After his marriage, Mr. Pumphrey and his wife moved to a farm owned 
by his father, which he rented. There they lived for about one year, when 
tiiey moved to Burney, where he was engaged in the mercantile business for 
six years, at the end of which time he sold the store and purchased "Spring 
Dale Farm." The original tract comprised only fifty-five acres and was 
bought in 1891, since which date Mr. Pumphrey has added to the farm until 
it now comprises one hundred and ninety-five acres. 

To James A. and Mary E. (Mandlove) Pumphrey have been born two 
sons, Edgar Ray and William Falonzo. Edgar Ray Pumphrey was born on 
October 31, 1888, and was educated in the common and high schools of 
Decatur county. After graduating from high school in 1907, he entered 
Purdue Uni\-ersity and was graduated from the electrical engineering depart- 
ment with the class of 1911. He now holds a responsible position with the 
Fairbanks-Morse Electric Company, of Indianapolis. He is a popular young 
man and familiarly known in this community as Ray. William F. Pumphrey, 
who was born on May i, 1892, was educated in the common and high schools 
of Decatur county and later attended the Winona Technical Institute at 
Indianapolis. Fie is an automobile expert, engaged in his calling at Hope, 
Indiana. 

James A. Pumphrey is a stanch and true Democrat and is a member of 
the Masonic lodge at Milford and of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Burney. 
Mr. Pumphrey is a stockholder in the Burney State Bank and is regarded as 
one of the most substantial residents of that community, he and his family 
enjoying the highest esteem of all who know them. 



EDWARD PUMPHREY. 



Practical industry never fails to bring success, especially when con- 
sistently and wisely managed. It carries a man onward and upward, brings 
out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulant to the efforts of 
others. The greatest results in life are often attained by simple means, the 
exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense. The everyday life, with 
its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunity for acquiring 
experience. Edward Pumphrey, a well-known farmer, scion of an old family 
in Decatur county, living a mile north of Burney, is one of the most sub- 
stantial citizens and farmers of Clay township. 

Edward Pumphrey was born on the old Pumphrey homestead in Clay 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO23 

township, this county, in 1869, the son of WilHam and Loduska (Jewell) 
Puniphrey, the former of whom was a native of Kentucky, the son of Andrew 
Humphrey, whose family, of English origin, emigrated to Kentucky in pio- 
neer times. Andrew Pumphrey emigrated to Decatur county at an early 
day in the settlement of this section and located in Clay township, west of 
where Burney is now situated. He was a well-known and successful farmer, 
a Democrat in politics, and well respected. He and his wife were the parents 
of seven children, of whom William, the father of Edward, was the fourth in 
order of birth. William Pumphrey grew to manhood on his father's farm 
and began life for himself at the time of his marriage to Loduska Jewell. 
They settled on a farm which William Pumphrey owned and gradually added 
to this tract, until at the time of his death, when eighty years of age, William 
Pumphrey owned thirteen hundred acres of land, all in Clay township. He- 
was a very successful farmer and business man, a Democrat in politics and a 
member of the Methodist church. A man of decided convictions and moral 
courage, he was more than the ordinary type of citizen. Generous in his 
impulses, he had a host of friends in this county, where he was favorably 
known. He and his wife were the parents of ten children, namely: James 
A., Francis M. and Edward P., residents of this county; William P., a resi- 
dent of Shelby county, this state; Doad P., deceased; a child who died in 
infancy; Elizabeth, who married Frank Alexander; Mrs. Fannie Miner, of 
Decatur county ; May, who married Clyde Elliott, and Josephine, who mar- 
ried Earl Littell and lives in Indianapolis. 

Educated in the common schools of Clay township, Edward Pumphrey 
began life for himself after his marriage in 1890 to Jennie Johnson, the 
daughter of William and Lucretia Johnson, the former of whom was a 
prosperous farmer of Jackson township, a native of Ohio, and well known 
and highly respected by the citizens of this county. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pumphrey have a lovely little home and enjoy life. He 
is a progressive broad-minded citizen, well known and highly respected. A 
stanch Democrat, he has always taken a prominent part in the campaigns of 
his party, especially in Clay township. Between 1905 and 1909 he was 
trustee of Clay township and was very successful in the management of the 
township's business, having retired from office with the respect and confidence 
of all the people. Mr. Pumphrey is a stockholder in the Third National 
Bank at Greensburg, and a member of the Masonic lodge at ^lilford. Mr. 
and Mrs. Pumphrey are members of the Baptist church at Burney. He and 
his good wife believe that there are other things in life besides the accumula- 
tion of money. They believe in the enjoyment of life and they have enjoyed 
it so far as it has been possible to do so. 



1024 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JOHN WESLEY SPEARS. 

Every community has, within its boundaries, men of exceptional ability 
and influence, to whom it points with pride and of whom it has every reason 
to be proud. Jackson township has many men who are well known through- 
out Decatur county by their success in agriculture, their prominence in busi- 
ness and their worth as citizens. Farmer, merchant, banker, public official 
and public-spirited man of afifairs, John Wesley Spears, fomier county com- 
missioner of Decatur county and now a retired merchant of Alert, is a man 
who has always stood high in the estimation of his fellows; whose judgment 
has always been recognized as pre-eminently sound and whose counsel has 
been widely sought in the afifairs of the community where he has lived. He 
has to his credit from the standpoint of length of service, perhaps the longest 
record of business of any man living in Jackson township. From 1870 to 
1908 he was continuously engaged as a merchant at Alert, during which 
period of nearly forty years, he naturally became well acquainted with the 
people, not only of Jackson but of surrounding townships and men learned 
to admire him for his many commendable traits of character. 

Mr. Spears was Ijorn on March 27). 1847, '" .Switzerland county, Indiana. 
His father and mother were also natives of this county, the fonner, Abraham 
L. Spears, having been bom in 1828 and died in 1896, and the latter, who 
before her marriage was Martha Jane Day, having been born in 1829 and 
<lied at the age of forty-two years in 1872. Subject's father was a black- 
smith and merchant and was well known in the southeastern part of Indiana, 
having followed his trade for many years and also having conducted general 
stores at New Marion, Zenas. Hartsville and Holton, the last named in 
Ripley county, where he died. John Spears, who was the father of Abraham 
L. and the founder of the family in America, settled in Indiana after having 
immigrated to this country from Englantl. He was a well-known farmer 
during his life. 

Si.x children were born to Abraham L. and Martha Jane .Spears, of 
whom three are now deceased : John Wesley, who was the eldest ; Tillman 
Webster, who was born on March i, 1849; Phoebe Elizabeth, who died in 
1854, at the age of two years; Stephen D., who died in 1912; Abraham, who 
is a farmer near Alert; and Mrs. Lucinda Jane LaRue. who is the wife of 
Oliver LaRue, of Holton, Indiana, and William Aaron, who died at the age 
of twenty-six years. 

During the boyhood of John W. Spears, the Hartsville .\cademy was 




JOHN W. SI'EAUS. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 102:5 

perhaps the leading institution in this section of the state. After he had 
completed the course in the common schools near Zenas, where his family 
hved at the time, he attended Hartsville Academy for a time. During vaca- 
tions, he assisted his father in the store and here learned the mercantile busi- 
ness. When he was twenty-two years old, he engaged in business with his 
father at Alert. This partnership continued for six years or until 1875, 
when the son purchased the interest of the father and operated it alone until 
1908, at which time he retired from the active management of the store. In 
the meantime, he had erected a large brick building, in which the store is 
housed, to replace a frame building which burned in January, 1906. Not 
very long ago, he erected a new house in Alert, one of the most comfortable 
homes in this section. Mr. Spears has eighty acres of land in Jackson town- 
ship, in Decatur county, and one hundred and fifty-nine acres in Bartholo- 
mew county. Although he himself has never been actively engaged as a 
farmer, his farm has proved a very profitable investment under the direct 
operation of tenants. 

In 1888 at a barn raising in this community, Mr. Spears suffered a very 
painful and dangerous injury. While the barn was being raised, the plate 
breaking loose, fell to the ground, striking him on the back and breaking his 
thigh. Nevertheless he recovered from the injury, a very marvelous circum- 
stance probably due to his wonderful vitality. Today he is still active and 
strong, although now about sixty-eight years old. 

In 19 14 Mr. Spears took a leading part in the organization of the Alert 
State Bank, which is capitalized at twenty-five thousand dollars and, when 
the directors were elected, Mr. Spears was chosen as one; later, when officers 
were elected, he was selected president of the institution. Although a very 
young institution, the bank is already doing a most satisfactory business. 
The vice-president of the institution is Dr. Thomas J. Norton and the cashier 
is Roy Campliell, formerly of Jennings county, Indiana. The directors 
include, besides Mr. Spears, Dr. Norton, James D. Anderson, John H. Den- 
nison, Samuel Kelly, William James Carson, of Jennings county, and George 
Beasley. 

In 1914 five of the leading business men of Jackson township also organ- 
ized the Alert Telephone Company with a capital of twent_v-five hundred dol- 
lars and sixty subscribers. Mr. Spears became president of this company. 
The board of directors include Dr. Ray Bannister of Alert; Rev. Nicholson. 
Dr. Clarence L. Hill, a minister and farmer, who lives one mile north of 
Alert : J. W. Spears, and D. H. Pike. 
(65) 



I026 DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 

On September 5, 1869, John W. Spears was married at Zenas to Alary 
L. Galloway, a native of Jennings county and the daughter of William Gallo- 
way. They have no children. 

Religiously, Mr. and Mrs. Spears are members of the Christian Union. 
Fraternally, Mr. Spears is a member of Alert Lodge, No. 395, Free and 
Accepted Masons. A Democrat in politics, he served eight years as a justice 
of the peace in Jackson township and in 1897 was elected a member of the 
Ijiiard (jf count\' commissioners, on which he served for three years, giving 
the very highest measure of satisfaction. 

It is a matter of interesting speculation to dwell on what men with the 
same ability as John W. Spears accomplish where the opportunities are wider. 
It is a matter of interest to consider what he might have accomplished had he 
bv chance been reared in the city, where the opportunities for commercial and 
financial success are perhaps greater than they are in rural communities. 
Here, at least, Mr. Spears is a recognized leader in almost every form of 
enterprise, and there is good reason to believe that he might ha\e become an 
equallv successful leader in larger forms of enterprises in a larger commun- 
ity. He is first and foremost a man of character, and, as is usually the case, 
character is the determining factor in the life of an individual. There is no- 
occasion for surprise that John W. Spears has enjoyed a large measure of 
success. 



CYRUS W. PUMPHREY. 

Of the well-known farmers of Clay township, this county, Indiana, there 
should be mentioned Cyrus W. Pumphrey, who owns a farm of sixty acres 
one-half mile west of Burney, who was born in that township on October 24, 
1865, the son of Andrew and Melvina (Cooper) Pumphrey, the latter of 
whom was born in Clay township, antl whose parents died when she was a 
small girl. After their death .she lived with the family of John P. Elliott, 
and received her education in Clay township, .\ndrew Pumphrey was a 
native of Franklin county, born on the banks of the White \\'ater river. His 
father, Andrew Pumphrey. who was a native of Kentucky, left Franklin 
countv with his family when Andrew, Jr., was only two years old, and came 
to Decatur county, settling on Clifty creek, in Clay township, where he entered 
land, to which he added from time to time until at the time of his death he 
owned about one thousand acres in that township. 

Andrew Johnson Pumphrey was one of the unique characters of his day. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO27 

An ardent Democrat, he was prominent in the councils of his party. After 
his marriage to Ehzabeth Lawrence in Kentucky, he moved to Frankhn 
county, Indiana, and from Franklin county to Decatur county, where he and 
his wife spent the remainder of their days. Both Andrew Johnson Pumphrey 
and his wife were of English (jrigin, their parents having come from Eng- 
land. Elizabeth (Lawrence) Pumphrey was heir to a large estate in Eng- 
land, but due to the trickery of lawyers was unable to establish proof of her 
claim. Andrew Johnson Pumphrey died about 1876, and his wife about 
1875, the former at the age of eighty-two years. They were the parents of 
fi)urteen children, of whom Andrew Pumphrey was the sixth child in order of 
birth. He grew to manhood in Clay township on the old home farm and 
when aliout thirty-two years of age was married to Melinda Cooper. Thev 
spent their entire married life on a farm situated on the banks of Clifty 
creek. Although Andrew Pumphrey was a ])rosperous farmer and a well 
respected citizen, he was not a man of great wealth. He was a Democrat and 
both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church. Rugged hon- 
esty was one of his strong characteristics. After suffering for si.xteen vears 
with rh.eumatisni, which he contracted in middle life, he was freed of this 
malady when about sixty years old and enjoyed several years of good health. 
He was a man who was especially kind to his family, and children, of whom 
there were li\e, namely : May, who married James B. Critser, l)oth now 
deceased; C\tus \\'., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Annie Elizabeth Drautz, 
who lives on the old home place in Clay township ; Harvey, a resident of 
Hope, Bartholomew county, Indiana, and Mrs. Laura M. x'X.pplegate, who 
lives at Greensburg. 

Cyrus W. Pumphrey lived on the old home farm until his marriage in 
1894 to Cora D. Myers, daughter of John and Semantha (Stevens) Myers, 
who was born in W'estport, Sand Creek township, and who there grew to 
womanhood. After her mother's death she lived with her grandmother 
Until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Pumphrey. after spending a short time 
in Burnev, lived for three years on the old Andrew Pumphrey farm, at the 
end of which time he purchased twenty acres of land where he now lives. 
This land was without Iniildings of any kind, and Mr. Pumphrey was without 
funds, having purchased his land on his own note. Today he has sixty acres 
of as fine land as there is in Decatur county and a beautiful modern home. 
Ordinarilv he feeds about two carloads of hogs every year. He is a stock- 
holder in the Burney State Bank and gives thoughtful attention to the best 
interests of the community in which he lives. 

A prominent Democrat of Clay township, Mr. Pumphrey several times 



1028 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

has been a delegate to the district conventions of his party and is l<eenly 
interested in politics. He is a progressive farmer and a good substantial 
citizen, well known and well liked by the people of the county. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pumphrey are members of the Baptist church, are interested in all local good 
works and enjov the most cordial esteem of all their neighbors. 



MRS. BENJAMIN F. LITTELL. 

Few names in this section of Indiana are better known than those of the 
Littells and the Collicotts and few families hereabout have exerted a wider 
or more beneficent influence upon the general welfare of the community than 
these two. By the marriage, thirty-two years ago, of Benjamin Franklin 
Littell, Jr., and Diantha Collicott there was effected a most happy union of 
these two honorable and influential families, and it is a pleasure on the part of 
the biographer to present here some of the salient points in the local history 
of these two interesting families, as a memorial both to the late Benjamin F. 
Littell, Jr., and to the Rev. John Collicott, of blessed memory throughout 
this section of Indiana. 

Benjamin Franklin Littell, Jr., who died at his pleasant farm home in 
Washington township, this county, on August 7, 1907, at the age of fifty- 
eight years, was the son of the late Benjamin Franklin Littell, a well-known 
pioneer of Decatur county, who died in 191 5, at his home in Greensburg, 
at the age of ninety-four years. The elder Benjamin F. Littell was born in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Benjamin F. Littell, who died during the cholera 
epidemic, leaving a widow and four children, Benjamin F., Elizabeth, Sarah 
Ann and Clara. The firstborn of these children, the only son, remained in 
Cincinnati until he had reached manhood's estate, at which time he married 
Jane \^an Sant, daughter of Reuben Van Sant, one time treasurer of Ham- 
ilton county, Ohio, and moved to Mt. Pleasant, nine miles north of Cincin- 
nati, where he made his home until 1856, in which year he moved with his 
family to Ripley county, Indiana, where he engaged in farming until 1863, 
in which year he came to this county, locating at Greensburg, where he 
erected a brick-making plant, in the operation of which he subsequently 
became very successful, being counted among the most substantial citizens 
of Decatur county. This brick plant is now owned and operated at Greens- 
burg bv its founder's son, George S. Littell, a biographical sketch of whom, 



DFXATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1029 



presented elsewhere in this vohime, contains much additional information re- 
garding the Littell famih' in this part of the state. 

To Benjamin F. and Jane (Van Sant) Littell were born ten children, 
namely: Alanson, a retired merchant of Greensburg, this county; William 
T., a contractor in brickmasonry at Indianapolis; Benjamin F., deceased; 
Mrs. Adelia McCoy, housekeeper for her brother, George; George S., brick 
manufacturer, of Greensburg; Eliza, who married Phillip Weyman, of 
Greensburg; Samuel B., a Greensburg merchant; James S., a Greensburg 
merchant; Mrs. C. D. Tillson, of Greensburg, and Curtis R., of Washington, 
D. C. The mother of these children died in 1900, at the age of seventv-eight 
years, and the venerable father is making his home with his son, George, in 
Greensburg. 

Benjamin F. Littell, Jr., was about fifteen years of age when his parents 
moved to Greensburg and he completed his schooling in that city. Upon 
reaching manhood he engaged in the grocery business in Greensburg, soon 
becoming one of the most populai^and one of the most successful merchants in 
the city. The close confinement, however, was found to be detrimental to 
his health and he decided to live in the open and later purchased the beautiful 
farm on which his family now lives, and there spent the last twentv vears of 
his life, his death occurring in 1907; the widow and six children being left to 
mourn their irreparable loss. These children, in the order of their birth, are: 
Elsie, who was graduated from the Greensburg high school, lives at home; 
John, who is very successfully managing the home farm, taking great interest 
in operating the same along the lines laid down by modern agriculturists ; 
Lena, a successful milliner in Greensburg; Mrs. Charles Davis, of Greens- 
burg, who has one child ; Anna, a teacher in the public schools, and Delia, 
who was graduated from the Greensburg high school with the class of 1915. 

Mrs. Diantha Littell, widow of B. F. Littell, Jr., was born in Ripley 
county, Lidiana, daughter of Rev. John and Ruth (Williams) Collicott, the 
former of whom was a native of North Carolina and the latter a native of 
New Jersey, \\nien a young man, John Collicott emigrated from North 
Carolina to Indiana, locating in Ripley county, not far from the Decatur 
countv line, where he became a successful farmer and influential citizen. 
He was also a local Methodist preacher and few men of his day 
in this part of the state e.xerted a wider or more beneficent influence upon 
their fellowmen than he. He was noted for his tender-hearted ministrations 
in the communit\' in which he so long was so useful a factor, his hand ever l)e- 
ing extended in Ij^lialf of those less fortunate than himself. The Rev. John 
Collicott possessed a most efl^ective manner in the pulpit, his ability to impress 



1030 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Upon his hearers the beauties of the Word, and to impart to them the wonder- 
ful lessons contained therein, being recalled to this day among those whose 
privilege it was to "sit at his feet.'' His knowledge of the Bible was accurate 
and profound and his great desire to extend the message of the Gospel ever 
was heavy on his heart. He was a splendid singer, an accomplishment which 
added much to the effectiveness of his manner of conducting public services. 
During the trying days of the Civil War, the Rev. John Collicott was a tower 
of strength in behalf of the Union cause hereabout, and gave two of his sons 
for the nation's preservation. Few men in the community in which he labored 
are held in such high esteem, and it is but fitting that a history of Decatur 
county should carry this modest memorial. During the last fifteen years of 
his life Mr. Collicott was sadly crippled, but affliction did not datnpen his 
ardor ; the influence of his cheerful example under trial being radiated in all 
directions throughout the neighborhood of his home. 

The first wife of Rev. John Collicott was Edna Coins, who died a few 
years after their marriage leaving no children. By his union with Ruth 
\\'illiams, his second wife, there were born ten children, namely: ]\Iary Jane, 
the wife of Wesley York, both deceased; Stephen, a soldier in the Union 
army, who went through the Civil War and died soon after the close of that 
great struggle, from the effects of the hardships he had endured ; Henry, who 
also enlisted in the Union army and died during the early part of that struggle 
of measles contracted in the service: John, who died when eight years of age; 
Letitia, deceased; Angelina, deceased, the wife of Steward Ross, deceased, 
and the mother of Charles Ross living near Moore's Hill, Indiana ; George, 
deceased ; Eliza, deceased : Dora, deceased, and Diantha, the widow of Mr. 
Littell. The mother of these children was a woman of noble character, an 
able helpmate to her husband in his difficult ministrations ; a woman of rare 
sympathy and understanding, who was greatly beloved throughout that whole 
countryside. 

By his union with Hannah Thackery, the Rev. John Collicott was the 
father of the following children : Curtis, a well-known farmer of this county, 
who lives about three and one-half miles from Greensburg on the Vandalia 
pike; Jacob G., one of the best-known educators in the country, the present 
superintendent of the Indianapolis public schools; Harmon, who died in 
1902, while pursuing his studies in the Greensburg high school, and Lettie, 
who married Charles Williams, a prosperous farmer of this county, whose 
home is near New Point. The mother of these children was a woman of 
refinement and education, who left the impress of her gentle character upon 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



103 1 



all with whom she came in contact, being also a great help to her husband in 
his ministrations and especially during his last feeble years. 

Mrs. Littell has a delightful home in Washington township, where, with 
her children, she is quite comfortably situated. Active in all the good works 
of the community and devoted to the care of her children her influence is 
exerted toward the promotion of all measures designed to further the best 
interests of the common good and she is held in the highest esteem by all who 
know her. 



THOMAS E. DAY. 



In the industrial annals of Decatur county there is no more notable 
example of the invariable rule that fitting rewards will attend faithful, ener- 
getic and industrious application to the duties of life, than is contained in a 
review of the life's history of the gentleman whose name serves as a caption 
for this interesting biographical sketch. Doing well what his hands found 
to do; faithful in all the relations of life, Mr. Day has risen from a position, 
which to one of less energy would have seemed disheartening indeed, to a 
position of commanding importance in the industrial life of Decatur county. 
Beginning life for himself upon attaining his majority without a dollar of 
capital, Mr. Day had the courage and the initiative to strike out on somewhat 
broader lines than most men so circumstanced and he has succeeded, as he 
deserved to have succeeded, so that now, in the vigor of his useful manhood, 
he has built up an industry which emplo}s many men in useful and productive 
service in this county and through which there is distributed annually in 
wages no less a sum than fifty thousand dollars. Mr. Day's lumber manufac- 
turing industry is one of the most important enterprises in Decatur county 
and a review of the life of the man who has built up this industry to its 
present extensive proportions is a very proper tribute to the energy which 
made possible the building up of this industry. 

Thomas E. Day, manufacturer of hard-wood lumber and wholesale 
dealer in the same at Greensburg, Indiana, was born on a farm in Ripley 
county, Indiana, on December 22, 1868, the son of Thomas G. and Rebecca 
(Spenddiff) Day, both natives of England, born in the county of Kent, the 
former on August 3, 1841, and the latter on June 4, 1841. 

Thomas G. Day came to America with his father, Thomas Day, in the 
year 1844, the family locating on the shores of Rockland lake in the state of 
New York, where the elder Day established a nursery for the culture of fruit 



1032 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

trees. The family remained in New York state until 185 1, in which year 
they moved to Madison, Indiana, where the elder Thomas established another 
nursery on the edge of the city, where he spent the remainder of his life. It 
was in the town of Madison, this state, that Thomas G. Day grew to man- 
hood, getting a start in life that enabled him in 1865 to buy a farm in Ripley 
county, on which he is still living, despite a succession of serious wounds and 
shocking experiences during the progress of the Civil War that certainly 
would have killed any man of less rugged constitution than that possessed 
by him. 

Upon the breaking out of the war in 1861, Thomas G. Day enlisted in 
Company E, Third Indiana Cavalry, for the sixty-day service called for at 
that time. At the close of this service he re-enlisted for the term of the war 
and served until peace had been declared. He participated in many battles, 
being in some of the bloodiest engagements of the war, and twice was left 
for dead on the field of battle. He suffered all the horrors of the Confederate 
prison pens, having been an inmate of Libby prison. Belle Isle, Florence and 
Andersonville. Of the squad of one hundred men with whom he was incar- 
cerated in the latter prison, he was one of but two who survived to reach free- 
dom and regain their own lines. He was once captured by John S. Alosby, 
the guerilla chief, who, with his men, was masquerading as a Unionist. On 
this occasion Mr. Day dropped his carbine. Many years later he revisited 
the scene of his capture and was surprised as well as delighted to find the old 
army carbine in the hands of the farmer who had picked it up at the time of 
the capture. Needless to say he has preserved the recovered firearm as a 
priceless relic of his service. 

Upon returning to the pursuits of peace at the close of the war, Thomas 
E. Day married Rebecca Spenddiff, who was the daughter of James Spend- 
diff, a native of the same neighborhood in England in which Mr. Day was 
born. James Spenddifl:' came to America and spent three years working for 
enough money to pay the passage of his family to this side. The family 
arrived in 1850, the passage over requiring nine weeks on a slow-sailing 
vessel, most of which time heavy storms were raging. The SpenddifTs located 
first in the Rockland lake district of New York, neighbors to the Days, and 
later came with the latter family to Indiana, also locating at Madison, where 
James Spenddiff and his wife spent the remainder of their lives. 

To Thomas E. and Rebecca (Spenddiff) Day were born eleven children, 
eight of whom are still living, namely: Mrs. Harriet Livingston, of Greens- 
burg, this county: Thomas E., the immediate subject of this sketch; Frank 
G., who lives at Cincinnati ; Walter R., a farmer of Jefferson county, this 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO33 

State; Mrs. J. A. Bovard, of North Salem, Indiana; Mrs. William Strubbe, 
of Versailles, Indiana, and Bertha and Cora, who remain with their father 
at the family home in Ripley county. The mother of these children died on 
April 10, 1908. 

Thomas E. Day was reared on the paternal farm and received his educa- 
tion in the district schools of his home township and in the high school at 
Osgood. Wlien he was twenty-one years of age he bought a farm of ninety- 
six and one-half acres in Ripley county, adjoining his father's farm, lor 
which he went in debt to the amount of eleven hundred dollars. For nine 
years he taught school in his home county and by the time he had his little 
farm half paid for he had incurred an obligation for forty acres additional, 
adjoining, all of which he gradually paid out of his earnings as a teacher 
and from the profits on the farm. While engaged in farming he secured the 
county agency for a well-known brand of buggies of that time. The first 
year in which he held this agency he solcPfour buggies, but gradually increased 
his sales until he was finally disposing of as many as three hundred and 
twenty-five buggies annually in that part of the state. In the year 1893, Mr. 
Day engaged in the lumber business in Ripley county and has had phenom- 
enal success. He has five mills for the manufacture of hard-wood lumber, 
one at Newpoint, one at W^estport, two at Millhousen, all in this county, and 
one at Peach Orchard, Arkansas, in which he employs the services of fifty 
men. Mr. Day employs ten men at each of his mills and in the course of a 
year pays out as much as fifty thousand dollars in wages. Though retaining 
his farm in Ripley county, Mr. Day makes his home in Greensburg, to which 
city he moved in 1903, buying there a residence, where he and his family are 
very comfortably situated. 

On April 10, 1892, Thomas E. Day was united in marriage to Lucy B. 
Horton, who was born and reared in Switzerland county, this state, the 
daughter of John M. and Maria A. Horton, who moved from Switzerland 
county to Ripley county, and to this union four children have been born, two 
daughters and two sons, as follow : Hazel, who is a member of the class of 
1916, DePauw ITniversity, and who was honored while in her sophomore year 
b)' election to the ofl^ice of president of the Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciation of the university and in 191 5 vice-president of the student body and 
student annual ; Mabel, who is a member of the class of 1917, same university; 
Thomas, aged ten, and Raymond, aged eight. 

Mr. and Mrs. Day are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church 
at Greensburg and their children have been reared in the faith of that church. 
They are active not only in the many good works of the church to which 



3 034 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

they belong, but are warmly interested in all movements having to do with 
the ele\'ation of the ideals of the community at large and enjoy the highest 
respect and esteem of a large circle in and about Greensburg. Mr. Day is a 
Republican and takes a good citizen's part in local political affairs. He is a 
Mason and belongs to both the chapter and the council of that order. 

Mr. Day is a hustling, energetic man who does things in a large way. 
It is his custom to buy land, cut the timber on the same and then sell the land. 
In the vicinity of Newpoint there is much land which he has treated thus 
which is worth three or four times what it was worth before the timber was 
remo\ed. In 19 12 Mr. Day went to Arkansas and bought timber to the 
amount of twelve thousand dollars, going in debt for the same, speedily dis- 
charging the debt from the proceeds of the timber which he secured from 
the tract. Mr. Day has the confidence of business circles throughout this 
part of the state and is held in the highest regard by all. 



\\'ILLIAM E. JACKSON. 

The best history of any community or of any county is that which deals 
especially with the lives and activities of its people, especially those who, by 
their own personal energy and consistent, unfailing endeavor, have forged to 
the front ranks of the citizenship of their county. In this brief review is to 
be found a record of the career of ^^'illiam E. Jackson, an enterprising farmer 
living four and a half miles northwest of Greensburg in Washington town- 
ship, who owns two hundred and sixty-four acres of land which is a tangible 
monument to his own energy and good management. 

William E. Jackson was born in 1866 on the old Jackson homestead, 
which he now owns, the son of William T. and Margaret (Miers) Jackson, 
the former of whom was born in Cincinnati about 1829 and who died in 1889 
at the age of si.xty years. 

The late William T. Jackson was the son of William D. and Amelia 
(Hillman) Jackson, the former of whom was born near the mouth of the 
Chickahominy river in Charles City county, Virginia, on October 13, 1797. 
The family originally lived in York county, a few' miles east of the Chicka- 
hominy river, a very unhealthful region. \\Mlliani D. Jackson's parents were 
stricken with malarial fever, and died leaving a large family of destitute 
children. The boys in the family were bound out to farmers in the neigh- 
borhood and to a life of hardship and toil and the girls were sent to the poor- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 103:5 

house. William D. Jackson was one of these boys and was compelled to 
work in the fields with negro slaves of his master under a cruel overseer. 
Being of Irish origin and of a fiery Celtic nature, he could not endure this 
life very long and one day crossed the James river and left the scene, .\fter 
walking about thirty miles, he reached Petersburg and engaged himself to 
-a tailor, thoroughly mastering the trade. In 1823 he married .Amelia Hill- 
man, daughter of Samuel Hillman, a trader and merchant, who kept a store 
at Crockes Ferry. In 183 1, William D. Jackson and family emigrated across 
the .Alleghany mountains in a co\-ered wagon to the source of the Ohio river. 
They came down the river by boat to Cincinnati, where they landed with 
scarcely any of this world's goods, but with boundless courage and ambition. 
There William D. Jackson met Nicholas Longworth, a capitalist, and soon 
found work in the largest merchant-tailoring establishment in the city. His 
acquaintance with Air. Longworth proved to be of great value to him, for he 
presently engaged in the real estate business and in a few years had accumu- 
lated a snug fortune, which in 1840 he invested in a farm of a quarter section 
in Fugit township, this county. He remained in Cincinnati until 1844, when 
he moved to his farm in Decatur county. In 1847 he sold his Fugit township 
farm for a profit and moved eight miles west of Greensburg, to a less settled 
and wilder section of the county, though the land was of a better quality and 
cheaper. At that time there were still many panthers, bears and wild cats in 
the forests and deer were abundant. Those were the days of the husking 
bees, log rollings, apple parings, barn raisings and countryside weddings. 

In 1853 William D. Jackson sold his farm and moved to another farm 
two and one-half miles west of Greensburg, where he spent the remainder of 
his life. He was a man of no ordinary character. His mind was cast in a 
large mold and, though uneducated, he achieved success. His brain was keen 
and alert and he was a deep, broad thinker. He was a patriot of the best 
type. AVhen the Civil ^A'ar broke out, though an old man. he urged his 
grandsons to go and do their duty. He was a lover of justice and hated all 
shams ; of that high type of citizens which has made this country what it is, 
■ever standing for the highest and best that life afforded. 

William T. Jackson, son of William D. and Amelia Jackson and the 
father of William E.. the subject of this sketch, was born in Cincinnati. Ohio, 
in 1829. .After coming to Decatur county, his experiences were those of the 
average pioneer boy of the day. He was about eighteen years old when the 
familv moved' to this county. Later he was married to Margaret Aliers, who 
was the daughter of Thomas Miers, one of the early settlers of Decatur county 
and one of the wealthiest and most prominent men of pioneer times. \A'ill- 



1036 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

iani T. Jackson and his young wife began their married life on a farm in Clay 
township and became very prosperous, he becoming a large landowner. He 
did not confine himself to farming altogether but subsequently engaged in the 
mercantile business in Danville, Hendricks county, Indiana, in which he also 
was quite successful. He was a man of strong individuality and engaging 
personality, widely and favorably known throughout this section. Although 
reared a Democrat, he became a Republican. William T. Jackson was a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal church and an officer in the grand lodge 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Indiana. Margaret Miers was 
only fifteen years old when she was married to William T. Jackson. She died 
in iqi2 at the age of seventy-eight years. They were the parents of six 
children, Mrs. Anna Pavy, James, deceased; Mrs. Adelaide Bonner, William 
E., the subject of this sketch; Charles, who died in infancy, and Harry. One 
can hardl}- wonder that the representatives of the Jackson family in this 
county have been successful. They can hardly wonder that William E. Jack- 
son has achieved a flattering success as a farmer. The Jackson family has 
had the habit of success and William E. inherited that habit. 

William E. Jackson was married in 1S89 to Alta Moore, the daughter 
of B. F. and Anna (Bentley) Moore, the former of whom was a native of 
Decatur county, whose father was a native of Ohio. B. F. Moore was a 
successful farmer and a highly respected citizen of this county. He and his 
wife were the parents of four children: Edgar N., of Letts Corner; Mrs. 
Alta Jackson; Anna L.. of Letts; and Luna Roszell of Decatur county. Mrs. 
Jackson was born on October 22, 1868, in Decatur county. 

To William E. and Alta (Moore) Jackson have been born three chil- 
dren, Mary, born in 1897; Jessie, 1901, and Paul, 1904. 

.^fter their marriage in 1889, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson began the business 
of life on a very modest scale. He now feeds about one hundred and fifty 
thoroughbred Hereford cattle every year and has been very successful as a 
stock breeder, having specialized in black Poland-China hogs. William E. 
Jackson is a man who believes in quality, so far as live stock is concerned, this 
having been the secret of his success. He keeps his land in a high state of 
cultivation and it is well drained. The corn averages from seventy-five to 
eighty bushels to the acre. 

William E. Jackson is a Republican and takes a deep interest in the 
political welfare of his country. He and his good wife are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. A progressive, up-to-date business man, he is 
broad and liberal in his views, respected and loved by his family, honored 
and admired by his neighbors. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I037 

EVERETT L. DEUPREE. 



Among the numerous sons of Decatur county who have gone elsewhere 
seeking fame and fortune, few have achieved a larger measure of well- 
deserved success than the gentleman whose name the reader notes above, a 
prominent attorney and financier of Indianapolis. Mr. Deupree was reared 
at Westport, this county, where he grew to useful young manhood ; for a time 
having been a teacher in the schools of Westport, his excellent influence in 
that capacity being still a matter of pleasant memory there. He received his 
education in the schools of his home town and in one high school at Edin- 
burg, this state, completing the same in Indiana State University, and was 
graduated from the Indiana Law School in 1904. Thus equipped he entered 
the practice of the law at the state capital and has been singularly successful. 
His sound judgment and thorough insight into matters of corporation law 
have given him a wide and influential clientele in the capital city and few 
attorneys there are better known or have a more lucrative practice than he. 
Though for many years he has been absent from the scenes of his boyhood 
in Decatur county, Mr. Deupree takes the liveliest interest in aftairs here- 
about, and it is but fitting that in a biographical history of the county in which 
his preparatory years were spent, proper mention should be made of his life 
and his labors. 

Everett L. Deupree was born on December 24, 1880, on a farm near the 
town of Edinburg, in Johnson county, Indiana, a fine tract of land which was 
entered by his great-grandfather, Thomas Deupree, a Kentuckian, in 1821. 
Thomas Deupree was drowned in the Muscatatuck river while returning to 
his new Indiana home from Kentucky, he having gone back to his nati\-e state 
to settle his afYairs there after having located his family on the Johnson county 
land grant. Thomas Deupree was succeeded by his eldest son, Abraham C. 
Deupree, who assisted his widowed mother, who before her marriage was 
Martha Hatchett, a member of a well-known pioneer family in Kentucky, 
and was instrumental in keeping the new homestead intact. Abraham C. 
Deupree married Hannah B. Carter, a descendant of the Carter who accom- 
panied William Penn's Quaker colony to this country. Their son, \Villiam 
N. Deupree. married Martha A. Matthis, member of a pioneer fann'lv of 
Johnson county, and is still living on the old home farm, near Edinburg, in 
that county, at the age of eighty-two years. Thomas M. Deupree, son of 
this latter union, moved from Johnson county to the town of Westport, in 
this countv, in Januar)-. 1885, and for many years was prominently connected 



1038 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

with the business life of that village, and is now, with his wife, living retired 
at Indianapolis. Thomas M. Deupree married Laura B. Pritchard, who was 
horn near the town of Edinburg. in Johnson county, this state, daughter of 
John AI. and Louisa (Robinson) Pritchard, both natives of Johnson county, 
the former of whom is still living, and to this union seven children were born, 
six of whom are still li\ing, and of whom the subject of this sketch is the 
eldest. For further information regarding this interesting family the reader 
is referred to a biographical sketch of Thomas M. Deupree, presented else- 
where in this \-oIume, as well as to a sketch of Clarence C. Deupree, cashier of 
the Marion County State Bank of Indianapolis, presented on another page. 

When Everett L. Deupree was four years of age, his parents moved from 
the Johnson county farm to the village of Westport, in Decatur county, and 
there the subject of this sketch grew to manhood. He received his primary 
education in the schools of V.'estport and at the age of thirteen entered the 
high school at Edinburg, from which he was graduated in 1898. He then 
attended the normal school at Greensburg, preparatory to a term of service 
as a teacher in the public schools, and for a time taught school at Westport. 
He then entered Indiana Cni\ersit\- and, was graduated from the Lidiana 
Law .School with the class of 1904. Upon receiving his diploma, Mr. Deu- 
pree formed a partnership for the practice of law with Edwin H. Emrick, 
with offices at Indianapolis, and the two have practiced together at the capital 
city ever since. They have a fine suite of offices in the Law building at Indi- 
anapolis and have built up a large and lucrative ]jractice. During the past 
four or five years Mr. Deupree has given special attention to the practice of 
corporation law and has been very successful. Real-estate law also has 
appealed to him strongly and his practice in that particular department of 
jurisprudence has gained for him quite as wide a reputation for acumen and 
grasp of the niceties of this form of practice as has his practice of corporation 
law. 

In addition to his extensive law practice, Mr. Deupree has found time 
in his busy career to enter largely into the practical side of the real-estate busi- 
ness. He and Edward Sourbier and Edwin H. Emrick some years ago 
organized the Sourbier-Emrick Realty Company, incorporated for the pur- 
pose of building and loaning money on real estate, and during the past two or 
three years probably no company in Indianapolis has built and sold as many 
houses as has this company. Mr. Deupree also is actively engaged in the 
financial life of the capital city. In May, 1912, he and J. M. Gaston, also of 
Decatur county, and J. L. I)n\all organized the Marion County State Bank 
of Lidianapolis, in which he is a director. For some \'ears he also has been 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I039' 

a director in the Citizens State Bank of Indianapolis and is regarded as one 
of the most prominent of the younger financiers of the capital city. He also 
is a member of the board of directors of various other corporations in Indi- 
anapolis; secretary and director of the Home Insurance Agency of Indiana 
and vice-president and director of the Marion Securities Company, of Indi- 
anapolis. 

On March 13, 1904. Everett I.. Deupree was united in marriage to Edith 
Wheeler, who was born at Salem, Oregon, daughter of Hillis A. and Eliza- 
beth (Linton) \\heeler. Mr. \\1ieeler, who was born near Millersville, 
Marion county, Indiana, is an old-time beef-packer and is well known as a 
partner in the Wheeler Dressed Beef Comjjany of Indianapolis. His wife, 
Elizabeth Linton, was born at Wilmington, Ohio. 

Mr. Deupree is a member of Indianapolis Lodge No. 13, Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks, and is jiast chancellor of Excelsior Lodge No. 25, 
Knights of Pythias, of Indianapolis: a member of Commanche Tribe. 
Improved Order of Red Men, and of the Clarion Club in the same city. 
He is acti\e, enterprising and energetic and during his residence in the capital 
city has gained a very wide and influential acquaintance, an acquaintance 
extending to all parts of the state, and has made a large number of very firm 
friends, among whom he and Mrs. Deupree are held in the highest regard, 
their admirable social (jualities making them prime favorites in the extensive 
social circle in which they are regarded as among the prime movers. Though 
his active life prevents him from revisiting the scenes of his youth as often 
as he would like, Mr. Deu]3ree has a warm spot in his heart for Decatur county 
and Decatur county people and is never more congenially engaged than when 
reviving pleasant rec(3llections of "boyhood's happy hour" with old home fi>lk. 



HON. ZACHARIAH THOMPSON RILEY. 

It will be impossible for tiie reatler of this \olume of biography to escape 
the conviction that Decatur county originally was peopled by a most worthy 
class of pioneers, men and women of high ideals, pure motives and lofty 
purposes. In the main, these original settlers were soldiers of the American 
Hex'ulution who inished Westward after independence had been gained for 
the thirteen original colonies, or by their sons and daughters, who came west 
in response to the lure of the farther boundaries, seeking a wider horizon, a 
broader outlook for their achenturesome spirits; men and women of the true 



I040 DFXATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

pioneer breed who dared much, braving the perils of the wilderness, "blazing"' 
the ways — their intrepid souls bent only on realizing the glorious vision of 
new homes and a wider freedom for those who should come after. Among 
these pioneer families there were few who added more to the renown of 
this section than the Riley family, or who were more largely responsible for 
the creation of stable conditions in this now well-established community. A 
worthy scion of this family, a man whom his neighbors ever delighted to 
honor, the late Hon. Zachariah Thomjison Riley, was, in his day and genera- 
tion, one of the most iniluential residents of Decatur county and it is a 
pleasure for the biographer here to set out some of the salient points in Mr. 
Riley's interesting career, together with a genealogical statement regarding 
his famil)'. 

Zachariah Thompson Riley \vas born in Harrison county, Kentucky, on 
April 22, 1828, and died at his home in Greensburg, Indiana, on May 17, 
1907. He was the son of Williams Wright and Elizabeth (Thompson) Riley, 
natives of Fayette county, Kentucky, and early settlers in Decatur county. 

Williams VVright Riley was born in Kentucky in 1804, the son of Gerard 
and Francis (W'right) Riley, the former born in Kentucky, the son of Ninion 
and Elizabeth (Taylor) Riley, and the latter born in North Carolina, daugh- 
ter of John and Ann (Williams) Wright. John Wright was born in Fergu- 
son county. Virginia, in 1728; enlisted from North Carolina in the patriot 
armv for service during the Revolutionary War and died in Surrey county, 
North Carolina. Ninion Riley, who was born in Montgomery county, Mary- 
land, in 1726, was the son of Solomon Riley, a native of the same county, 
whose father came to America in 1680. Ninion Riley married Elizabeth 
Tavlor, of Montgomery county, Maryland, and emigrated to Fayette county, 
Kentucky, where he became prominent in the pioneer affairs of that section 
of the state and where he spent the remainder of his life. 

Following his marriage to Elizabeth Thompson, Williams Wright Riley 
for a time lived in Clermont county, Ohio. In the year 1835 he and his wife 
came to this county, settling in the Williamstown neighborhood, wdiere for 
a time they farmed, later moving to the village of Adams, this county, where 
thev spent the remainder of their lives. They were leaders in that part of 
the county, taking a prominent part in .the social and civic life of the com- 
munity. Active in the work of the Christian church, they were among the 
leaders in all good works in that part of the county and were held in the high- 
est esteem by all. In 1856 Mr. Riley was elected to the office of justice of 
the peace for Clinton township and served in this magisterial capacity for 
many years, his judgments in such local disputes as arose within his jurisdic- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO4I 

tion ever being accepted as final. He was an ardent Mason, having become 
attached to Bethel lodge of that order in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1839. 
He was a charter member of Greensburg Lodge No. 136, at Greensburg, this 
county, being the first junior warden thereof, and was the first worshipful 
master of the lodges of the same order at Milroy, St. Paul and Adams, in this 
county. He died in 1886 at his home in Adams and his passing was sin- 
cerely mourned. 

To Williams Wright and Elizabeth (Thompson) Riley were born six 
children, of whom but one now survives, Mrs. Izora Jones, of Adams, this 
county. The others were the late Hon. Zachariah Thompson Riley, Mrs. 
Nancy Wyatt, who died in Kansas; John W., whose last days also were 
spent in Kansas: Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart and the late Dr. S. H. Riley. 

Zachariah Thompson Riley learned the trade of cabinet-maker in the 
village of Williamstown, but later became a farmer and owned a fine farm 
of two hundred and forty acres in Clinton township. His native force of 
character made him a natural leader and he early took a prominent part in 
the afl^airs of his home community. He helped to organize the first Farmers 
Club in this county, in 1882, and was greatly interested in the betterment of 
farming conditions throughout this county, his influence in that direction 
undoubtedly producing wholesome and permanent results. He was elected 
to a seat in the Indiana state Legislature in 1876 and served in the lower house 
of the General Assembly in a manner very acceptable to his constituents. His 
first public service was in the ca])acity of justice of the peace in Clinton town- 
ship, a form of service performed with the same regard for justice and equity 
as had marked his father's service in the same connection. He was a mem- 
ber of the Masonic lodge at Adams and ever took an active and prominent 
part in the affairs of that lodge. For a time he was engaged, in association 
Avith Charles Kemble, in the publication of a newspaper at Williamstown. 

In 1853 Z. T. Riley was united in marriage to Frances McLaughton, 
who died in 1854, and in 1857 ^^ married, secondly, Mary Jane Anderson, 
who was born near Springhill, this county, in 1835, the daughter of Samuel 
McClure and Mary ( Meek) Anderson, natives of Kentucky, the former of 
whom was born in Boone county and the latter in Fayette county, that state. 
Samuel INIcClure Anderson was the son of John and Ann (McClure) Ander- 
son, natives of Virginia, who emigrated to Kentucky and came thence to this 
county where they took a prominent part in the pioneer affairs of the Spring- 
hill neighborhood. To Samuel McClure and Mary (Meek) Anderson were 
born seven children, all of whom now are deceased save Mrs. Riley, who is 
(66) 



1042 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

living at her home in Greensburg, at the ripe old age of eighty vears, honored 
and respected of all, and Sophia, who married Robert Tate and lives at Indi- 
anapolis. The other children were Mrs. Martha Ann Martin-Tanner, John 
C, who married Catherine Martin: Thomas M., James A. and Samuel Davis. 

To Zachariah T. and INIary Jane (Anderson) Riley were born four chil- 
dren, Mary Libbie, who died at the age of sixteen years; Vessie, who lives at 
home with her aged mother; Dr. Eden T. Riley, a well-known and prominent 
physician of Greensburg, and one child who died in infancy. 

.Such lives as that of the late Zachariah T. Riley do not go out ; thev go 
on. In Decatur county Mr. Riley's influence was strongly impressed upon 
many lines of human thought and conduct, and invariably for the good. 
Therefore his influence persists, even though he long has been absent from the 
scenes which once knew him so well, and his memory long will be cherished 
in the community of which he once was so forceful a part. 



WILLIAM THOMAS BOICOURT. 

Although Decatur county is famous throughout the great Hoosier state 
for its many old families, families whose ancestors have lived here for nearly 
a century, there is perhaps no family of prominence today in Decatur county, 
whose ancestors came to the great Hoosier commonwealth quite as earl)^ as 
the progenitors of William Thomas Boicourt, a well-known and prosperous 
farmer of Adams township, whose paternal ancestor, the founder of the 
family in America, was a soldier in General Lafayette's army and remained 
in this country at the close of the Revolutionary War. The grandparents of 
William T. Boicourt migrated from Virginia to this section about 1812. four 
years before Indiana Territory was admitted to the Union as a state. 

William T. Boicourt was born on April 28, 1858, a mile and one-half 
east of Westport, the son of David and Mary (Holmes) Boicourt, the former 
born in June, 1822, and the latter born on October 25, 1828, both of whom 
died on September 25, 1898. The deaths of these worthy Hoosier pioneers 
occurred just thirteen minutes apart and their remains were interred in the 
same grave. 

The late David Boicourt, who was a native of Clark county, Indiana, 
was the son of Felix and Anna Boicourt, natives of Virginia, who came to 
Indiana about 1812, thus having been among the very earliest settlers of this 
state. The\- first settled near Louisville, Kentucky, from which place they 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO43 

crossed the river to Clark count}-, Indiana, and subsequently, in 1831, came 
to Decatur county. They entered government land in the southern part of 
the county, built a cabin and reared their family. The remains of Felix Boi- 
court are buried in Horseshoe Bend cemetery, east of Westport. Feli.x Boi- 
court was of French descent, his parental ancestor having come to America 
as heretofore stated, as one of Lafayette's soldiers. At the age of twenty he 
migrated from \'irginia to Pennsylvania, settling near Pittsburgh, where he 
married Anna Elliot, of Puritan ancestry, who had migrated from Massa- 
chusetts to Virginia and later to Pennsylvania. From I^ennsylvania they 
migrated to Kentucky and in 1812 to Clark county, Indiana. After settling 
in Indiana, they lived in a double log cabin near Millstone creek. Thev were 
the parents of se\'en children, namely : Absalom, who died in ^^'hite county, 
Indiana, in 1892, at the age of eighty-two; Mrs. Julia Ann Stonesifer, who 
died near I-'redonia in 1886, at the age of eighty-two; Mrs. Isabella Corya, 
who died in Jennings county at the age of seventy-nine; William, who died 
near Westport in 1904 at the age of ninety; Mrs. Christina Canfield, who 
died in 1901 at the age of seventy-eight; James, who died in Missouri in 1904 
at the age of seventy-si.x, and Ruth, who married John Holmes and died in 
1881. 

Of the children born to David and Mary (Holmes) Boicourt, repre- 
sentatives of the second generation of the Boicourt family in Indiana, Will- 
iam, the subject of this sketch, is the fifth in order of birth. There were si.x 
children, four sons and two daughters, as follow : Aaron, who lives a mile 
and one-half southeast of Westport ; Zachariah, of near Westport, who has 
gained a state-wide reputation in connection with the annual picnics held for 
sixteen years in the grove on his Decatur county farm ; Mrs. Catherine Hig- 
gins, of Indianapolis ; George, deceased, who resided one and one-half miles 
from Letts Corner; William T., the subject of this sketch, and Mrs. Rebecca 
Corya, who lives on the old home place one and one-half miles east of West- 
port. 

The mother of these children was the daughter of James and Sarah 
Holmes, natives of Butler county, Ohio, who came to Decatur county, in 1821 
and settled near Greensburg. The father helped to clear the land where the 
Decatur countv court house now stands. After settling on a tract of land 
south of Greensburg, he spent his life as a farmer, principally in clearing his 
land. The Boicourt family were lifelong members of the Lhiited Brethren 
church, David having become a member in early boyhood. He was a Repub- 
lican in politics. For more than fifty years, he was a miller by trade and 
operated the Horseshoe Bend water mill 'and afterwards a steam roller nn'll 



1044 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

at Westport, which finally was destroyed by fire. He had erected a mill at 
Horseshoe Bend, succeeding the grist-mill, and, in partnership with his 
brother, George, erected the Westport mill. 

Educated in the old Patterson school house east of Westport, a famous 
old school which stood near his home ; later at the old Binninger school north- 
east of Westport and still later at the Poplar Grove school two miles north- 
east of Westport, William T. Boicourt's early life was spent m doing the 
customary work which falls to the lot of the country boy. For two years he 
worked for his father in the flour-mill and then operated a stone quarry near 
Westport for four years. In this enterprise he lost considerable money, and 
in 1885 rented the farm upon which he now lives and which he now owns. 
Later Mrs. Boicourt inherited a farm and they have since improved the farm 
in many ways, making it one of the most beautiful country homes to be found 
anywhere in this section. The farm consists of two hundred and forty-five 
acres. They now ha\'e a thoroughly modernized home which has recently 
been remodeled. Mr. Boicourt is an extensive stockman and specializes in 
Duroc-Jersey hogs. In 19 14 he sold one hundred and thirty head for two 
thousand and twenty-seven dollars and in the same year sold fifty-eight head 
of cattle, which In'ought him nearly forty-one hundred dollars. Mr. Boicourt 
also sold five hundred bushels of wheat in 1914. This farm, which is the old 
Boyer homestead, the homestead of Mrs. Boicourt's maternal grandfather, 
lies along the river in one of the most picturesque sections of Decatur county, 
the scenery in that section being beautiful. 

On October 10, 1883, William T. Boicourt was married to Lydia Dog- 
gett, who was born at Little Flatrock, one mile east of Downeyville, on Octo- 
ber 25, 1857, the daughter of Henry and Margaret Emily (Boyer) Doggett. 
the former of whom was born in 1824 and died on June 27, i8'96, and the 
latter, born in December, 1826, and died on May 28, 1902, a daughter of 
Daniel Boyer, a native of Pennsylvania and an early pioneer and prominent 
citizen of Decatur county, who ser\ed as county commissioner for many 
years. Henry Doggett came to this state from Kentucky when eleven years 
old with his father, Henry Doggett, Sr., whose wife, who was Nancy Smith, 
of Virginia, was the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. Henry and 
Margaret Emily Doggett were the parents of six children, namely: Mis. 
Nannie Mobley, deceased ; Lydia, the wife of Mr. Boicourt : Ira, who lives in 
Wvoming; Lafayette, who lives on the old Doggett homestead: Mrs. Loella 
Glover, deceased, and Frank, who died at the age of thirteen. It is an inter- 
esting fact that the first Henry Doggett mentioned in this genealogy married 
Nancy Smith, of Virginia, the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. 



DECATUR COUNTYj INDIANA. IO45 

To William T. and Lydia ( Doggett) Boicourt ha\-e been born lour chil- 
dren, as follow: Mrs. Vessa White, who was born on November 30, 1884, 
lives in North Dakota and has one child, Ethel Juanita; Forrest Leroy, Janu- 
ary 9, 1887, died on May 7, 1898; Ora Hazel, November 11, 1889, who mar- 
ried Pleasant Redington, lives on the old home place and has one child, Walter 
Lavelle, and Mrs. Ethel Emily King, Se]5teniber 1 1. 1892, died on March 20, 
1912. Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt have adopted a son, William B., who was 
born on April 21, 1899. and who now lives at home with his fosterparents. 

A Republican in politics, Mr. Boicourt was a candidate of his party in 
the campaign of 1914 for county commissioner, but was defeated with the 
remainder of the ticket. Mr. and Mrs. Boicourt are active members in the 
Baptist church and are held in high esteem in the neighborhood in which they 
have for years been regarded as among the leading factors, their influence 
ever being exerted in liehalf of the general good. 



SOLOMON APPLE. 



Solomon Apple, who for fifty-one years has lived on a farm in Adams 
township, this county, and who, during that time, has established his right 
to be regarded as one of the successful farmers and efficient, honorable 
citizens of Decatur county, belongs to a family which was established here 
in 1849. I" 'lis declining years. Mr. Apple is surrounded with all of the 
comforts which the countryside affords and has the satisfaction of knowing 
that his two living children, a son and a daughter, are well situated with 
regard to the material comforts of life. Long residence in one locality will 
either prove or disprove one's right to the respect of his fellow citizens and 
it cannot be denied that during the period of his long residence in this com- 
munity, Solomon Apple has well earned his present en\'iable standing as an 
honored citizen. 

.Solomon .\pple was born on October 20, 1839, in Montgomer\' county, 
Ohio, the son of Elias and IMagdalena (Slifer) .Apple, and was ten years of 
age when brought to this county by his parents. Elias .Apple, who was born 
on Januar}'- 26, 1817, and who died in July, 1900, was a nati\e of Ohio, who 
came to Decatur county in the spring of 1849 and later settled in Rush county, 
still later guing to Waldron, in Shelby county, where he died. His wife was 
born in February, 181 7, and died in 1895. They were married on January 4, 
1837, and were the parents of eight children, three of whom, Philemon, Mrs. 



1046 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Lucinda Pence and Elias, Jr., are deceased. The living children are : Solomon, 
the subject of this sketch; Airs. Susan Griffy, who lives in Rush county; Mrs. 
Vandalena isley, who lives in Illinois; Mrs. Elizabeth Lowe, of St. Omer, 
and Airs. Sophia Thompson, of St. Paul, this county. 

Solomon Apple, who lived at home with his parents during his youth and 
early manhood, was married on November 12, 1863, to Caroline Kelley, who 
was born in Rush county, this state, on January 2j, 1843, the daughter of 
Ezekiel and Nancy (_ Ballard J Kelley, the former of whom was born on 
November 29, 1800, and died on August 4, 1879, and the latter of whom was 
born in iSii and died on March 24, 1877. They were married in 1827. 

After his marriage, Solomon Apple gave his father one thousand dol- 
lars for the tirst eighty acres of land that he owned and immediately set to 
work to clear the land. For a time he and his wife lived in a one-room log 
cabin, but later caused to be erected a large frame house, which eventually 
was succeeded by the tine brick house in which they live today. After a 
time, they were able to buy eighty acres across the road from Mr. Apple s 
brother's home and this farm was later presented to Mrs. Charles Allison, 
a daughter, after which they purchased another eighty-acre tract and pre- 
sented it to their son, Daniel. At one time, therefore, they owned altogether 
two hundred and forty acres which has been reduced by the gifts to their 
two children to eighty acres of land. This farm, the original tract, is now 
equipped with all of the conveniences for farming, including a large bank- 
barn. The house may be seen from the roadside, in a beautiful location, sur- 
rounded by trees and shrubbery and set on a hill overlooking the roadway. 
On the farm is a natural gas well, from which is derived gas for light and 
fuel. 

To Solomon and Caroline (Kelley) four children were born, namely: 
John W., born on April 15, 1865, and died on February 3, 1875; Daniel W., 
December 9, 1866, married Minnie Allison and has six children, Ethel, 
George, Gladys, Charles, Forrest and Caroline; Nina, December 9, 1874, 
married Dr. Charles D. Allison, of Illinois, and has four children, Nina, 
Mary, Charles and Caroline, and Nannie, October 28, 1877, died on March 
13, 1912, married William Kelsoe and bore him one child, Russell, who has 
been reared by his grandparents. 

Solomon Apple is a quiet and unpretentious citizen, a man who lays no 
particular claim to greatness and one who never boasts of his accomplisii- 
ments or achievements. Though a Democrat, he has always been more or 
less independent in voting, since he lielieves that in this way he can best serve 
the purposes of good government, hence serving not only himself as a citizen 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO47 

■of the government, but his neighbors as well. The only office he has ever 
held is that of supervisor of highways. Mr. and Mrs. Apple are members of 
the United Brethren church at St. Omer and have been for many years. 
Both are possessed of strong religious feelings and are naturally governed by 
these feelings in their attitude toward the chinxh and the principles for which 
the church stands. To Solomon and Caroline Apple it has been granted that 
their lives should be spared to see their children established in their own 
homes and with children at their own thresholds, their satisfaction consisting 
in having had an affectionate and tender interest in their children's welfare. 



HARRY STEWART HOPKINS, D. D. S. 

The improvements made in the practice of dentistry during the past fifty 
years would be a matter of deep interest to our pioneer settlers, could they 
but return to earth and visit one of our modern dental parlors. Everything 
is so shining and up-to-date, they would almost be tempted to have a tooth 
pulled, just to see for themselves whether or not dentistry has been robbed of 
any of its terrors, and to prove the truth of the statement that teeth may be 
extracted without pain, which statement usually is interpreted as meaning 
without pain to the dentist. However, due credit must be given to the dentist 
of today, for he is always on the lookout for the aids that help to lessen the 
hurt, as well as for those that improve the appearance of his work, in which 
class of up-to-date dentists none is better known hereabout than Doctor Hop- 
kins, a popular dental surgeon at Greensburg, this county. 

Harry Stewart Hopkins was born on May 30, 1874, on a farm near 
Kingston, this county, a son of James Burney and Susan (Stewart) Hopkins. 
He was reared on a farm, and attended high school, later attending the Ohio 
Dental College, at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1896, entering 
upon the practice of his profession at Greensburg, in the fall of the same 
year. Doctor Hopkins has Ijeen very successful, and has built up an excel- 
lent practice. In politics, he is a Republican, and in religion, a Presbyterian. 
Fraternallv, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. 

Tames Burney Hopkins, father of Doctor Hopkins, was a native of Dear- 
born county, born in 1838. He died at the home of his daughter, three miles 
•east of Greensburg, in iqoi. He was a farmer all his life, and did service 
in the Union army, during the Civil War, spending thirt}- days in an effort to 



1048 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

resist Morgan's raid into Indiana. His wife was born in Ohio in 1845 ^^'^'^ 
died in 1890. She was a daughter of Samuel Stewart, a native of Ohio, 
who came to Decatur county aliout 1850. They were the parents of three 
children, Nellie, Elizabeth and Harry Stewart. Nellie married a iMr. Doles, 
and lives on a farm east of Greensburg. Elizabeth married Bruce McCoy 
and died in 1901. George Washington Hopkins, of Kentucky, Doctor Hop- 
kins' paternal grandfather, was one of the pioneer settlers of the Kingston 
neighborhood, ha\ing located in this county in 1821. 

In 1897 Dr. Harry Stewart Hopkins was united in marriage to Ida C. 
Hollensbee, daughter of Henry Hollensbee, and to this union two children 
have been born, Marv and Helen. 



CHARLES S. TEMPLETON. 

Charles S. Templeton is a well known farmer of Adams township, this 
county, who owns two hundred and twenty acres of land, of which eighty 
acres is situated in Daviess county. Representatives of the Templeton family 
have resided in this county since 1869, when Robert Templeton, a native of 
Virginia, came to this county. He died at the age of eighty-seven in this 
county. His wife, who before her marriage was Mary Holland, is a native 
of Franklin county, Indiana, and is now living on the home farm at the age 
of seventy-eight years. The old home farm consists now of sixty acres, but 
formerly comprised a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. 

Charles S. Templeton was bom on July 25, 1861, in Franklin county, 
Indiana, the son of Robert and Mary (Holland) Templeton. being the fourth 
child born to his parents, and one of a family of eleven children, the others 
being as follow : George, who lives south of Adams, in this county, and is 
engaged in farming: Lillie, who died at the age of seven years; Da\'id, who 
lives at Spiceland, Indiana : Mrs. Anna McKee, of Adams township, this 
county; Mrs. Nannie Bailey, deceased; Morton, of St. Paul. Indiana: Dora, 
of Hope, Indiana: Dudley, a well-known merchant of St. Paul: Stella, who 
lives at home with her mother, south of St. Paul, and Roy who is a telegraph 
operator in Connersville. 

Charles S. Templeton was educated in the public schools of this 
countv and began farming at the age of twenty-two years on the farm owned 
bv his father-in-law, the late James Davis. He was located there for three 
years, and then moved to a farm farther south where he lived for three years, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1049 

at the end of which time he moved to Daviess county, where he Hved for nine 
years. Returning to Decatur county, Mr. Templeton located in Adams town- 
ship, and after h\ing on a farm for six years moved to Adams, where for 
two years he was engaged in the hvery business. He then purchased his 
present home farm of sixty acres. In the meantime Mr. Templeton has 
act|uired additional land until now he owns two hundred and twenty acres. 

On January 15, 1882, Charles Templeton was married to Mary E. Davis, 
who was born in Adams township, this county, the daughter of James and 
Sarah E. (Holland) Davis, both now deceased, to which union one child has 
been l^orn. Luna, who married M. T. Piatt, of Adams, this countv, and has 
one son, William Templeton. 

Mrs. Charles Templeton was born in Adams township, this county, on 
December 10, 1861, daughter of James and Sarah E. (Holland) Davis, the 
former of whom was born on April j6, 1829, and died on May 5, 1904, and 
the latter of whom was born in this county on January 10, 1837, and died on 
June 12. 19 II. James Davis came to this country from County Mavo, Ire- 
land, in 1840, at the age of eleven years, a poor lad without friends and 
without resources. Settling in Adams township, this county, he lixed there 
for many years and prospered. A good trader and financier, he became in 
time a very successful man, at the time of his death being the owner of nearly 
tliree thousand acres of fine land. He was a man known far and wide for his- 
sterling integrit\' and rugged honestw his word e\er lieing regarded to be as 
good as his l:)ond. Twelve hundred acres of Mr. Davis' land was situated in 
Daviess county, the remainder being located in Decatur and Shelby counties. 
That he was recognized as an honorable and upright citizen is proved by the 
fact that on many occasions he was called on by the courts of different 
counties to administer estates, a most trustworthy and responsible position. 
During his life he dealt heavily in live stock, and was an extensive shipper 
in this section. He and his wife were the parents of ei,ght children, as follow: 
Euphemia Jane, deceased: George M. C, deceased: John H., decea.sed ; Airs. 
Templeton: Robert J., of Clay townshi]): James G. and Edward W. f twins), 
the former of whom lives on the home farm, and the latter near Milford, and 
Mrs. Luna Smith, of Clay township. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Charles Templeton ha\-e come an extraordinary meas- 
ure of the comforts of life, and they have lived together these many }-ears 
devoted and Io\ing comjianions on the pathway of life. Mr. Templeton's 
standing in the coniiuunity. a^; well as his standing among the members of his 
own familv, is adequately proved by the fact that at the death of the late 
James Davis, his father-in-law, he was called upon by the court and by the 



1050 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

family to administer this large estate and performed the duties of that exact- 
ing trust not only with credit to himself, but to the entire satisfaction of the 
members of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Templeton are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church at Adams and active workers therein, contributing 
liberally of the means with which fortune has favored them to religious 
works. Mr. Templeton is a Republican and takes an earnest and intelligent 
interest in the political affairs of the county, being regarded as a leader in his 
community. 



WILLIAM W. ROBERTSON. 

The preservation of the personal annals of prominent citizens of this 
generation is not only a pleasing, but a most useful work ; one for which the 
succeeding generations of those represented in the pages of such annals 
should be very grateful. William W. Robertson, a well-known farmer of 
Adams township, this county, one of several brothers who have done so much 
for the agricultural development of Adams township, for many years has 
stood in the front ranks of agricultural vocational life in this community. 
Coming from an old and respected family of Decatur county, he is naturally 
a man who is well known here, where his life has always been an open book, 
subject to the most searching scrutiny. He has responded nobly and faithfully 
to all the duties which citizenship in a free country impose upon a man, and 
has amply won his spurs in the race for success. 

William W'. Robertson was born on March 20, 1858, on the old Robert- 
son homestead, the son of Oliver Perry and Mary A. (Davis) Robertson, 
early settlers in Adamt township, the former of whom was born in Lawrence- 
burg, Dearborn county, Indiana, on August i, 1825, the son of John and 
Ruth (Ridlcn) Roljertson, natives of Maryland and earlv settlers in Dear- 
born county. i-\fter coming to this county, locating in Adams township in 
1829, the family became C|uite prosperous and widely recognized as one of 
the leading factors in the agricultural life of the community. Mrs. Mary A. 
(Davis) Robertson, who was the second wife of Oliver P., was born on June 
15, 1833, the daughter of John W. and Sarah (Forsythe) Davis, natives of 
New Jersey, who came to Decatur county about 1830 and settled in Adams 
township. Mrs. Mary A. (Davis) Robertson died on May 25, 1907. She 
was the mother of seven children, of whom all are living. Of these children, 
Tosiah W., Franklin, Edward and William W. are farmers in Adams town- 



i 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO5I 

ship, this county; Charles Hves at Acton, Marion county, Indiana; Lydia is 
the wife of Ehner Shelhoun, and Ruth is the housekeeper for her brothers, 
Josiah W. and Edward. The late Oliver P. Robertson, who passed away in 
1907, was tirst married to Nancy Edrington, who was born in 1831, and who 
died in June, 1852. She was the daughter of Hiram and Rhoda Edrington, 
natives of Kentucky and pioneers in Adams township. To that union there 
were born two children, Louisa L. (deceased) and Lafayette, also a farmer 
of Adams township, this county. 

Unitl he was twenty-five years of age, William W. Robertson lived on 
the old homestead and in 1883 purchased his farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres, the farm on which he now resides and where he has lived con- 
tinuously for a period of thirty-two years. In 1887, four years after pur- 
chasing his farm, Mr. Robertson was married to Josephine Thomas Perry, 
who was born on October 12, 1855, "^^i" the Franklin-Decatur county line, 
the daughter of James and Martha (Ryan) Perry, natives of Indiana and 
early settlers of Decatur county. Subsequently they moved from Decatur 
across the line to Franklin county, and thence back to Decatur. When Mrs. 
Robertson was a child her parents moved to Illinois and settled in Jasper 
county, where the father died. The mother returned to this state and died in 
Seymour, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Perry were the parents of four children, 
namely: .Sarah Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Chapman, and died in 1913; 
Mrs. Mary Isabelle Smith, of Rushville; Mrs. Martha Jane Terhune, of 
L'rbana, Illinois ; and Josephine Thomas, who returned to Indiana from Illi- 
nois and was here married. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Robertson, but they have one foster daughter, Mrs. Lillian Leonora Hinkle, 
who lives in Shelby county. 

William W. Robertson is a Republican and for many years has been 
prominent in the political life of Adams township ; well known throughout the 
county for his political following in the section of the county in which he 
lives. From May i, 1906, to January i, 1909, he was trustee of .\dams 
township. He and his wife have a fine home, which is reached by a driveway 
from the main road. Their land is fertile and highly productive and as Mr. 
Robertson is a good farmer, the most has been made of the opportunities thus 
afforded, with the result that they ha\'e prospered. Mr. Roliertson's election 
as township trustee is an evidence of the regard in which he is held by the 
people of his home community and both he and his wife enjoy the highest 
esteem of their neighbors. 



1052 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ORLANDO LEE. 

One of the enterprising farmers of Adams township, this county, well 
known for his efficient piibHc service in tlie office of county commissioner, 
where he served for six years, is Orlando Lee, who hves in the northeast 
corner of that townshi]j. Although lie owns forty acres of land, he was 
formerly engaged in operating three hundrd acres of rented land. His claim 
to distinction in this countv is based not only on his record as a successful 
farmer, but in the fall of 1904 he was elected to the office of county commis- 
sioner by the largest majority ever given a candidate for that office, being 
elected on the Republican ticket. His repeated re-elections afforded the most 
tangible exidence that could l)e cited of his efficient service and the universal 
satisfaction which he gave in that office. 

Orlando Lee was born on .\ugust 30, 1850, in Tipton county, Indiana, 
the son of Randolph and Eliza ( Sumnier\ille) Lee. who came to Decatur 
countv on September 26. 18153, Orlando being then thirteen years of age. 
Randolph Lee. who was born in Kentucky in 1824, came to Decatur county 
first in 1S42 and here learned the wheelwright's trade from the late Samuel 
Hood. Lie was married in 1846 and two years later moved to Tipton county 
and fifteen years later returned to Decatur county. In 1877 he moved to the 
state of Kansas, where he spent the rest of his life. He was a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church and was a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty- 
second degree. His wife was the daughter of Joseph Summerville, a pioneer 
settler of P'ugit township, this county. To them were born ten children, 
namely : Philander, deceased : Orlando, the subject of this sketch ; .-Xmanda, 
who died in Rush county on March 22, 1875: Joseph, who lives at Pawhuska, 
Oklahoma: Mrs. Mary Barlow, who lives at Stillwater, Oklahoma: Ira, who 
lives at New Albany, Kansas : Mrs. Margaret Ridgeway, who resides in 
Koweda. Oklahoma: John, deceased: William, who lives at Ramona, Okla- 
homa, and Randolph, Jr.. deceased. 

In 1867, when the Lee family moved to Rush county, Indiana, they were 
accompanied by their son, Orlando, the subject of this sketch, wdio lived there 
until 1892, in which year he purchased his farm in Decatur county, giving 
one thousand dollars for the tract. .At the time he went hea\'ily in debt for 
the land but has since been able to pay for the farm and has lately refused 
one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre. . Mr. Lee has a beautiful country 
home, of which he has every reason to be proud. In 1914 he raised ninety- 
six acres of wheat and seventy-two acres of corn. On January 12, 1915. at 
a sale, he sold sixty head of hogs and se\en head of horses. In late years 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO53 

lie has been engaged in the sale of fertilizer throughout Decatur county, as a 
representative of the Reed Phosphate Company, and has been very successful, 
selling large quantities of fertilizer in this county. 

On September 30, 1875, Orlando Lee was married to Katie Hardesty, 
who was born on March 18, 1849, near St. Omer, in Adams township, the 
daughter of George Hardesty. Mr. and Mrs. Lee are members of the Milroy 
Christian church and for years have been considered among the leaders in 
ail good works in that community, being held in the highest regard by all 
who know them. 

In the community in which he lives, Mr. Lee is known as one of those 
men whose word is as good as his bond and who maintains a friendl\' and 
sympathetic interest in the welfare of his neighbors, a cordial and intimate 
relationship with his fellow citizens and a patriotic, optimistic attitude toward 
the government of which he is a part. He is a good citizen, who stands first 
and foremost for law and order and one who believes that good government 
is the result of electing to office men, who are not only right in intentions and 
possessed of honorable puqwses, but men who likewise understand the needs 
of those whom they would serve. 



ISR.AEL D. JEWETT. 



The gentleman whose name appears aI)Ove is widely known as one of the 
honored old residents of Decatur county. For nearly three-quarters of a 
century he has been identified with this community, while, since attaining 
mature years, he has been a valued factor in the development of the county, 
being prominently identified witli the various interests of his locality. His 
well-directed energies in the practical affairs of life, his capable management 
of his own business interests and his sound judgment have demonstrated 
wliat may be accomplished by a man of energy and ambition, who, persevering 
often in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, has proved tliat he 
is the possessor of those innate qualities necessary to bring success, if properly 
directed. 

Israel D. lewett was born in Adams township, this county, on March 
IS. 1842, and has lived continuously in that township. The brick house in 
which he now lives was btiilt by his father and the place is numbered among 
the best old homesteads of that part of the county. The father of Israel D. 
Jewett. Hiram D- Jewett, was born on January 17, 1822, and died on March 



I054 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

25, 1890, and his wife, Malinda (Israel) Jewett, was born on May 7, 1823, 
and died on October 22, 1880. She was the daughter of Thomas and Christ- 
iana (Deem) Israel, the former of whom died on August 17, 1858, and the 
latter on May 25, 1834. The paternal grandparents of Israel D. Jewett were 
David and Elizabeth (Crosby) Jewett, natives of New Jersey, where David 
Jewett died on April 30, i8'6o. The Jewetts were among the first settlers of 
Adams township, this county, locating near the present site of Downeyville, 
where he built a stone house and acquired a large tract of land. He built the 
old Picayune mills and in the early days was a distiller of whisky and also 
operated a tannery. He built the first saw-mill on Flat Rock river and also 
the first grist-mill. He served as justice of the peace, or "squire," for many 
years and was widely known for his honesty and high sense of justice. He 
was, as stated above, a pioneer in his community and a leader in all move- 
ments for the advancement of the welfare of the locality in which he lived. 

Hiram D. Jewett was reared and married in Adams township and for a 
time operated a farm on Flat Rock, later settling on the farm now owned by 
the suljject of this sketch. For a number of years he operated a general store 
at St. Omer. which he sold and with the proceeds bought a tract of land 
which he gradually enlarged, until his real estate holdings amounted to three 
hundred and ninety-six acres. Hiram D. Jewett was prominent in the com- 
munitv and for years served efficiently as trustee of Adams township. 

Israel D. Jewett was educated in the schools of St. Omcr and, upon 
reaching manhood, opened a general store at Adams, which he operated for 
two years. He then engaged in the mercantile business at St. Omer, which 
occupied his attention from 1872 to 1888, after which, for four years, he 
was engaged in business at Williamstown. He then moved to Greensburg, 
where he liought property, erected a comfortable home and remained for fif- 
teen years, at the end of which time he moved to the home farm and has 
remained there ever since. He has now practically retired from active busi- 
ness, although he maintains an active supervision of the three hundred and 
ninety-six acres comprising his estate, from which he derives a very comfort- 
able income. 

Mr. Jewett has always allietl himself with the Republican party and has 
been stanch in his espousal of its principles. He formerly was a member of 
the Masonic order and has. in his life, demonstrated the nobility of its teach- 
ings. Though practically retired from active life, Mr. Jewett retains a warm 
interest in the welfare of the community with which his entire life has been 
identified and has done much for its advancement and progress. He is the 
owner of the Jewett Telephone Company, which has proved to be one of the 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO55 

best public-Utility corporations in this section of the state and, in other ways, 
has demonstrated that he is a man of sound business principles, progressive 
ideas and untiring energy. 

On March 22, 1870, Israel D. Jewett was married, at Indianapolis, to 
Samantha J. Mann, who was born in Brown county, Ohio, on March 14, 
1848, the daughter of John W. and Sarah (Dye) Mann, natives of Ohio, who 
died in Brown county, Ohio, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, respectively, the 
latter on December 31, 1883. Upon the death of her father, when she was 
quite young, Samantha Mann was cared for by an uncle in Rush county, 
Indiana : her mother going to one of the southern states, where she afterwards 
remarried. Mrs. Jewett has neither father, mother, sister nor brother. She 
recei^'ed her education in the public schools and taught school in Decatur and 
Shelby counties, beginning this vocation before she was eight years of age: 
She later attended Franklin College and received a well-rounded education. 
She is a woman of splendid attainments and is held in the highest regard by 
all who know her. To Israel D. and Samantha J. C^Mann) Jewett have been 
born the following children: Ora H., born on September 17, 1871, who 
lives in Indianapolis, married Jennie Thomson and has three children, Rob- 
ert, Marie and Caryl, the latter deceased; Ettie M., October 31, 1872, died on 
April 5, 1909; and Earl D. 

Earl D. Jewett was born on March 31, 1880, and received his education 
in the public schools. Following his graduation from the Greensburg high 
school, in furtherance of his desire to make the practice of medicine his life 
work, he matriculated in the Indiana Medical Colloge at Indianapolis and 
subsequently became a student in the Illinois Medical College at Chicago, 
from which latttr institution he was graduated in 1904. He then went West, 
locating in Grant's Pass, Oregon, where he practiced his profession for one 
year and six months, at the end of which time he returned to Indiana and for 
three years was located at Richland and Milroy, later moving to St. Paul, this 
county, where he has ever since continued in the practice of his profession. 
Well trained and keeping abreast of the times in his profession, Doctor 
Tewett has met with well-deserved success and is now numbered among the 
successful and prominent physicians of this comnninity. Doctor Jewett is a 
meml)er of the Decatur County Medical Society and takes a deep interest in 
its proceedings. In addition to his professional interests. Doctor Jewett is 
engaged in the operation of the Jewett Telephone Company, which was estab- 
lished by his father in 1894 and which has been under the doctor's manage- 
ment since 1909. The lines are connected with a number of other exchanges 
so that the subscribers recei\-e the best of service and are connected with all 



1056 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

points in Rush and Decatur counties. Doctor Jewett is a member of the 
Fraternal Order of Eagles and is physician for that order in Decatur county. 
In 1906 Dr. Earl D. Jewett was united in marriage to Maude Yeager, a 
<iaughter of Samuel Yeager, of Blue Ridge, Shelby county, and to this union 
have been born two children, Justine lone and Emma Fern. 



EZRA L. PLEAK. 



Among the well-known farmers of a past generation in Decatur county, 
Indiana, was Ezra Larkin Pleak, who, prior to the time of his death, Febru- 
ary 13, 1913, owned three hundred and eighty acres of farming land in this 
county. Of him it may be said that he began life in humble circumstances, 
but slowly and gradually worked his way up to a position of prominence 
among the farmers of this township. Ezra Larkin Pleak had the good for- 
tune to select for his wife, not only a good woman, but one of superior busi- 
ness ability, and one who proved of great assistance to him in their strug- 
gles for success. He died on his farm in Jackson township within ten feet 
of where he was bom. 

Ezra Larkin Pleak, until his death a successful farmer of Jackson town- 
sliip, was bom, October 24, 1844, the son of Llewellyn and Emily (Menifee) 
Pleak, the former of whom died in 1850 and the latter of whom, born, April 
18, 1818, in Scott county, Kentucky, was the daughter of Larkin and Charity 
Menifee, who removed from Kentucky to Indiana in 1832 and settled in 
Decatur county. Emily E. Menifee was married to Llewellyn Pleak, Novem- 
ber 5, 1840, and after her husband's death, in 1853, married William Cure. 
At her death, March 3, 1902, she had two sons living: Ezra Larkin, the 
subject of this sketch, and Joseph Cure, who died in April, 1915. A sister, 
Barthena Pleak, the wife of Thomas J. Clark, was bom, June 6, 1842, and 
died July 8, 1900. 

The Pleak family in Decatur county had its origin in this country 
through Johann Pleak, a Hollander, who came to America in the middle of 
the eighteenth century and settled in Kentucky, in the neighborhood of Cas- 
tletons Fort, now Mt. Sterling, where he married a Miss Wade, a sister of 
General Wade, of Revolutionary fame, and to them was born a son, Fielden 
Blickenstorfer Pleak. In 1818 Fielden Blickenstorfer Pleak married Sabina 
Virt, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and of Dutch descent, who was 
six months old when her parents emigrated to Bryants Station, Kentucky, 



!2! 




50 



f1 




DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO57 

and where she hved at the time of her marriage. FoUowing their marriage, 
Mr. and Mrs, Fielden Pleak moved across the Ohio river, setthng at Cress- 
plains, Jefferson county, Indiana, where they remained only a short time. On 
March ii, 1822, they came to Decatur county, entering a farm in Washing- 
ton township; this farm is still in possession of the Pleak family. 

Johann Pleak, whose mother was a Blickenstorfer, born in Holland, 
April 15, 1826, came with his two brothers and a sister to America, landing 
at Jamestown. Joseph, one of the brothers, went to North Carolina and was 
never heard of again. The sister was married in Pennsylvania to a man by 
the name of Throgmorton, and reared a large family. Johann presently 
settled in Kentucky, where he purchased a tract of land. He became a well- 
known scout in this pioneer state in the neighborhood of Castletons Fort, and 
had many interesting experiences with the Indians, who were very much 
afraid of him. He was married ti) the sister of General Wade at Castletons 
Fort. They had three sons and three daughters. One son was slain by the 
Indians; the other two were Dawson and Fielden, heretofore referred to. 

The first shelter which Fielden Pleak set up in Decatur county after his 
removal here was a brush lean-to, covered with branches of trees and blankets, 
which served as a home until a log cabin could be erected. After being in 
Decatur county a short time, Fielden returned to Kentucky to bring back his 
furniture. Upon his return he found that his wife during his absence had 
sawed logs and erected the first four courses of a log cabin, and here the fam- 
ily was reared. Fielden Blickenstorfer Pleak, who was bom. December 24, 
1792, died, December 29, 1835. His wife, Sabina \^irt, died December 24, 
1875. They were married, June 9, 1814, and had a family of thirteen chil- 
dren, of whom Llewellyn, the father of Ezra Larkin, was the second born. 
The names of the children in the order of birth were as follows : Louisa, who 
married Charles Miller; Llewellyn, Joseph Dawson, John Isaac, George G. 
W. B., Catherine, Joseph D., Eletvan, America, Susannah, Norcus Baron 
Steuben, Isaac Henry Fielden and Louis. 

Ezra Larkin Pleak. the son of Llewelhn Pleak and the grandson of 
Fielden Pleak, and the great-grandson of Johann Pleak, the founder of the 
Pleak family in America, was an orphan at the age of five, and was reared 
by his uncle, Steuben B. 

On August 16, 1866, the late Ezra Pleak was married to Lucinda Bruce, 
who was born, November 10. 1849, in Jackson township, the daughter of 
Hiram and Mary Ann (Nevitt) Bruce, the former of whom was born, Jan- 
uary 10, 1825, in Dearborn countv, Indiana, and who died, A])ril 28, 1900, 
(67) 



1058 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and the latter of whom was born, December 16, 1831, and who now lives in 
Westport. Hiram Bruce was the son of Stephen Bruce, who married a Aliss 
Rivers, and who was the captain on a steamboat. Stephen came to Ripley 
county in 1828. Hiram Bruce was employed on a steamboat on the Ohio 
river and married Mary Ann Nevitt, January i, 1849. After their marriage 
they removed to Decatur county, Indiana, in the spring of 1850, erecting a 
log cabin and clearing a farm. The children were compelled to blaze their 
way to school through the wilderness. In 1853 the parents built a frame 
house. Subsequently, they owned two hundred and forty acres of land, which. 
they inherited from David Nevitt, Mrs. Pleak's maternal grandfather. Hiram 
and Mary .\nn (Nevitt) Bruce had ten children, of whom four are deceased. 
The names of the children in the order of birth are as follows: Mrs. Lucinda 
Pleak, Mrs. Mary Gartin, Mrs. Alice Gartin, Mrs. Belle Lemasters, Mrs. 
Lizzie Lemasters, deceased; Mrs. Ida Gwynn, deceased; Charles, deceased; 
John, who lives with Mrs. Pleak; Hiram, who was killed in a railroad wreck 
near Cleveland, Ohio, and George, of North Vernon. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pleak began their married life with sixty acres of land, 
which he inherited. Later, they purchased sixty acres from his sister. It 
was bare land without any improvements except an old log cabin in a bad state 
of repair. They were compelled to clear the land, f-'onds stood on the place 
and it was necessary to install elaborate drainage. Later they were able to- 
build 'a good home on high ground, and prospered. Of the three hundred and 
eighty acres which Mr. and Mrs. Pleak owned at the tiiue of his death, eighty 
acres of it belonged to Airs. Pleak in her own right, which she acquired as 
the result of raising chickens in a period of three years. She now owns the 
whole farm, having purchased the interest of the heirs, and has since sold 
sixty acres, and she now has three hundred and twenty acres in her own 
right. Mrs. Pleak and her brother operate one hundred and twenty acres, 
and her sons operate the other land. Some of the many buildings on the 
farm have been built by Mrs. Pleak since her husband's death. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Ezra Larkin Pleak were born six children, one of whom 
is deceased : Mary Louisa, who was born, September 13, 1867, and died, July 
27, 1894, was the wife of John H. Spear, to whom she was married. May 
23, 1886, and who at the time of her death left one son, Oda; Dr. Ezra H., 
who was born. May 30, 1869, and lives at Evansville, and who has been mar- 
ried three times, his first wife being a Miss Anthers, has four children, Carl 
E., Freda M., Thelma N. and Mary L., who have been partly reared by their 
grandmother; Orda E., who was born, March 12, 1871, and li\es at Letts, 
married Nevada Evans and they have eight children, Asa D., Mary Leone, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1059 



Wayne F., Alfonso Lee. Bernice I., Ardra. Dale and Gerald; Sleuhen D., 
who was burn, January i, 1873, married Marie Vanosdal, August 19, 191 1; 
Charles F., who was born on December 9, 1874. and who li\es in Jackson 
township, was married, August 15, 1897, to Daisy D. Borden, and they are 
the parents of eight children. Vera F., Cecil F., Gladys U.. lola B., Norma 
Louisa, Naomi L., Orion E. and Helen Leota ; Walter F., who was born, 
March i, 1877. married Gertrude Dunden, April 8, 1903, and they have two 
children, Maurice D. and Ruth Isabel, living in Jackson township, near Sar- 
dinia. 

The late Fzra Larkin Pleak was a member of Mt. Aerie Bai)tist church, 
as is also his wife. He was a Republican in politics and recorded his first 
vote for Lincoln. A skillful and enterprising farmer, an efficient and up- 
right citizen, a kind husband and loving father, the late Ezra Larkin Pleak 
was widely mourned by the people of Jackson township, where he had man_\- 
friends. Although his work is ended here, his influence goes on to mold for 
good the lives of his children and the lives of those with whom he came in 
contact during life. 



LORLN A. JEWETT. 



No resident of Adams township, this county, is better known in the 
township, or in this section of the state, since Mr. Jewett's acquaintance 
extends through several counties, than the subject of this sketch. He belongs 
to an old and highly respected family in this section, his grandfather having 
been one of the pioneer settlers in Adams township, having entered, upon his 
arrival here in 1823 from New York state, three thousand acres of land in 
that part of the county, much of which is still held bv the Jewett family. Mr. 
Jewett is the township trustee and a well-known merchant of St. Paul, this 
county, senior member of the firm of L. A. Jewett & Son. 

Lorin A. Jewett was born on October 28, 1861, on a farm three miles 
north of .-\dams, the son of Orin C. and Phoebe (Smith) Jewett, the former 
of whom was born in 1829, and who died in 1907, and the latter of whom 
was born on July 29, 1829. Orin C. Jewett was bom on the farm entered bv 
his father, David Jewett, and the two-story stone house still standing on the 
land was built by the latter. Orin C. Jewett Ijuilt a house a quarter of a mile 
distant from the stone house of his father. The Jewett family, which was 
established in this section by David Jewett, who died in 186 1, is one of the 
leading families in Decatur county. The founder of the family in this section 



I060 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

was an Englishman who married a German woman. Their son, Orin C. 
Jewett, spent all his life, with the exception of six months, on the old home- 
stead farm in Adams township, and at the time of his death was the owner 
of four hundred and thirteen acres, having begun with two hundred and forty 
acres. David Jewett erected a grist-mill at Downeyville, on the Little Flat 
Rock river, and or many years operated that mill, the picineers coming from 
a distance of twenty miles to ha\'e their grain ground. Lorin A. Jewett was 
one of six children born to his parents, the others being as follow : Charles 
and Frank D., who live in Greensburg with their mother and who operate 
the home farm; Effie, the wife of J. T. Kercheval, a farmer living in Wash- 
ington township, two miles east of Greensburg; Mrs. Mary Farlow, of Greens- 
burg, and Mrs. Bertha Bentley, whose husband is a farmer of this county. 

Reared on the farm and educated in the public schools of Adams town- 
ship, Lorin A. Jewett taught school for twenty years in Decatur county. For 
three vears he was a student at Hartsville College, and for two years was in 
attendance at the Central Lidiana Normal School at Danville, Indiana. In 
college he prepared himself for teaching and bookkeeping. In the fall of 
1906 he engaged in business at St. Paul, in a large brick building, and has 
been thus engaged since that time. He has a large stock of merchandise and 
has built up an excellent trade. His store is arranged on the department 
plan, and is admirably managed. Mr. Jewett has an extensive trade, not only 
in Adams township, this county, but over the line in .Shelby and Rush coun- 
ties, his store being one of the most popular thereabout. 

On December 25, 1887, Lorin A. Jewett was married at Danville, 
Indiana, to Sallie Green, daughter of Henry Green, of Danville, and to this 
union has been born one son, Kenneth L., born on December 6, 1888, who is 
engaged in business with his father, as the junior member of the firm of L. A. 
Jewett & Son. 

Lorin A. Jewett was elected township trustee of Adams township on the 
Democratic ticket in the fall of 1914. For five years he has served as secre- 
tary of the St. Paul Building and Loan Association. The Jewett family are 
all earnest and faithful members of the Christian church. Fraternally, Mr. 
Jewett is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, 
the Improved Order of Red Men, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
and the Fraternal Order of Eagles, in all of which organizations he takes an 
active interest. He holds membership with the Knights of Pythias lodge at 
Greensburg, with the Red Men and Odd Fellows at wSt. Paul, with the Eagles 
at Greensburg, and with the Masonic fraternity at Waldron. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I061 

A successful merchant and a well-known citizen, L. A. Jewett deserves 
to rank as one of the representative citizens of Decatur county, a man of 
generous impulses, of splendid husiness ability and of pleasing personal parts. 



ALBERT G. TAYLOR. 



Albert G. Ta}'lor, a well-known farmer of Adams township, this county, 
who owns a highly-profitable farm of two hundred acres in that township, 
belongs to a family which was established in Sand Creek township, Decatur 
county, in 1842, when that township was practically a wilderness. Although 
Mr. Taylor is neither one of the largest farmers nor the largest stockmen of 
this county, he has made a very gratifying success of his two-hundred-acre 
tract and has an annual output of about two hundred head of hogs and some 
forty or fifty head of cattle. 

Born on March 10, 1847, Albert G. Taylor, who has lived in Adams 
township for the past twelve years, is a native of Sand Creek township, 
Decatur county, the son of George and Anna (Hill) Taylor, who are natives 
of Pennsylvania, born and reared in that state. After their marriage they 
came west in 1842 and settled in .Sand Creek township, this county, where 
they purchased three hundred acres of timber land, built a log cabin and made 
ready to clear and develop their farm. In this they were very succesesful, and 
presently came to be regarded as among the well-to-do residents of that com- 
munity. George Taylor died at the age of seventy-five years and his wife 
died at the age of sixty-five. 

Of the ten children born to George and Anna (Hill) Taylor, seven are 
still living. Isaac died in 1905, Mrs. Elizabeth Robbins died in 1885, and 
Mrs. lane Samuels died in 1890. The living children are as follow: Albert 
G., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Anne Bayles, of Carroll county, Indiana; 
Frank, of Greensburg, this coimty; Mrs.- Alice Myers, of Sand Creek town- 
ship, this county; John Anderson; Merritt, of Jackson township, and Belle, 
who makes her home with her lirother, Albert G. 

After attending school in Sand Creek township, and living at home with 
his parents until twenty-three years of age, Albert G. Taylor rented a farm 
in Sand Creek township, having previously engaged in farm work for hire in 
that neighborhood. From his savings Mr. Taylor was able eventually to buy 
one hundred and forty-two acres in Sand Creek township and later to add 
fortv acres to this original tract, making one hundred and eighty-two acres in 



I062 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

all. There he lived until 1903, in which year he sold that farm and removed 
to Adams township, purchasing his present farm of two hundred acres. 

In 1S69 Alliert G. Taylor was married to Rachel Stout, who was born 
in Franklin county, this state, in 1849, the daughter of the Rev. Joab Stout, 
a pioneer Baptist minister, who came to Decatur county from Franklin county 
when Rachel was an infant. The marriage proved a very happy one, and Mr. 
Taylor and his wife li\ed together, true and devoted companions, until Mrs. 
Taylor's death, December 26, 1910. To them six children were born, namely: 
Alpha H., who became a teacher in the Decatur county schools at the age of 
seventeen, later taking a course at Franklin Cellege, going thence to the 
Indiana State Normal School at Terre Haute, from which she was graduated, 
and is now a teacher in the public schools of Gary, Indiana. Mrs. M3rrta 
Mvers, of Connersville. Indiana, who has one child, Dorothy; Mrs. Luna 
Burton, of Atlanta, Georgia, who has one child, Wynne ; May, who lives at 
home with her father; Mrs. Edith \Vest. of Indianapolis, who has two chil- 
dren, Albert and Robert, and Luther, who lives at home and is engaged in 
farming. 

Mr. Taylor is a member of the Baptist church, as was Mrs. Taylor before 
her death, and their children were reared in that faith. Mr. Taylor has lived 
to rear a large family of children, all of whom are leading honorable, useful 
and successful lives and has the gratification of knowing that his own career 
in this respect has been successful. He has the further satisfaction of know- 
ing that he enjovs the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and fellow 
citizens, all of whom hold him in the highest regard. 



LAFAYETTE ROBERTSON. 

In these latter days farming has become a vocation for highly trained 
and educated minds and the haphazard processes of former generations must 
be given up if men are to succeed in this generation. Many far-seeing farmers 
have anticipated this modern development in agriculture and themselves have 
adopted and followed improved methods and scientific processes for many 
vears. Lafayette Roljertson, a well-known farmer of Adams township, is a 
man who not only understands the business of farming as a business, but 
who practices farming as a business and who has managed to make it pay 
him handsome returns. 

Lafavette Robertson was born in Decatur county, Indiana, on March 15, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO63 

1852, the son of Oliver Perry and Nancy (Edrington) Robertson, the former 
•of whom was born in 1825 and died in 1907, and the latter born in 1S31 and 
•died in June, 1852. Oliver Perry Robertson, a native of Decatur county, 
was the son of John and Ruth ( Ridlen ) Robertson, the former a native of 
West Virginia, who settled in this county in 1823. Mrs. Nancy (Edrington) 
Robertson was the daughter of Hiram and Rhoda Edrington, natives of 
Kentucky and pioneer settlers in Adams township, this county, where they 
cleared the land for their farm, built a log house and later erected a large 
brick house, now owned by E. Shelhorn. 

When Lafayette Robertson was only four years old, his father moved to 
the old Robertson homestead, which is in sight of Lafayette Robertson's 
present home. The late Oliver P. Robertson lived to rear a large family of 
children and to become quite well-to-do, owning, at the time of his death, one 
hundred and sixty acres of land. By his first marriage two children were 
born, Louisa L. (deceased) and Lafayette, the subject of this sketch. After 
the death of his first wife, Oliver P. Robertson married, secondly, Mary Ann 
Davis, who died in 1909. To this second union eight children were born, 
namelv : W'arren, who lives on a farm west of Adams ; John ; Frank, who 
lives in Adams township, south of his brother Warren's residence; William 
W., who lives three-quarters of a mile west of the old Edrington home; 
Charles T., of Marion county, Indiana; Edward, who resides with Warren; 
Ruth, who lives in Adams township, and Mrs. Lydia Shelhorn, who lives in 
the old Edrington home. Lafayette Robertson lived at home until seventeen 
years of age and then worked as a farm hand for six years. After his mar- 
riage, he lived on the old homestead for two or three years and then rented 
and moved to the Nelson Jewett farm, which he bought several years later 
and has lived there for thirty-seven years. 

On April 7, 1875, Lafayette Robertson was married to Emma Jewett, 
who was born on Julv 31, 1855, in a brick house on the same farm where she 
is now living, the daughter of Nels(in and Ruth (Hayes) Jewett, the former 
of whom was born in 1820 in Hamilton county, Ohio, the son of David 
Jewett and who died on September 28, 1882, and the latter of whom was 
the daughter of Jacob Hayes, an early settler of Jackson township, who was 
■born in 1824 and who died on September 29, 1887. Mrs. Robertson is the 
third in order of birth of the children born to her parents, the others being 
as follow: Mrs. Julia Hill, deceased; Mrs. Elizabeth McCoy, who died on 
January 22. 1915; Mrs. Fannie White, of Greensburg; Mrs. Clara White, 
also of Greensburg. and several who died in infancy. 

To Lafavette and Emma (Jewett) Robertson have been born three 



1064 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

children, one of whom died in infancy, those hving being Mrs. Myrta Ander- 
son, of Adams township, this county, and Mrs. Nehie Mullikin, who Hves in 
Ridgeville, Indiana, and has one child, Robert Stanley. 

At one time Mr. Robertson served a term as a member of the county 
council. Politically, he is now identified with the Progressive party. He is a 
man well known throughout Adams township and today is regarded as a 
leader in the agricultural affairs of this township, a man of gracious personal- 
ity, who has mastered the vocation in which he is engaged and whose efforts 
have met with a most satisfactory and gratifying degree of success. 



WILLIAM S. KETCHUM. 

William S. Ketchum was born in 1834 in Hamilton county, Ohio, the 
son of Benjamin and Rhoda (Beem) Ketchum, the former of whom was a 
native of New York and who came to Ohio, where his son, William S., the 
subject of this sketch, grew to manhood. 

At the age of twenty-two years William S. Ketchum married Elizabeth 
Be\-ington, a native of Miami county, Ohio, to which union six children were 
born, four of whom are still Hving, namely: Benjamin K., of Grant county, 
Indiana; William E., of Decatur county, a farmer and preacher living near 
Mt. Pleasant; Mrs. Arminta Knaar, the wife of Adam Knaar, of Greens- 
burg, and Isom Ketclnmi, of Indianapolis. The mother of these children died 
in the early seventies and William S. Ketchum, in 1879, married, secondly, 
Mary M. Williams, the daughter of Peter and Eliza (Palmer) Williams, the 
latter of whom was the daughter of David and Annie (Hammond) Palmer, 
natives of New York state. Annie (Hammond) Palmer came with her par- 
ents from England, where she was born in 1794. When eighteen years old 
she was married to David Palmer, who shortly afterwards became a soldier in 
the War of 1812, serving as a member of the troop of light horse artillery 
recruited in New York state. Annie (Hammond) Palmer was ninety-four 
years old when she passed away in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1888, ta 
which county she and her husband had come from their home in New York 
state, and where her husband died in 1853. They were the parents of ten 
children, of whom Eliza (Palmer) Williams, the mother of Mary M. (Will- 
iams) Ketchum, was the third child. Eliza (Palmer) Williams was born 
in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1819, shortly after the removal of the family 
to this state. She grew to womanhood there and in 1842 married Peter 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO65 

Williams, a native of Kentucky, and one of the descendants of Roger Will- 
iams. Peter Williams died in Dearborn county, Indiana, about 1844. His 
widow married John Fawcett, a native of Ohio, about the year 1853, and they 
spent the rest of their lives in Dearborn county, she having been one of the 
oldest citizens of that county at the time of her death. 

William S. Ketchum saw service in the Union army during the Civil 
War as a soldier in Company G, One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, Ohio 
Volunteer Inantry, serving under Colonel Kiefer. This regiment was attached 
to the army of General Grant and was present at eighteen decisive and severe 
battles, of which the battles of the Wilderness, Mission Ridge, Gettysburg 
and Winchester were among the most famous. In 1862, in front of Peters- 
burg, on the skirmish line, Mr. Ketchum was shot through the lungs and after 
that was confined in the hospital for six months. When he recovered the war 
was over and he came to Decatur county, where for years he was successfully 
engaged in farming, and is now living retired at his pleasant home in Greens- 
burg. 

Mr. Ketchum is a Democrat of the Andrew Jackson variet)'. He is a 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Greensburg, and of the Baptist 
church. He is known as a good man, a patriotic citizen and as one who has 
been a brave and efficient soldier. Naturally, he is highly respected by the 
people of this county, who hold him in high esteem. 



GEORGE W. SHUPERD. 

George W. Shuperd, a retired citizen of Adams township, this county, 
the son of a veteran of the Civil War, and himself a soldier of that great war, 
was one of the color bearers on the morning that General Johnston surren- 
dered to General Sherman, one of the concluding events of the great Civil 
War. 

George W. Shuperd was born in 1841, in Adams township, Decatur 
countv, Indiana, the son of John and Elizabeth (Wood) Shuperd, the former 
of whom was a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Decatur county about 
1823 from Pennsylvania, the family Iwing of Pennsylvania-Dutch origin. 
Elizabeth Wood was a native of Virginia, a daughter of James Wood, a 
member of one of the old families of Virginia, of English origin. John 
Shuperd and Elizabeth Wood were married in Decatur county, and to that 
union twelve children were born, of whom George W. was the fourth in order 



I066 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

■of birth. John .Sliuperd, a well-known cooper of this county, was si.xty years 
■of age when the Civil War broke out, but despite his years, enlisted in the 
Eighth Indiana Cavalry, under Colonel Jones, and served over two years, 
being discharged for disability. He was a brave and efficient soldier and a 
man of much strength of character, a useful factor in his community. He 
died in 1899. 

George M. Shuperd was reared to the life of the farm and in 1861 
married Emily Byrum, daughter of James and Nellie (Davis) Byrum, the 
former of whom was a native of North Carolina, of English ancestry, ilem- 
bers of the family were early settlers in Virginia. James Byrum was mar- 
ried in Kentucky, and soon after his marriage came to Decatur county, where 
he entered land in Adams township, and become a prosperous and successful 
farmer. He and his wife reared twelve children, of whom Emily, born in 
Decatur county in 18.^3, was the youngest. 

One year after his marriage, in 1862, George W. Shuperd enlisted in the 
Thirty-ninth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and Eighth Cavalry, 
recruited in Indiana, and served until the close of the war. He was with 
■General Sherman on his famous march to the sea, and was one of the color 
bearers when General Johnston surrendered to General Sherman, which event 
practically marked the close of the war. Mr. Shuperd saw strenuous service 
in this, the greatest of his country's wars. He is authority for the statement 
that during one of General Kilpatrick's campaigns "for twenty-one days the 
saddle was not taken from his horse and when it was removed the hair and 
hide came with it. ' Mr. Shuperd retains a vivid recollection of the stirring 
scenes through which he passed during the war. His regiment, which went 
into the war eleven hundred strong, was mustered out with only two hundred 
and fifty soldiers remaining. After the surrender of Johnston, Mr. Shuperd 
was detailed to break up the bands of guerrillas, the remnants of the armies 
■of Morgan, Forrest and Wheeler which had disintergrated into roving and 
pillaging bands. He came home from the army in August, 1865, and began 
farming, which he followed for about ten years, at the end of which time he 
entered the butcher business, in which he was quite successful. 

To George W. and Emily (Byrum) Shuperd three children have been 
born, two of whom, namely: Oliver, born on January 19, 1862, who died on 
March 30, 1873: Sarlinda, born in June, 1866, died when fourteen months 
■old; John, born in 1872, who lives in Adams township, married Jane Waits, 
who died on May 5, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Shuperd have also reared three 
grandchildren, Dolly Ray, Pearl May and Carlos Melvern Shuperd. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I067 

George W. Shuperd ]ias been a life-long Republican and is pruml of the 
fact. He is a man of remarkably strong body and mind. Air. and Mrs. 
Shnperd are members of the Christian church and enjoy the highest regard 
of their manv friends. 



ROBERT ANDERSON. 



The \-enerable Robert Anderson, of Clay township, this county, is 
another of those distinguished sons of '6i to '65, who, at the call of his 
country for the preservation of the Union, abandoned the peaceful pursuits 
of life and went out on the field of battle to yield up his life, if necessary, in 
behalf of the cause of freedom. 

Robert Anderson was born in Butler county, Ohio, on October 26, 1838, 
son of Robert and Elizabeth (Frazier) Anderson, the former of whom was 
a native of Pennsylvania, who migrated to Butler county, Ohio, in pioneer 
times and settled there on a farm. He was a Democrat in politics and a sub- 
stantial citizen of the county, well known and highly respected throughout 
that section. 

Tn August, 1862, Robert Anderson, Jr., enlisted in Company C, Ninety- 
third Regiment, Rosseau's Brigade, Third Division, Fourth Army Corps, as 
a private. At the battle of Missionary Ridge he was wounded in the shoulder 
and was confined to the hospital until the spring of 1864, when he again 
joined his command. In the summer of 1864, still unable, on account of his 
severe wounds, to resume active service he' guarded cattle below Chattanooga, 
and drove them to Big Shanty, where he turned them over to the Fourth 
Army Corps and then returned to his regiment. He remained with the regi- 
ment until June 15. 1865, when he received an honorable discharge and 
returned home. 

Among the many severe and bloody battles in which Robert Anderson 
was engaged were those of Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Frank- 
lin, Nashville, New Hope church, and x-arious engagements of the Atlantic 
campaign. After the battle of New Hope Church he was taken ill and was 
sent to the hosjMtal camp at Chattanooga. Mr. Anderson had two brothers 
in the war, both serving in the same regiment with him. They were cap- 
tured by the enemy and compelled to endure the horrors of both Libby prison 
and Andersonville. 

On September 24, 1868, Robert Anderson was married to Elizabeth 
Ferguson, daughter of Samuel and Nancy (Nicholson) Ferguson, of Decatur 



1 



I068 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

county. To this happy union were born the following children: Alvin E.^ 
of Shelby county; Henry R., of Greensburg; Albert F., of Adams township; 
Mrs. Orpha Altizer and Mrs. Daisy Wright, of Greensburg. 

Upon the close of the war Robert Anderson, who then was without 
funds, worked at various occupations until about 1875, when he purchased 
sixty acres of land south of Greensburg. After owning the sixty acres about 
three years, he sold it and purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Adams 
and Clay townships, going in debt for the same to the extent of five thousand 
dollars, and after ten or twelve years of diligent effort was able to remove 
this indebtedness. Today he is regarded as a solid and substantial citizen of 
Decatur county, intensely patriotic in his devotion to his country and the 
flag; a man of good business ability and strong moral fiber. 

Though always a Republican in politics, Mr. Anderson is more a patriot 
than a partisan. His first vote was cast for Abraham Lincoln and he has 
never wavered in his allegiance to the party of the great emancipator. He is 
a member of the Grand .^rmy of the Republic at Greensburg and of the 
Methodist church, with which church Mrs. Anderson also is connected. Mr. 
Anderson has been living a retired life for about fourteen years and is com- 
fortably situated and able to enjoy life, he and his wife enjoying the utmost 
respect and esteem of their many friends. 



ISAAC D. WAITS. 



It is doubtful whether there is living in Decatur county today any man- 
more patriotically devoted to the cause of human freedom and the cause of 
his glorious country than the venerable Isaac D. Waits, a veteran of the 
Ci\il War, who gave four of the best years of his life to the sers'ice of his 
country and its flag. 

Isaac D. Waits, who was born on October 8. 1840, was twenty-one 
years old <in the day he enlisted as a soldier in the Union army for service 
during the Civil War, October 8, 1861. He joined Company E, Fiftieth 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which was veteranized on March 2, 
1864, and consolidated with the veterans of the Fifty-second Regiment, 
Indiana \^olunteer Infantry, attached to the army of General Thomas, in 
middle Tennessee. After departing from Louisville, Kentucky, Mr. Waits' 
first engagement was at Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the regiment had 
its first fight. After this he was stationed at Nashville, Tennessee, for one 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO69 

year and was engaged there in lighting Morgan's guerillas. In the invasion 
of western Tennesse the army saw a great deal of hard fighting, especially 
in the pursuit of General Forrest, who was defeated on the Tennessee river. 
Being taken ill about this time, Mr. Waits was confined in the hospital at 
Memphis during the winter of 1863, and in the spring rejoined his regiment 
at Little Rock, Arkansas. On account of the delay occasioned by failure to 
get transportation, he ran away from the hospital and found his way by 
boat and otherwise to Little Rock. The winters of 1863 and 1864 were 
spent at Lewisburg, Arkansas. During the famous cold New Year's day of 
1864 he nearly froze to death, having been on guard duty uninterruptedly for 
forty-eight hours. In February, 1864, on the regiment's return to Little 
Rock, began the Camden campaign, which lasted for forty-two days, during 
which time there was continual fighting. During this campaign occurred the 
battle of Saline river, which lasted seven hours, one of the fiercest and hard- 
est-fought battles of the war. For more than seven hours, on account of the 
incessant din of battle, Mr. Waits was unable to distinguish the crack of his 
own gun, and could discern its fire only by the "kick." In that campaign 
eight thousand Union soldiers defeated forty-four thousand Confederate 
troops under General Smith. 

After Mr. Waits' re-enlistment in the Fifty-second, that regiment was 
engaged by General Smith at Mobile, Alabama, an engagement which lasted 
thirteen days. During the progress of this battle Lee's surrender was 
announced atid Lincoln was killed. When the army received word of Lin- 
coln's assassination it sent one hundred shells into the rebel fort. On the 
first day of the fight Mr. Waits was wounded by a spent six-pound solid shot, 
which struck his gun, and which also paralyzed his right leg. He was unable 
to use this leg for seven weeks, and, although he was sent to the hospital, 
his spirit was so aroused after the death of Lincoln that he limped away 
from the hospital and rejoined his regiment, using his gun for a crutch. 
Afterwards he marched sixty miles on crutches. At the Tom Bigby river 
the regiment was discharged, December 19, 1865, and came home by the way 
of Atlanta and Chattanooga. After two weeks in camp at Indianapolis the 
soldiers were paid off and discharged. 

Isaac D. Waits is the son of William and Catherine Ann (Hicks) 
Waits, the fortner of whom was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, in 1798, 
the son of John Waits, a native of Maryland, who migrated to Kentucky 
during the pioneer days and became a prosperous farmer of Harrison county, 
that state, where he reared a large family, of whom William Waits was the 
eldest child. The latter grew to manhood in Kentucky and in 1822 came to 



1070 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Indiana, locating in Rush county, where he entered one hundred and sixty 
acres of land. Aljout 1816 he was married in Kentucky and to that union 
there were born six children before the family came to Indiana in 1822. 
Seven more children were born after their arrival in this state, making 
thirteen altogether, of whom Isaac D. was the last liorn. Catherine Ann 
Hicks was the daughter of Joshua and Ann ( Chambers) Hicks, both natives 
of Ireland, who came to Vmerica some time before the American Revolu- 
tion. Joshua Hicks, a molder by tratle, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
\\'ar, and was detailed to mold cannon balls, serving valiantly throughout 
the War of Independence. A young man when he came to America, he was 
not married until after the beginning of the Revolution, when he was thirty 
years old, his wife, Ann Chambers, being fifteen years old at the time. They 
lived together as man and wife for eightv-five years, their deaths occurring 
within a few hours of each other, and their remains were buried in the same 
gra\'e. They were the parents of seventeen children, of whom Catherine Ann 
(Hicks) Waits, the mother of Isaac D. Waits, was the last born. Joshua 
Hicks also served as a soldier in the War of 181 2, doing duty in the same 
capacity as in the Re\'olutionary War, as a molder of cannon balls. His 
eldest son, Isaac, then about eigliteen years old, was a helper. 

.\fter the discharge of Isaac D. Waits from the Union army he returned 
home to Rush county. Indiana, to which section his father had moved in 
1856, and on February jt,. iS'66. was married to ]\Irs. Elizabeth .\kers, the 
widow of John F. Akers, a soldier of the Civil War, a member of Company 
H, Second Indiana Cavalr}-, who was taken prisoner at the battle of Barnell 
Station, Georgia, and died in .Andersonville prison in September. 1864. Mrs. 
Waits is a daughter of William and Margaret (Chowley) Gibson, who were 
natives of Ohio county. Indiana, of Pennsylvania stock. Mr. and Mrs. 
Waits began life together on a farm in Ohio county, where two of their chil- 
dren were born. In Februar)-, 1870, they came to Decatur county, settling 
in Adams township, where the}- li\'ed fnr two years, at the end of which 
time they removed to Clinton county, Indiana, where they remained for two 
years, after which they returned to Adams township, this county. After 
living on a farm there for a short time they moved to the village of Adams, 
w here they ha\e li\ed ever since. 

To Isaac D. and Elizalieth (Gibson) Waits six children have been born, 
as follow: Minnie J., who is the wife of Clay Aldridge, of Greensburg; 
Cora, who is the wife of William E. Laws, of Adams township; Eddie L., 
whose home is at Adams, but who is at present at Lexington, Kentucky ; 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. lOJI 

Jane F., the deceased wife of John Shuplierd : Frank, who died at the age of 
eleven }-ears. and Pearl M., wlio died at the age of four. 

Despite the weight of their years, Mr. and Mrs. Waits are in good 
health and spirits and retain the liveliest interest in current affairs. A Repub- 
lican in politics, Mr. Waits is stanch and true to the party of Lincoln. He is 
a member of the Grand .\rmy of tlie Repuljlic, and Mrs. Waits belongs to the 
Ladies' Relief Corps. Both are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church and are held in the highest esteem by their many friends in this county. 



JOHN C. BLACK 



John C. Black, a diligent and prosperous farmer of Sand Creek town- 
ship, Decatur county. Indiana, who owns ninety-five acres of land and a 
beautiful home, was born, October 23, 1855, in Sand Creek township, the son 
of David Black, who was born in 1807 and who died in 1884 at the age of 
seventy-three years, six months and sixteen days. David was a native of 
Augusta county, Virginia, and when a young man rode horseback from Vir- 
ginia to Franklin count}', Indiana, settling near the Marion county line, where 
he was married to Susan Heimlich, a nati\e of Franklin county- In .\pril, 
1855, they moved to Sand Creek township and settled on the old Kepper 
farm near Letts Corner. They died at Letts. They had seven children, 
three eldest of \\'hom, .Vndrew, Elizabeth and Xancy, and the youngest, 
Rachel, are deceased. The children living are Jacob, Helen and John C, the 
subject of this sketch. 

On December 24, 1879, John C. Black was married to .\lice Parker, 
daughter of John G. Parker, of Sand Creek township. After his marriage 
Mr. Black lixed for three years, one month and ten days on the Alexander 
farm in Jackson township, until October 25, 1883, when he located on his 
present farm. In 1895 he purcha.sed this farm for forty dollars an acre. 
He has invested hundreds of dollars in various kinds of improvements and 
now has a commodious farm house, attracti\-ely painted and a large barn. 
This farm, which he originall)- purchased at forty dollars an acre, is now 
worth in excess of one hundred and twenty-five dollars an acre. 

In politics Mr. Black is a Re])ulilican liut has never taken any part in 
the councils of his party, preferring to devote himself exclusively to farming. 
He is a member of Greensburg lodge No. 36. Free and Accejjted Masons. 
Mrs. Black is a member of the Baptist church. Although Mr. Black is not a 
member of any church, his parents were leading Presbyterians in this section. 



1072 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

JOHN W. TAYLOR. 

In all of the history of Decatur county, no hetter citizen has e\'er lived 
within its borders than the late John W. Taylor, a successful fanner and a 
well-known veteran of the Civil War. 

John W. Taylor was born in Bracken count3^ Kentucky, in 1837, the son 
of William T. and Maria (Adams) Taylor, natives of Kentucky, the former 
born in 1784 and the latter in 1806, who were the parents of five children, of 
whom John W. was the eldest son. 

When John W. Taylor's parents died, the family of small children were 
left to the mercy of a cruel and difficult existence, hence early in life John 
^V. developed the habit of self-reliance and patient endurance. The responsi- 
bilities thrown upon his shoulders when a mere lad. probably had much to do 
with making him a strong and sturdy character. 

In April, 1862, John W. Taylor answered the call of his country for 
help in the great struggle for the preservation of the Union, and enlisted in 
Company H, Sixty-eighth Regiment, Indiana A'olunteer Infantry, in which 
he served with distinction until the close of the war, being mustered out as a 
corporal. In many hard- fought I)attles, he was a brave soldier and had a 
distinguished record. At the termination of his service he returned to Deca- 
tur countv and took up the occupation of farming, in which he was quite 
successful. 

In 1906 John \Y. Ta_\-lor was married to Mrs. Nancy (McCoy) Altizer, 
widow of John Altizer. She wasborn in 1842 in Jefferson county, Indiana, 
the daughter of Daniel and Rachel (Phillips) McCoy, both of whom were 
natives of Kentucky and who moved to Jefiferson county, Indiana, when that 
section of the country was a wilderness. Her father was a carpenter by trade 
and many houses are still standing in Jefiferson county as a monument to his 
skill and honesty. Mrs. Taylor was educated in the district schools, but her 
advantages for obtaining an education were limited to three months a year 
and she was compelled to walk two and one-half miles to school. 

Mrs. John W. Taylor was first married in 1858 to John Altizer, who 
was born in 1840 and died in 1881. He was the son of Isaac and and Sarah 
Altizer, of Jefferson county, Indiana, the former of whom was a native of 
that countv. The Altizers comprised a good old substantial familv, promi- 
nent in the affairs of Jefferson county. Four years after the marriage of 
John Altizer and Nancy ]McCoy, the former enlisted in the Union army and 
served for one month, or until he was severely wounded during the battle of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO73 

Franklin. After .several months in the hospital, he was discharged for dis- 
ability. The wound recei\ed in his gallant service for his country caused a 
lingering illness from which he never fully recovered. On account of lame- 
ness he was unable to engage in any strenuous labor after the war. However, 
he took up milling and was very successful in that business, accumulating 
considerable property. He was the father of five children: Morton, who 
lives in Missouri; Ella, the wife of James Kenipp, of Illinois; Robert, of 
Adams, and Oscar and Gilbert, both deceased. John Altizer was a Repub- 
lican and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 

The late John W. Taylor was also a Republican in politics, intensely 
loyal to his country and a patriot of the highest type. He was a member of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, in the affairs of which he took a warm and 
active interest. He was a member of the Methodist church at Adams at the 
time of his death and one of the every-day kind of Christians, widely known 
for the high character of his life. Mrs. Taylor is a member of the Meth- 
odist church at Adams, with which she became affiliated when fourteen years 
old. She is a woman of generous impulses, dearly loved by her children and 
•esteemed and respected by her neighbors. 



CHARLES F. RISK. 



Instances are very rare in which men who have been trained to a trade 
in the city become successful farmers, yet Charles F. Risk, a young farmer 
■of Sand Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, at the time of his marriage 
abandoned carriage trimming, a. trade which he had followed in Greensburg 
and in Indianapolis, and having removed to the farm has become one of the 
successful agriculturists of the county. 

Charles F. Risk was born on August 5, 1874, in Marion township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, the son of John A. and Eliza (Flemming) Risk, the 
former of whom was born in 1852 in Kentucky, came to Decatur county in 
1872, and now lives in Greensburg, where he moved in 1903 and where he is 
a well-known and successful business man. The latter was born in 1844 in 
Ohio. All of the six children, born to James A. and Eliza (Flemming) 
Risk, are still living, and are as follow: Mrs. Libbie M. Weaver, Crawfords- 
ville; Charles F., the subject of this sketch; Mrs. Carrie Glass, of Marion 
township; Eva; Frank M., of Chicago, and Delia. 
(68) 



I074 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

In igo2 Charles F. Risk was married to Melissa Sparks, who was born 
in 1874 in Montgomery county, Indiana, the daughter of William O. and 
Lucy P. fMcCracken) Sparks, natives of Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, 
the former of whom was born, October 27, 1844, and died, December 10, 
1879, when Melissa was five years old, and the latter of whom was born, 
January 27, 1844, in Clinton township, the daughter of Hugh McCracken, an 
early settler of Decatur county, and died, September 29, 1884. William and 
Lucy P. (McCracken) Sparks were married in Decatur county, but immedi- 
ately removed to Montgomery county, and there spent the remainder of their 
lives. They were the parents of five children, two of whom are now deceased. 
Of the deceased children, Alvin was born September 30, 1870, and John, the 
youngest, born March 5, 1878, died in 1879. The three living children are 
as follow: Hugh, born February 15, 1872, lives in Rush county; Melissa, 
born March 29, 1874 and married Charles F. Risk; and Ellen, born Decem- 
ber 4, 1S75, lives in Ft. Wayne. 

After the death of her parents Mrs. Risk came to Sand Creek township, 
and made her home with Silas White and Margaret Susan (McCracken) 
Garrison, her uncle and aunt. The former was a son of Mary Fugit, a daugh- 
ter of Judge John Fugit, one of the early settlers of Decatur county, who 
came to Fugit township in 1818, settling one mile east of Clarksburg. John 
Fugit was bom, October 5, 1832, and died, December 21, 1900. Silas White 
Garrison, a native of Decatur county, born in Clay township, was the son of 
David and Mary (Fugit) Garrison. His wife, who before her marriage was 
Susan McCracken, was born, January 29, 1839, in Clinton township, and died 
May 12, 1914. Silas White Garrison was a soldier in the Union army during 
the Civil War, and served one hundred days in the One Hundred and Thirty- 
seventh Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry. 

The farm of a hundred and thirty-seven acres in Sand Creek township, 
on which Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Risk live, was the Garrison home place, 
bequeathed to Mr. Risk and his wife by her uncle and aunt. They moved to 
this farm immediately after their marriage at which time Mr. Risk abandoned 
his trade and engaged in farming. He also owns eighty acres of land in 
Marion township. On the home place there is an attractive farm house 
situated on a graveled road and well shaded with magnificent trees. The 
farm also has good barns and other out-buildings. Mr. Risk ordinarily raises 
a hundred head of hogs annually, and breeds a cross between Duroc-Jerseys 
and Poland Chinas. He has been very successful as a farmer. 

Mr. and Mrs. Risk have one child, Geneva, who was born on December 
13, 1910. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Risk 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO75 

is a progressive Republican. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge 
at Letts. Although Mr. Risk has lived in Sand Creek township a compara- 
tively short time, he has made a host of friends since coming here and is a 
man who during his comparatively brief residence has won the confidence and 
esteem of his neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Risk are both well liked in the com- 
munitv where thev live. 



LEROY A. ECKHART. 



Among those conspicuous in the financial affairs of this county as well 
as township, is a young man whose stalwart integrity of character won for 
him friends and associates soon after he entered the business circles of Letts. 
Although born in another state, Indiana became the home of his adoption 
at an early age, and this state is now proud to claim him as her own, for he 
has contributed loyally to her citizenship and also to her material resources. 
The honest, straightforward business man is an asset to any community, for 
the force of his integrity is felt beyond the limits of his own associates in the 
commercial world, and becomes a distinct moral influence. Leroy A. Eck- 
hart, cashier of the Letts State Bank, was born in Livingston county, Mis- 
souri, March 19, 1881. 

Mr. Eckhart, as the eighth of a family of nine children, early in life 
acquired those habits of self-reliance which became valuable later on in his 
active career. His father, John A. Eckhart, was of sturdy pioneer fibre, 
coming to this country from Germany where he was born on December 18, 
1839, near Frankfort. When only twelve years of age he moved to DeKalb 
county, Lidiana, and ten years later married Lucinda D. Barrett, the mar- 
riage taking place on April 17, 1861. His wife was a native of Lagrange 
county. Indiana, and was born on March 25. 1844. Mr. Eckhart was known 
as a successful farmer. In 1880, Mr. and Mrs. Eckhart moved to Livings- 
ton county, Missouri, and in the following year, the subject of this sketch was 
born. In iS'Sg the family left their Western home for Miami county, Indi- 
ana, and se\en vears later, removed to Shirley, Indiana. In 1897, they again 
changed their place of residence to Scott county. On October 2, 1902, John 
Eckhart died on his farm eight miles from Scottsburg, and was buried in 
Galveston, Indiana. His widow is now living in Pasadena, California. 

John .\. and Lucinda D. (Barrett) Eckhart were the parents of a large 
family, but in spite of the hardships of pioneer days, there was no lack in 
parental love and care. John, the first-born of this household, was born on 



1076 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

January 14, 1863, and died at Tribune, Kansas, on January 8, 1908. The first 
daughter. Elinore I. was the wife of Will Jacobs, was born on September 12. 
1864, and passed away on March 15, 191 5, at Coyle, Oklahoma. Cora C. 
Hudson was born on July 16, 1866, and now lives in Montalvo, California. 
Arclemena D. died in infancy. Lillie M. McCormick was born on April 16, 
1870. and her present home is in Los Angeles, California. Martha A. 
Haynes was born on February 20, 1872, and lives near Milford. Charles 
Victor was born on January 4, 1874, and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Leroy 
A. born on March ig, 1881, the subject of this sketch. The youngest child, 
Grace Leonore, born on June i, 1883, married Fred L. Thurston, and resides 
with her mother in Pasadena. 

Leroy A. Eckhart attended the schools of Scott county, and graduated 
from the Seymour Business College. Like the majority of the youths who 
were farmers sons, he worked for a while after his school days were past, 
on his father's farm, but this did not prove entirely congenial, and as mathe- 
matics had been a favorite study, his tastes found interesting employment 
when he began his duties as bookkeeper of the Scott County State Bank. 
Later, he was engaged by the Salem Citizens' State Bank, a position he 
retained for four months. He left Salem to organize the State Bank of 
Letts, and from that time until the present, has been its leading spirit. He 
is now one of the directors, as well as its cashier. 

On November 27, 1901, Leroy A. Eckhart married Opal E. Rice, whose 
ancestors were pioneers of the Hoosier state. Mrs. Eckhart was born on the 
Scott county farm of her parents, February 17, 1884, her father being Giles 
J. and her mother Rhoda A. Rice. The latter was a native of Jefferson 
county, and the former, of Scott county. Mrs. Eckhart is an only child. 
Her paternal grandfather was Ebenezer Rice, a native of North Carolina, and 
his father, also named Ebenezer, was an early settler of Scott county, enter- 
ing the land where Giles, who was born on June 29, 1845, tiow lives. The 
mother of Mrs. Eckhart was the daughter of Samuel McCurry of North 
Carolina, who came to Indiana in her early history, settling in Jefferson 
count}'. Rhoda A. Rice was born on January 2y, 1849. Giles J. Rice has 
been a successful farmer, now in possession of farm lands amounting to four 
hundred and eighty acres, having recently sold forty acres of his five hun- 
dred and twenty. 

As the Letts Corner State Bank has played an important part in the life 
of our subject, it may be of interest to note a few facts regarding this well- 
known business institution. The Letts State Bank was organized by Leroy 
A. Eckhart on October 2, 1913, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO77 

dollars and deposits amounting to forty-two thousand dollars to forty-five 
thousand dollars. The bank is operated in its own building, a substantial 
and artistic structure of brick and stone with dimensions twenty-four by fifty- 
four feet. The interior furnishings include a tiled floor of beautiful design, 
handsome office fixtures, and a fire and burglar proof iron vault and safe. 
The officers of the bank, are: President, Dr. J. A. Welch; vice-president, 
K. L. Adams; cashier, Leroy A. Eckhart. The directors are J. A. Welch, 
K. L. Adams, L. A. Eckhart. \\\ C. Marshall, A. M. Alexander, M. B. Taylor, 
and Delger Moor. 

Mr. Eckhart's political interests have been identified with the Democratic 
party, and while he has not ranked as a politician, he has always stood for 
the measures and movements that mean good citizenship. Mr. and Mrs. Eck- 
hart are active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which their 
influence has been a distinctive force for good. Mr. Eckhart believes in 
the beneficial effects of social organizations, and is a member of the Odd 
Fellows I-odge at Deputy, Indiana, and of Lodge No. 506 at Beechwood. 

As an e\-idence of Mr. Eckhart's business ability, it may be noted that 
he is the owner of eighty acres of valuable land in Scott county. 

It may be seen from the above brief sketch that, although its subject is 
a young man, his life and work have already come to occupy an important 
place in the economic and social affairs of the town in which he has made 
his home since boyhood. Although his life has not been characterized by 
adventure or unusual incident, it has had in some degree the elements of great- 
ness. It has been marked by honor and integrity in business transactions, by 
fidelity to high ideals, and by a uniform courtesy and kindness in associations 
with his fellowmen. Such a career cannot fail to be an incentive to others. 



HEXRY C. KIRBY. 



A career of earnest and indefatigable application to the peaceful pursuits 
of life was that of Henry C. Kirby, a veteran of the Civil War, and for 
many years an honored resident of Adams township, this county. His fidelity 
as a soldier during the Civil War and his high patriotism as a citizen of the 
.American union of states were distinct characteristics of his honorable life. 
In all his relations with his fellowmen, he gained and held the confidence and 
esteem of the public and at his death his loss was widelv mourned liy the 
people of .Vdams township. 



10/8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Henry C. Kirby, who was born in Decatur county, Indiana, was the son 
of Clay Madison Kirby, a native of Kentucky, whose wife, the mother of the 
late H. C. Kirby, died when the latter was a small child. Some years after 
her death, Clay M. Kirby married, secondly, Tirza Meek, a member of one 
of the old and respected families of this county. H. C. Kirby grew to man- 
hood on his father's farm in Decatur county and when the Civil War broke 
out, enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, 
Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving until he was taken ill and discharged 
for disability. 

After the war, Henry C. Kirby began farming in Decatur county. He 
married Epsie Guthrie and after her death, about ten years later, was mar- 
ried, in 1881, to Ada McClerkin, the daughter of James and Martha (Meek) 
McClerkin, the latter of whom was the daughter of Thomas Meek, a son of 
Adam Meek, one of the prominent pioneer settlers of this county. James 
McClerkin was a native of Decatur county, a farmer by occupation and a 
well-known and well-respected citizen of the county. To this second union 
one child was born, a son, Harry M., born on March 9, 1884, in Adams 
township, this county. 

After the second marriage of the late H. C. Kirby, he and his wife 
began life in Adams township on a farm. He was an ardent Republican and 
patriotic citizen. He was a devoted member of the Baptist church, as is his 
widow, and their son was reared in that faith. Mr. Kirby died on March 19, 
1905, and be was widely mourned, for he was a good man. 

Among the prosperous young farmers of Adams township, Harry M. 
Kirby, the son of the late H. C. Kirby, takes high rank. He owns a fine 
farm of one hundred and ten acres, lying to the north of Adams, land of the 
verv finest quality. Mr. Kirby is known as one of the most progressive young 
business men and farmers in that part of the county, specializing in pure- 
bred, big type Poland China hogs. 

Upon completing the course in the Adams high school, Harry M. Kirby 
studied and mastered telegraphy. After an apprenticeship of about ten 
months, he was given a position with the Big Four Railroad, which he held 
for nine years. During the past five years, however, he has devoted his 
energies to the business of progressive farming, to which he intends to devote 
the remainder of his life. Mr. Kirby is a bright young man with a promising 
future before him. He is possessed naturally of a likeable personality and is 
so constituted that his friends predict lie will win recognition in his chosen 
field of endeavor. He is one of the "true-blue" variety of Republicans in his 
political affiliation and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO79 

at Adams and has attained to the encampment of that order. He is also a 
member of the Baptist church, as is his mother. Mrs. Kirby is a woman of 
strong and forceful character, of grace and charming personality. Possessed 
of a cheerful, optimistic disposition, she is popular in a large circle of friends 
and especially popular in church work, to which she devotes a considerable 
portion of her time. 

The Kirby family for two or three generations has been prominent in 
the agricultural, civic and political life of this township, earnest and sincere 
people, conscientious in giving to the world a full measure of performance in 
all of the duties of life. 



EDWIN DOBYNS DONNELL. 

Nowhere in Indianapolis is there held out a warmer welcome on behalf 
of Decatur county folk than in Room ii, the state house, where Edwin D. 
Donnell, clerk of the bureau of public printing of the state of Indiana, holds 
forth ; and visitors from this county are assured that the latch string of Room 
II ever is hanging free when they are passing through the corridors of the 
state capitol. 

Mr. Donnell, who is a native son of Decatur county, has had an inter- 
esting career as a printer and newspaper man. In 191 1 he was honored by 
the Indiana State Legislature, receiving in January of that year the appoint- 
ment by the Legislature to the important position of purchasing agent of the 
General Assembly, a position in which he displayed such a fine grasp of the 
state's needs in the way of public printing that the state bureau of public 
printing further honored him by making him clerk of the board, a position 
which he since has held and the duties of which he has discharged with such 
fidelity and with so high a regard for the state's best interest as to merit the 
praise of those in authority; a meed of praise which is given as ungrudgingly 
as it is well deserved. During former sessions of the Legislature the alleged 
looseness with which affairs connected with the printing department and the 
furnishing of legislative supplies had been conducted amounted at times 
almost to an open scandal and the 191 1 Legislature determined to put a stop 
to this loose manner of conducting affairs in that department. To this end it 
was decided to put the whole matter of the purchasing of supplies into the 
hands of an accredited agent of the General Assembly. It was a matter of 
general congratulation on the part of Decatur county folk when the news 
Avas given out that a Decatur county man, Edwin D. Donnell, had received 



I080 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

the appointment to this highly responsible and important position. That Mr. 
Donnell did his work well was attested when, at the close of the session of 
the Legislature, the state printing board a])pointed him to the responsible 
position of clerk of the bureau of puljlic printing, the department of state 
which conducts the business connected with the large amount of printed mat- 
ter which is required for state uses. Mr. Donnell is very popular with the 
Decatur county colony at the state capital and still retains the warmest inter- 
est in Decatur county affairs. Few native sons of this county have a wider 
acquaintance hereabout than he and the following biography will be read 
with interest by all. 

Edwin Dobyns Donnell was born at Clarksburg, Decatur county, Indi- 
ana, November ii, 1861, son of William Addison and Mary E. (Dobyns) 
Donnell, the former of whom also was born in Clarksburg, a son of Luther S. 
and Jane Wright (Braden) Donnell, natives of Kentucky, who came to 
Decatur county at an early da\- and settled on a farm one mile southeast of 
Clarksburg, becoming prominent in the pioneer life of that community. In 
later vears they moved into the town of Greensburg, where Luther S. Don- 
nell died. Jane Wright Donnell. who lived to the age of ninety -two, spent 
her last years in the home of her daughter, ]\Irs. Hamilton, at Clarksburg. 

William Addison Donnell was reared on the paternal farm near Clarks- 
burg, remaining there until 1865, in which year he moved to Greensburg, this 
county, where he engaged in the hardware and farm implement business, 
later Iniying the Greensburg foundry, \\hich he operated for some time. In 
1878 he jnu-chased the Decatur County Press, changing the name of the same 
to the Decatur A'cics, and it was on this paper that Edwin D. Donnell received 
his initiation into the printing and newspaper business. In 1885 Mr. Donnell 
sold the Decatur Nezvs to James E. Mendenhall, present mayor of Greens- 
burg, who gave the paper a new name, the New Era. 

In 1886 Edwin D. Donnell bought an interest in this paper, retaining the 
same for three years, at the end of which time he sold his interest to Mr. 
Mendenhall and in i88q went to Greeley, Colorado, where for four years he 
published the Greeley Sun. selling the paper in 1893 to Brent Patton, another 
Decatur county boy. Mr. Donnell then returned to Greensburg, shortly after- 
ward going to .Springfield, Ohio, where, from April to September, he was 
foreman of the mechanical department of the Springfield Republic-Times. 
He again returned to Greensburg and for one year was associated with Allen 
W. Clark in the publication of the New Era, as foreman of the composing 
room. At the end of this time he bought a third interest in the Greensburg 
Rei'iccV and was thus connected with the publication of that paper for one 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I081 

year and six months. He then went to Elwood, Indiana, where, for a year, 
he acted as head of the advertising department of the Ekvood Courier. In 
1899 J^'f''- Donnell moved to Cincinnati, in wliich city he was em])loyed in a 
job-printing house until the fall of 1905, at which time he went to Nash- 
ville, Tennessee. In January of 1906 he returned to Greensburg, taking the 
position of superintendent of the mechanical department of The Baptist 
Observer, a position which he retained for more than three years. He then 
was engaged for a }'ear as foreman of the composing room of the Greeiisbnrg 
Nezvs and in June of 1910 went to Indianapolis, in which city he was 
employed as foreman of the plant of the Capitol Printing Company until 
January, 191 1. At that time he was appointed purchasing agent of the Indi- 
ana Legislature, and at the close of the session of 191 1 was appointed clerk 
of the state bureau of public printing, a position which he is still filling to the 
entire satisfaction of the authorities composing that important bureau of the 
state service. 

Mr. Donnell received his education in the Greensburg high school and 
in the Agricultural-Mechanical College at Ashland, the old home of Henry 
Clay, near Lexington, Kentucky. In 1888' Edwin Dobyns Donnell was united 
in marriage to Ollie Rogers, who was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, 
daughter of Edward H. and Mary Jane (Shull) Rogers, both of whom were 
born near Vevay, Switzerland county, the former of English and the latter of 
German descent. During her early childhood the parents of Ollie Rogers 
moved to Greensburg and it was in that city Mr. Donnell's wife was reared 
and there she received her education. Edward H. Rogers traveled for the 
Standard Oil Company for a period of thirty years or more and died at Hope, 
Indiana, in 1909. 

To Edwin D. and Ollie ( Rogers) Donnell one child has been born, a 
son, Clifton E., who was born at Greeley, Colorado, in 1892. He was gradu- 
ated from the Manual Training high school at Indianapolis and is a member 
of the J916 class of the Indiana Dental College. 

Mr. and Mrs. Donnell are members of the Christian church and take an 
active interest in church work. Mr. Donnell is a member of the Masonic 
lodge at Irvington, his home being located in that beautiful suburb of Indi- 
anapolis, and is a member of Keystone chapter, of the same order. He also 
is a member of the Knights of Pythias, retaining his membership in lodge No. 
148 of that order at Greensburg. He is a member of the Indiana Chamber 
of Commerce and a member of the Indiana Democratic Club. He is exceed- 
ingly popular among his associates and enjoys the highest confidence and 
esteem of state-house circles. 



I082 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



GEORGE W. ]\IOOR. 



One of the large coniinercial enterprises of Sand Creek township, 
Decatur county, Indiana, is the mercantile firm of Moor & Crise, located at 
Letts, Indiana, and capitalized at twenty-five thousand dollars. This firm had 
its beginning aljout twenty-five years ago, when George W. Moor engaged 
in the hardware business at Letts. This firm now operates a grain elevator 
and has a large retail trade in seeds and flour. It also operates a lumber and 
coal yard and sells all kinds of building material, lumber, cement, lime, plaster, 
tile and stone to the people of Jacksou, Sand Creek and Clay townships. 

George W. Moor, the senior member of the firm of Moor & Crise, 
was born, December 31, 1853. in Decatur county, Indiana, on a farm, the son 
of William Oliver and Margaret J. (Forbes) Moor, the former of whom 
was born in Franklin county, Indiana, September 23, 1825, and who was 
killed by a fall from a horse, in Sand Creek township, June 27, 1885. The 
latter also was born in this state. William Oliver Moor was a son of Edwin, 
a native of New York, who when a boy of nine years was brought to Ohio by 
his father, Ezra Moor, who, after living for a time near Cincinnati, removed 
to F'ranklin county, and later entered a tract of land in Jackson township, the 
farm where M. B. Taylor now lives. Here he cleared the land and lived until 
his death. As nearly as it can be ascertained he must have come to Jackson 
township during the early forties. William Oliver Moor, who was a carp- 
enter by trade, followed this occupation in Jackson and Sand Creek townships 
and farmed to some extent. He died at the home of his son, George W., the 
subject of this sketch. Llis wife, who before her marriage was Margaret J. 
Forlies, died in 1872. They were the parents of se^'cn children, as follow: 
John E. lives in Iowa; George W. is the subject of this sketch; Riley F. lives 
in Kansas; William L. lives in Washington; James M. lives in Mason City, 
Iowa ; Mrs. Ina L. Birch lives in Seattle, and Mary E. is deceased. 

Educated in the common schools of Decatur county and in the Harts- 
ville school. George W. Moor was for fifteen years a teacher in Jackson, 
.Sand Creek and Adams townships. Five years of this period were spent as 
a teacher in Harris City. During the last five years of Mr. Moor's experi- 
ence as a teacher he was also engaged in farming, and later he devoted himself 
exclusively to farming for five years in Sand Creek township. From 1891 
to 1895 he was engaged in the hardware business, and this business was the 
beginning of his present large enterprise. In 1895 ^^ ^'so engaged in the 
grain business and in 1910 he took Mr. Crise as a partner in the firm. They 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO83 

have a large and profitable trade in this part of Decatur county, and one which 
has been builded upon careful business methods and a careful regard of the 
wants and needs of their patrons. The success is due in no small measure 
to the cordial relations that Mr. Moor has sustained towards the public. 

In 1876 George W. Moor was married to Mary Ferris, daughter of 
Andrew Ferris of Marion township, who is the brother of J. W. Ferris of 
the same township. Mrs. Moor was born, September 23, 185 1. To Mr. 
and Mrs. George W. Moor have been born five children, Forrest G., Jessie, 
Stella, Raymond and Carol. Of these children, Forrest G., of Warren, Ohio, 
is a mechanical engineer and superintendent of the Chicago and Cleveland 
Car Roofing Company. He married Louise Cooper, and they have three 
children, Dorothy, Gladys and Eleanor. Jessie is the wife of Grover W. 
Crise, Mr. Moor's partner. They have four children, Mary, David, Amy 
and Roger. Stella lives at homes and is a teacher in the Letts high school. 
She was graduated from DePauw University with the class of 191 1. Ray- 
mond F., of Warren, Ohio, was associated with his brother, and is now 
working with his father. He married Zora Purvis. Carol W., a book- 
keeper for his father's firm is a graduate of the Letts high school. 

In politics, George W. Moor has always been an ardent Repulilican. 
Mr. and Mrs. Moor and family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church. They are well known throughout Sand Creek, Jackson and Clay 
townships and are highly respected residents of this community. 



JAMES M. WOOD, M. D. 

Among the prominent physicians of Greensburg, Indiana, who have been 
well educated for the medical profession is Dr. James M. Wood, who has 
been practicing in this city since 1897, a period of eighteen years. In this 
period he has not only built up a large and extensive practice in Greensburg 
and Decatur county, but he has also firmly established himself as one of the 
leading citizens of the city and county and is today a man well known not 
only in professional circles, but in religious and fraternal circles as well. 

James M. Wood was born on October 5, i860, on a farm six miles south 
of Greensburg in Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, the son of 
Lorenzo D. and Elizabeth (Martin) Wood, natives of North Carolina and 
Decatur county, respectively. 

Lorenzo D. Wood was born in Kentucky in 181 2, and was left father- 



1084 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

less while very young. With his mother, his uncle Asa and other children, 
he came to Decatur county in the early twenties. The uncle obtained a farm 
which is still in possession of the Wood family. Lorenzo D., who entered 
one hundred and twenty acres of government land and later purchased forty 
acres, cleared the land and built a log cabin where James M. V\'ood, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was born. The father died of tuberculosis, developing 
from a cokl which he caught wliile working on a straw stack. James M. 
Wood's mother, who before her marriage was Elizabeth Martin, was born 
on November 26, 1819, and died on November 26, igoo. She was the daugh- 
ter of John and Polly (Meredith) Martin, the latter of whom was the daugh- 
ter of William Meredith, one of the pioneers of Decatur county. John 
Martin, a Kentuckian by birth, settled in Decatur county in 1815 and lived to 
be a very old man. Lorenzo D. \Vood. the father of James M., died in 1863. 

Reared on the farm and educated in the country schools of Decatur 
countv, James M. Wood obtained his professional education in the medical 
department of the University of Tennessee at Nashville, being graduated with 
the class of 1888. In the meantime, he had taught school for five years to 
earn money with which he might attend medical college. During this period 
he was located on the old home farm with his mother near Gaynorsville. 
After graduating from the medical department of the L'niversity of Tennessee, 
Doctor Wood was located for ten years on the home farm with his mother. 
Shortly after being graduated from the L'niversity of Tennessee, he attended 
the Chicago Polyclinic College, taking a post graduate course and in 1897 
he was a student at the Miami Medical College at Cincinnati. On December 
I, 1 897, Doctor Wood moved to Greensburg, Indiana. 

Doctor Wood is a member of the Decatur County, the Indiana State and 
the .Vmerican ]\Iedical Association. He is the owner of a farm of one hun- 
dred and four acres two and one-half miles southeast of Greensburg, which 
is de\'oted to general farming and which he personally oversees. It is one 
of the best farms to be f(jund in Decatur county. Doctor Wood has his 
residence at 418 North Broadway. 

In November, 1897, James M. Wood was married to Laura M. Fiscus, 
the daughter of George W. and Catherine Fiscus, natives of Decatur and 
Franklin counties, respectively. Mrs. Wood was born October 29, 1865 and 
died Novemljer 27, 19 13, leaving one child. Eura, aged eleven years. Her 
death came as a distinct shock to her husband and to the community at large 
bv whom she was greatl}- admired. .\ woman of noble instincts, considerate, 
luving and tender in the home, her loss is keenly felt. 

Dr. James M. Wood is a member of the Baptist church and, as far as it is 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. loS^^ 

consistent with the practice of his profession, is a regular attendant at rcHgious 
services. He is independent politically, supporting principles which he deems 
to be expedient and sound politically and economically, rather than party 
emblems. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. 



JOHN FEAR. 



John Fear, a retired farmer living with his daughter one and one-half 
miles west of Letts in Sand Creek township, was born ninety-two years ago 
in Harrison county, Kentucky. Twelve years after his birth he was brought 
to Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, by his parents. He has lived ever 
since in this county. Today he is one of the few remaining pioneers of the 
county and has seen the county developed from a primeval forest, its log 
cabins, its log rollings, its spelling bees, all the hardships incident to pioneer 
life, to its present proud position as one of the pre-eminent agricultural sec- 
tions of this country. Life is vastly different today from what it was a 
century ago when there were no roads, few houses and few neighbors. Today 
the county is thickly populated with progressive and prosperous citizens, who 
enjov most of the comforts available to people in the cities. The \'enerable 
John Fear has had a part in this wonderful transformation and all of it he 
has personally witnessed. 

John Fear was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, on September 3, 
1823, the son of William H. and Delilah (Lantern) Fear, the former of whom 
was a native of X'irginia, but who emigrated to Kentucky with his mother 
when a young man and settled in Harrison county, Kentucky, where he was 
married. It was there that six of the seven children were born. In 1835 
William H. Fear emigrated to Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, and 
settled on a farm, where he lived for three years. This farm was owned by 
Abel Todd. Subsequently, he entered land of his own, and as soon as the 
trees were deadened, he built himself a log cabin in the wilderness and mo\-ed 
to his own domain. The farm entered by William H. Fear lies in the south- 
ern part of Clay township, and is now owned by Elmer Woodruff. Here 
John Fear started his life in this county, grew to manhood and performed 
the tasks which fell to the lot of the average pioneer boy. 

John Fear was married, when twenty-nine years old, to Harriett Will- 
iams, a daughter of Samuel Williams. Samuel Williams was born in Vir- 
ginia, and came to Decatur county when a young man. Mr. and Mrs. John 



I086 DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 

Fear started life on a farm in Jackson township, Decatur county, and after 
renting land for some three years, Mr. Fear purchased forty acres and added 
to this tract from time to time until he owned a hundred and seventy-four 
acres. Mrs. Fear died on August 19, 191 1. Since that time, John Fear 
has made his home with his daughter. He and his wife had eight children, 
of whom only three are living, as follow: Mrs. Julia (Fear) Holmes lives in 
Sand Creek township ; Edmund lives near Hartsville, in Jackson township ; 
and William Samuel lives four and one-half miles west of Letts in Jackson 
township. 

Mr. Fear is a Democrat and is not afraid to express his political thought 
and sentiments. He is a member of the Baptist church. 

John Fear has been a good citizen, a man who has always taken a 
worthy interest in the happiness and comforts of his neighbors and one wha 
has performed well all the duties of life, both public and private. He has 
helped to clear the forests, drain the swamps and establish a comfortable home 
in the wilderness. Today he is held in high regard by a host of people in 
Sand Creek township who have known him for many years. 



ABRAM F. VENNER. 



To begin life on the farm with no capital except health, strength and 
determination, and to win success by industrious sen'ice, patience and frugal 
living entitles a man to the respect of his neighbors, and to distinct rank 
among successful men. This, in brief, is the history of the career of Abram 
F. Venner, proprietor of "Midway Farm," who owns a rich body of land, 
consisting of a hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, Decatur 
county, Indiana. Not only does he have land which is naturally productive, 
hut he has increased its fertility by scientific drainage, and by clearing a 
heavily-wooded tract of thirty-five acres. This farm as it stands now, well 
fenced and well ditched, with an equipment consisting of a comfortable house, 
two barns, a granary, wagon shed, tool house, garage, hen houses, and hog 
houses, has no superior, from the standpoint of earning capacity, in Decatur 
county. 

Tracing back the ancestry of Abram F. Venner we find that he is a great- 
grandson of a German emigrant, who came to this country about a century 
ago to establish for his family and himself a home in the new world. In 
view of the thrift and frugal habits of the German people it is no wonder 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I087 

Abram F. \'enner lias carved out for himself the career of a successful man. 
Abram F. Venner was born on February lo, 1847, in Harrison county, Indi- 
ana, the son of John Adams and Jane (Wiseman) Venner, natives of Penn- 
sylvania, and Kentucky, respectivel\', the former was the son of Jacob Ven- 
ner, who was in turn the son of the founder of the Venner family in America. 
After removing from Harrison county to Hartsville to educate his son, John 
Adams Venner returned to Harrison county, where he died. His younger 
sons were all educated in Hartsville College. His children in the order of 
their birth were Elizabeth, Rosann, Malinda, Mary Catherine, John, Daniel, 
George, William and Abram F. 

Educated in the public schools of Harrison county, and in Hartsville 
College, where he lacked six months of graduation on account of illness, 
Abram F. Venner taught school for three years at Lanesville, Bogart Springs 
and Middletown. Well informed and well trained in methodical and careful 
thinking, Abram F. Venner has applied to the problems of agriculture the 
logical and consistent reasoning which he acquired during his school days. 

It was at Hartsville College that Mr. Venner met his future wife. 
Abram F. Venner was married, August 12, 1869, to Louisa Belle Rhoher. 
After their marriage they came at once to their farm, and here they have lived 
for forty-six years. Mrs. Venner was born, October, 1851, and is the daugh- 
ter of Simeon and Sarah (Collier) Rhoher, the former of Pennsylvania 
ancestry, and the latter of Kentucky. Simeon Rhoher moved from Ohio to 
Indiana. The Rhohers were early settlers in Jackson township, most of them 
taking government claims and clearing the land for cultivation. Simeon 
Rhoher's father, John Rhoher, owned one thousand acres of land. He him- 
self owned three hundred acres. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Abram F. Venner have been born two children, Jessie 
(deceased) and Corda De Ella. On March 3, 1887, Corda De Ella married 
John W^arren Smith, who lives with Mr. and Mrs. Venner, and who cultivates 
eighty acres of land in addition to the Venner farm. 

John Warren Smith was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, February 
4, 1861, and came to Decatur county, Indiana, in the fall of 1885. He was a 
school teacher in Kentucky and Indiana several years. Mr. Smith has been 
one of the leading farmers. Mr. Venner and Mr. Smith have made a 
specialty of Hereford cattle, Duroc Jersey hogs, Shropshire sheep and Ply- 
mouth Rock chickens. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have one child. Bessie Venner, who married Harold 
Brown Ogden, of Forest Hill, April 7, 191 5. 

Harold Brown Ogden was born on October 12, 1885. He is a graduate 



I088 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

•of Hanover College, Indiana, and took post-graduate work in science at 
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and Purdue University, Indiana. Mr. Ogden 
was professor of science for two years at Park College, Parkville, Missouri. 
He is now farming in Jackson township, this county. 

Mr. Venner's career has been too busy to permit him to take any con- 
siderable interest in politics, but he is identified with the Republican party. 
Mr. and Mrs. Venner and family are members of the United Brethren church 
at Mt. Pleasant. 



JOHN G. GARTIN. 



For years known as one of the most extensive breeders of pure-bred 
stock, both cattle and hogs, in the middle states; the breeder of a bull, the 
famous "Monitor," which took first prizes at the state fairs at Columbus, 
Ohio ; Indianapolis, Indiana : St. Louis, Missouri ; Springfield, Illinois, and 
at the great cattle show at Madison Scpiare Garden, in New York City, and 
later and at present known far and wide as the "baby-beef man, John G. 
Gartin, a singularly successful farmer of Clay township, this county, needs 
no introduction to Decatur county readers of this book, but in the interests 
■of history and that future generations may be informed regarding the activi- 
ties of the Gartin family in this county for the past three or four generations, 
it is fitting that a genealogical sketch of Mr. Gartin be presented at this point 
in this volume of biography. 

John G. Gartin was born in Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, 
just one mile west of where the town of Burney now is situated, on June 14, 
1865, the son of Felix and Dorcas (Pavy) Gartin, both of whom also were 
born in this county, members of pioneer families, the latter of whom was the 
daughter of John T. and Nancy Pavy, also natives of Clay township, who 
were born not far from where the family now lives. For details regarding 
the genealogy of the Pavy family the reader is referred to the memorial sketch 
relating to the late John T. Pavy, presented elsewhere in this volume. 

Felix Gartin was the son of Griffith and Mary (Fear) Gartin, the 
former of whom was a native of Kentucky, who came to Decatur county in 
the year 1823. Mary Fear was the daughter of ^Villiam H. Fear, a Virgin- 
ian, who came to this county with his parents in the year 1825. Both the 
Gartins and the Fears became prominent in the pioneer aiYairs of the county, 
■clearing fine farms from the forest wilderness and becoming recognized as 




JOHN G. GARTIN. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO89 

among tlie substantial families of that section of the county in which they 
settled. Griffith Gartin was a man of fine executive ability, energetic and 
enterprising, and was very successful, being the owner of se\'en hundred or 
eight hundred acres of land at the time of his death. He was a thorough- 
going business man and became one of Decatur county's most successful 
dealers in live stock, his specialty being mules and cattle, his eight sons taking 
charge of his extensive farming interests. He was an ardent Whig and 
exerted considerable influence over the political destinies of the county. He 
and his wife were de\oted adherents of the Baptist church and their children 
were reared in that faith, the family becoming a strong moral influence 
throughout that whole section of the county. Griffith Gartin is recalled by 
those of his contemporaries who are still living as a man of noble character- 
istics, generous to a fault and ever ready to lend a helping hand to those less 
comfortably circumstanced than himself. He died at the comparatively 
early age of forty-nine years, just in the prime of his life and in the midst 
of his greatest activities and was -sincerely mourned throughout that whole 
region. 

To Griffith and Mary (Fear) Gartin were born nine children, namely: 
Felix, father of the immediate subject of this sketch, who died on January 
24, 1902 ; Edmund, who married Alice Bruce, of Sand Creek township, this 
county, and lives at Marion, Indiana: Rev. C. M. (deceased), a one-time 
well-known minister of the Baptist church : AVilliam H., who lives at Spann- 
burg, Texas ; Mrs. Nancy Ann Hanna-Cristler, who lives in the state of 
Pennsvlvania : Nugent, who lives at Columbus, Ohio; Z. T. (deceased); 
W. H., a well-known farmer of Clay township, this county, and Griflith, of 
i\Iuncie, Indiana, one of the most widely-known auctioneers in that part of 
the state. 

Felix Gartin received a careful training on the home farm, as did all of 
Griflith Gartin's sons; he was educated at Hartsville College and early pre- 
pared to take an acti\'e part in the affairs of the community. When the call 
to arms came at the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted for service in 
behalf of the Union cause and was attached to tlie Eleventh Regiment, 
Indiana \'olunteer Infantry, a part of General Sherman's army, known to 
fame as "the bloody Eleventh." He served through the historic siege of 
Vicksburg and on July 12, 1863, during the memorable battle at Jackson, 
Mississippi, received a severe wound, from which he never fully recovered, 
suffering from the after effects of the same all the rest of his life. The 
disabilit\' due to this wound Ijccame so pronounced that in November, 1863, 

(69) 



logo DECATUR COUNTY^ INDIANA. 

he was discharged from the service, returning home shortly thereafter, and 
was unable to re-enlist. 

In August, 1864, Felix Gartin was united in marriage to Dorcas Pavy, 
a member of an old and ]irominent family in this county, and to this union 
the following children were born: John G., the subject of this sketch; Nancy 
Ann. wife of John E. Robbins, of Sand Creek township; James W., of 
Rushville, Indiana ; Tillie, deceased. 

Felix Gartin was a man of high ideals and in his neighborhood ever was 
recognized as a man whose "word was as good as his bond." He and his 
good wife were leaders in the social and religious life of the community in 
which thev lived and ever exerted a wholesome influence upon the lives of 
those a])(iut them. They were members of the Baptist church and were among 
the leaders in the local congregation, lieing active in all good works, and 
were held in the highest regard throughout that whole section. Felix Gartin 
was a charter member of the lodge of the Knights of Pythias at Burney, and 
ever took an earnest interest in the affairs of that popular fraternal organiza- 
tion. He was an extensive feeder and shipper of live stock, his specialty 
being Shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs, the firm of F. Gartin & Sons, 
shi])pers, being well known in live stock circles throughout Indiana and 
neighboring states. He had hosts of firm friends throughout the county and 
all through this part of the state and his death, in 1902, was widely mourned. 
His widow, who was a most excellent woman, died on March 10, 191 5. 

John G. Gartin was reared on the old home farm and was educated in 
the common schools of this county, this schooling being supplemented by a 
course at Hartsville College and a course at Franklin College. His health 
failing before his studies were completed, he was unable to graduate, much 
to his regret, and upon returning home became an active assistant in his 
father's extensi\e farming and shipping operations. The breeding of pure- 
bred hogs became his specialty, Poland Chinas being his choice of this form 
of stock. .\ little later he began in earnest the Isreeding of Shorthorn cattle 
and while thus engaged bred the champion herd leader. "Monitor," the vic- 
tories of which famous bull in the way of prizes in the great stock shows of 
the countrv are detailed in a preceding paragraph of this narrative. Mr. 
Gartin liecame an unusually successful cattle breeder and for four years served 
as secretary of the Shorthorn Breeders' Association and for two years was 
honored bv the election to the presidency of that organization. He also gave 
considerable attention to the breeding of pure-bred horses, both, speed and 
draft, but vears ago discontinued that line of the stock business. In 1893 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. lOQI 

he sold his famous Shorthorn herd and retired from the business, but in 1900 
he restocked liis farm with tiie same favorite breed of cattle and achieved 
new successes as a breeder, continuing in the business until 1913. in which 
year he again sold his herd. In recent years Mr. Gartin has achieved a wide 
reputation as the "baby-beef man,'" he being a pioneer in the now well- 
recognized line of handling tine hand-fed stuck for select markets. He was 
the first man in this part of Indiana to take up the "baby beef" business and 
has become one of the most successful dealers in that form of stock in the 
country, having created a very choice market for his "baby beef" in the East, 
his product being quite too choice for the demand of the Chicago and 
Indianapolis markets. In preparing his "baby beef" for the market, Mr. 
Gartin feeds from sixty to seventy-five pounds of "black-strap" feeding 
molasses and from thirt_\- to forty tons of cotton-seed meal, this diet impart- 
ing to the flesh of his stock that fine flavor so much desired by Eastern 
epicures. He feeds an average of one hundred to one hundred and ten head 
each year. 

On February 4, 1886, John G. Gartin was united in marriage to Mary 
R. Alexander, who was born in this county, daughter of A. J. and Charlotte 
(Steward) Alexander, members of two old and influential families here- 
about, the genealijgy of the Alexander family being set out in the biographi- 
cal sketch relating to Frank Alexander, presented elsewhere in this volume. 
A. J. Alexander was a native of Ohio, of Scottish extraction, and Charlotte 
Steward was a native of Ireland. 

To John G. and Mary R. (Alexander) Gartin three children have been 
born, namely: Earl F., born on April 4, 1888, a well-known auctioneer, of 
Burney, this county, who owns a farm west of the home place and lives in 
Burney; Lottie D., January 9, 1891, who married Donald Wel)b and lives in 
Shelby county, this state, and Charles A., .\ugust 29, 1898, living at home. 

Mr. and Mrs, Gartin are memliers of the Baptist church and are tlevoted 
to the welfare of the community in which they live, being among the leaders 
in all good works thereabout. Mr. Gartin is an active, energetic, enterprising 
citizen and is regarded as one of the most substantial men in Decatur county. 
He and Mrs. Gartin have hosts of friends throughout the county antl they 
and the members of their family are heldjn the highest regard by all. 

Mr. (jartin is a Republican and has held township offices. He is a 
charter member of the Knights of Pythias, in which fraternity he has filled 
all the chairs and is past chancellor. Mr. (jartin is one of the heavy stock- 
holders in the bank at Burnev, buliana. 



1092 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ISAAC NEWTOX WYNKOOP. 

It is interesting, especially to young men just starting out on the high- 
way of life, to understand the story of the toil and struggle of men whose 
success in life has already been attained. There is a flavor of romance in the 
career of any successful man. For instance, Isaac Newton Wynkoop, a 
farmer of Sand Creek township, Decatur county, began his married life in 
1874, when he had less than one hundred dollars in money or property. Dur- 
ing the first years of his married life he and his wife lived in an old log house 
and rented land. His first financial venture was the purchase of eighty acres 
of land on credit, which he eventually paid for, and then purchased forty-one 
acres on the west of his original farm. Subsequently he bought forty acres 
more, for which he was able to pay cash. Still later he purchased a hundred 
and thirty acres of improved land, but this was only four years ago. At this 
time, however, when eleven thousand dollars was required to pay for the 
farm, he paid all of it in cash except fourteen hundred dollars. For his first 
tract of eighty acres Mr. Wynkoop paid forty dollars an acre. For the sec- 
ond tract of forty-one acres he paid fifty dollars an acre; for the third tract 
of forty acres he paid seventy-five dollars, and for the last he paid prac- 
tically eighty-five dollars an acre. Thus has the value of farming land 
increased in the past quarter century. 

As Mr. Wynkoop's wealth grew he was able to provide himself, his wife 
and his children with greater comfort and about 1894 began extensive build- 
ing operations. He now has one of the most attractive homes in Sand 
Creek township. There are four barns included in two sets of buildings. 
Altogether Mr. Wynkoop owns now two hundred and ninety-one acres of 
land, worth probably thirty thousand dollars. His home farm is worth at 
least two hundred dollars an acre and is well improved. Mr. Wynkoop rents 
out his corn land. 

Born on February 24, 1850, on a farm in Franklin county, Isaac Newton 
Wynkoop is the son of James and Barbara (Hetterick) Wynkoop, the former 
was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. July 19, 1817, and died, 
February 27, 1893, and the latter was born, January 23, 1817, in Pennsyl- 
vania, and died, November 30, r903. James Wynkoop was brought to 
Franklin county, Indiana, by his parents when a lad of four years, and they, 
in 1853, came to Decatur county, purchasing a farm where the village of 
Horace is now situated. Mrs. Barbara Wynkoop was the daughter of John 
and Catherine Hetterick. She was married to James Wynkoop, February 
27, 1840. Of the ten children born to James and Barbara (Hetterick) 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IO93 

Wynkoop all are now living except two, Mrs. Mary McCracken who was the 
wife of Thomas McCracken, and Mrs. Rebecca McCracken who was the wife 
of James McCracken. They were the third and fonrth horn in a family of 
five sons and five daughters. The living children are as follow : Mrs. Sarah 
Howell, of Kansas; William, a veteran of the Civil War and a farmer of 
Clay township: Mrs. Martha IMyers, the wife of J. A. Myers, of Washing- 
ton township: Isaac N., the subject of this sketch: John, who lives near Wald- 
ron, in Shelby county: James, of Sand Creek township; Charles, who lives 
with his brother William, in Clay township: and Mrs. Nevada Davis, the wife 
of John L. Davis, of Letts Corner. 

On September 31, 1874, at the age of twenty-four, Isaac Newton Wyn- 
koop was married to Mary Elizabeth McGee, who was born on April 8, 1854, 
in Sand Creek township, witlu'n one-half mile of her present home. Mary 
Elizabeth McGee was the daughter of Ralph and Sarah (Jones) McGee, the 
former was born, January 8, 1827, and died, June 20, 1909, and the latter was 
born, April 12, 1832, and died, February 3, 1906. Ralph McGee was the son 
of John McGee, a native of Ireland, who emigrated to Butler county, Ohio, 
in 1810. John McGee was a soldier in the War of 1812. A tailor by occu- 
pation, he married Jane Cassell The late Ralph I\IcGee, who began life a 
poor boy, became a very wealthy man, and in March, 1853, removed to 
Decatur county, Indiana. He was a pioneer breeder of Poland China hogs, 
and established a tile factory in this county, which he operated for many 
years. He was known as a good man and a faithful and loyal member of the 
Baptist church. In politics he was a Republican. His wife was a woman of 
most lovable disposition, a woman of strong religious nature, conscientious 
and kind-hearted not only in her own family, but in the neighborhood where 
she lived. She knew what it meant to toil as did also her husband, who had 
made his own way in the world from the time he was ten years old. At the 
time they came to Decatur county in 1853 they purchased a hundred and 
forty-one acres of land in Washington township, and here they lived to cele- 
brate their golden wedding anniversary. Ralph McGee's land was well 
improved and especially well drained with tile which he himself had laid. 

The McGees have an es])ecially splendid record for longevity. .\11 of the 
nine children of Ralph and Sarah (Jones) McGee are living. The names of 
the children in the order of their birth are as follow : John Philip, of Clay 
township: Mrs. Sarah J. Lundy, of Clay township; William H., of Clay town- 
ship: Mrs. Mary E. Wynkoop: Charles L., of Greensburg; Ralph T., of 
Greensburg; George M.. of Greensburg; James A., of Washington township; 
Mattie M., the wife of Edward Samuels, of Washington. 



I094 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Newton Wynkoop there have been born three 
children (daughters), two of whom are married, and all of whom are living. 
Cora, married Ira A. Moore. They have two children, Mabel and Mary, 
and reside in Clay township. Gertrude married Walter Boling, of St. Paul, 
Indiana, who is the proprietor of the feed and grist-mill at that place. Martha, 
the youngest of the family lives at home with her parents. 

It can hardly be expected that Mr. \\'ynkoop has e\er busied himself 
with \ery much else but his own business. He is a Republican, but has never 
taken an active interest in politics. He has been too busy with his own per- 
sonal affairs, pro\iding for himself and his family a competence. Mr. and 
Mrs. W'ynkoop are people of strong religious instincts, and devout and faith- 
ful church members. They belong to the Liberty Baptist church. 'Sir. and 
Mrs. \\'ynkoop stand high in the community where they li\'e. Their success 
is not accidental and their fortune is self acquired. They are delightful people 
to know, hospitable in their home, kind and considerate to those who have 
been less fortunate and less successful. 



WILLIAM OILMAN STYERS. 

Our affection rises and the tenderest and sweetest sentiment of which 
we are capable flows freely from our hearts when the memory of those whom 
we have loved comes back to us. This is especially true of the memory of a 
man who, upon passing to the other shore, leaves behind a devoted wife and 
loving children. It is a grim fact that we never quite appreciate those who 
are near and dear to us until their work is fully ended and they are gone from 
us. Somehow it is difficult to get or retain proper perspective on the life of one 
who lives among us. This may be especially true of a father or a mother, or 
a son or daughter. The late William Oilman Styers, of Sand Greek town- 
ship, was a man who performed worthilv the common and simple duties of 
life, who gave a full and liberal measure of service and unstinted love and 
affection to his wife and to his children. And notwithstanding the fact that 
he now belongs to a past generation, his work and his love and his tenderness 
eo on to aft'ect for sood the li\es of those whom he knew best and lo\ed best 
on this earth. 

William Oilman Styers was born on January i6, 1844, in Oreensburg, 
Indiana, and died on March 20, 191 5, on the old home farm in Sand Creek 
township. His parents were intimately connected with the very earliest his- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1095 



tory of this county. His father and mother moved to a farm south of Greens- 
burg, where was located the famous old House mill in 1854. The father died 
on the farm, but his wife lived in Greensburg during the six years imme- 
diately preceding her death. William and Sarilda (Robbins) Styers, the 
parents of William Gilman, had three other sons. Only one member of the 
family, Charles F., who was born on March 16, 1856, is now living. His 
home is at Indianapolis. Of the deceased children, John M., the eldest, died 
in infancy; William G. was the second born; Samuel E., the third born, was 
born on July 8, 1868. 

William Gilman Styers" mother, who before her marriage was Sarilda 
Robbins, was the daughter of William and Eleanor (Anderson) Robbins, and 
was born in October, 1823. She had three brothers, as follow: John E., 
who was born on February 20, 1825, and who married Nancy O. Hunter; 
James G., who was born on June 10, 1827, and who married Elmira Stout; 
and Merrit H., who was born in 1829, and who married Jeannette Gilchrist. 
William Robbins died on February 3, 1868, and his wife, Eleanor, died four 
years later. 

The genealogy of the Robbins family in America begins with Bethiah 
Vickery, who was born December i, 1760, and who married William Rob- 
bins. To them were born three children, Albe, Charity and Benjamin. Will- 
iam Robbins was killed in the Revolutionary War soon after enlisting and his 
widow married a second William Robbins in Guilford county. North Caro- 
lina. To this couple were born nine children, namely : Elizabeth, born on 
February 5, 17S8; Marmeduke and Jacob, May 15, 1783; Polly, April 9, 
1791 ; Nathaniel, April 5. 1793; John, February 8, 1795; William, August 
6, 1797: and Dosha, May 20, 1804. W'illiam Robbins, the second husband 
of Mrs. Robbins, was born on October 21, 1761, in Randolph countv. North 
Carolina. In October, 1777, when sixteen years of age, he enlisted in the 
Revolutionary army, serving until 1781 under Capt. Joseph Clark and Colonel 
Dugan and Col. Anthony Sharp. He left Virginia for Henry county, Ken- 
tucky, and 1821 came to Decatur county, settling nine and one-half miles 
south of Greensburg. Here he made a home among the timljered hills. 
Trees were cleared away and a new log house of one room was erected, with 
a shed in which was built a loom for weaving carpet and many kinds of cloth. 
On September 11, 1834, William Robbins passed away and was buried at Mt. 
Pleasant cemetery. The third William Robbins, heretofore referred to in 
the children born to the second William Robbins and Bethiah \'ickery, was 
born in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. He was taken by his parents 
to Henrv county, Kentucky, and accompanied them to Indiana, when the 



1096 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

family came in 1821, when he was twenty-four years of age. He selected 
tlie site for a home for himself about one and one-half miles north of his 
father's home, but the next year returned to Kentucky and was married to 
Eleanor Anderson, of that state. Upon returning to his new home with his 
bride, three sisters and two brothers, John and Nathaniel, settled in the same 
vicinity. A short time later other relatives of the Robbins family came to 
the same township. The Robbins family became prominent both as to num- 
bers and influence in the early affairs of this section. Nathaniel Robbins 
was the first justice of the peace in Sand Creek township. William and 
Eleanor Robbins lived on the farm originally selected as their home the 
remainder of their lives. 

On May 16, 1868, William Oilman Styers was married to Dorinda 
Frances Wright, who was born on March 28, 1848, north of Harris City, 
and who is the daughter of Thomas A. and Mary J. (Wallace) Wright, 
natives of Rockbridge county, Virginia, and early settlers in Decatur county. 
Mrs. Styers' mother died when she was four years old. Thomas A. and 
Mary J. Wright were the parents of seven children. Of these children, 
George W.. the oldest, died in 1890 at the Styers home; James, in the Odd 
Fellows home in Greensburg ; Franklin is deceased ; Charles Whitcomb lives 
in Indianapolis; John M. is deceased; Mrs. Styers was the next born; Joseph 
A., the youngest, who lives at Madison, Indiana, was born in 1851. Joseph 
A. was reared in Decatur county and has made his home in Madison for 
twenty years. He is a traveling salesman and married Mary Squires, who 
is now deceased. They had one child, Emma. 

After the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Styers they began housekeeping 
just south of Greensburg in a little cottage on the hill, where they lived for 
two years, and then moved to a farm a short distance away. Subsequently 
they removed to another farm, where they lived for one year, and in 1873 
moved to Missouri. Seven )'ears later they returned to this state, and pur- 
chased a farm near Harris City, where Mr. Styers now resides. Originally, 
Mr. and Mrs. Styers owned a hundred and se\enty-five acres, but they have 
sold a part of the land, and now have a hundred and forty-three acres. 

William Oilman St3'ers served in the hospital corps of the Thirty-seventh 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. He was a 
Republican in politics until 1905, when he identified himself with the Prohi- 
tion party, on account of his strong and violent dislike of the liquor traffic. 
A member of the Baptist church before his marriage, he later identified him- 
self with the Union Baptist church. For many years before his death he had 
charge of the cemetery where he is now buried. ' 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1097 



Mr. and Mrs. William Gilman Stj'ers had four children, the youngest, 
Charles, died in 1896. Of the other children, Mrs. Effie Robbins, the wife 
of Charles Robbins, of Horace, has five children, Harry Walter, Marie, Cor- 
ina and Millard, of whom Walter married Grace Ferris and they have three 
children, Gerald, Roy and an infant. William T., the second child, who lives 
in Indianapolis, married Pari Wright, of Adams, and they have two chil- 
dren, Wayne and Mary. Mrs. Minnie Jackson, the third child, has three 
children, namely: Mabel, who married a l^'Ir. Samuels and has one child, 
Martha ; Ruby Frances, who married Charles Folkerson ; and Hazel. 

The memory of the late \Villiain Gilman Styers will not fade as the 
years go by, or be dimmed by passing events. His place in the hearts of his 
family, his neighbors and his friends is secure. He was a good husband, a 
good father and a good citizen. 



WILLIAM S. FEAR. 



Among the farmers and citizens of Jackson township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, who are natives of this township and county and who in the course 
of long lives have established comfortable homes here and taken a place in 
the foremost ranks of the citizens of this county is William S. Fear, who owns 
a hundred and thirty-three acres of land in Jackson township. Mr. Fear pur- 
chased this farm in 1900, and took up his residence there the same year. 
He has a splendid farm home situated on a well-graveled and widely-traveled 
highway, a farm which is well improved and made up of very rich soil, one 
of the best to be found in Jackson township. 

William S. Fear was born on August 22, i860, in Jackson township and 
has lived in Decatur county all his life. He is the son of the venerable John 
Fear, who is now a resident of Sand Creek township, and who was born in 
1823 in Kentucky. At the age of ninety-three years he is now one of the old- 
est men in Decatur county. At present he makes his home with Julia Holmes, 
of Sand Creek township. He is the son of William H. Fear, also a native of 
Kentucky, who brought his family to Decatur county and settled in Clay 
township in 1833 with the Gartins, of Clay township. John Fear married 
Harriet Williams, the daughter of Samuel Williams, a native of Virginia, who 
came to Jackson township about 1830. Mrs. John Fear was born in 1833 
and died in August, 191 1, at the age of seventy-eight. 

Eight children were born to John and Harriet (Williams) I'ear, as fol- 



1098 DECATUR COUNTYj INDIANA. 

low: Mrs. Julia Holmes, of Sand Creek township; Levi, a resident of Jackson 
township; Mrs. Artemesia Holmes is deceased; William S. is the subject of 
this sketch; Barrett, John, Ida and Nancy Ann are all deceased. John Fear 
is a Democrat and is a member of the Baptist church. 

On April 12, 1899, William S. Fear was married to Mattie E. Thurston. 
They immediately purchased their present farm and built on it a new resi- 
dence in which they ha\'e since lived. Mr. Fear has greatly improved the 
farm by fences, drains and the erection of out-buildings. 

Mrs. Fear was born on November 21, 1864, in Jackson township, the 
daughter of William and Mary (Evans) Thurston, the former of whom was 
born in 1839, and died on September 11, 1897, ^"d the latter was born in 
1845 and died on August zj, 1897. William Thurston was a native of Jack- 
son township, the son of Lewis and Martha Thurston, natives of Virginia 
and Franklin county, Indiana, respectively. Lewis Thurston was an early 
settler of Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana. Mary Evans Thurs- 
ton, a native of Jackson township, was the daughter of Ratlifif Evans, who 
died in 1910 in the West. William and Mary Thurston lived and died in 
Jackson township on the old Thurston homestead. Of their children, Edward 
A. lives in Jackson township, Jacob L. lives in Jackson township, and Ora 
A. in Bartholomew county. 

Mr. and Mrs. William S. Fear are members of the Christian church. 
]Mr. Fear is a Democrat. 



ROBERT J. DAVIS. 



The farm is the granary to the office, the store and the shop. It is the 
farm which must feed and clothe that section of the population which pro- 
duces no food or raw material for clothing. Prices for food and clothing 
have e.xperienced an upward trend for many years and are becoming next to 
prohibitive for great sections of the pppulation. The conclusion is obvious 
that the production must be increased if the non-producers of food are to be 
fed. It is very generally agreed that a shortage of supply has enhanced the 
price for all classes. There are many causes and explanations for this condi- 
tion, but the chief cause perhaps is that many of the more capable young 
men who might be successful farmers are moving into the cities. Conse- 
quently, when we find a young man who was reared in the country and who 
chooses agriculture for his life's vocation and strives to increase the produc- 
tivity of his land, we must recognize he is doing a social service of inestimable 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1099 



value. Roljert J. Davis, a farmer of Clay township, Decatur county. Indiana, 
who inherited from his father a large tract of land in Clay township, and 
who might have chosen any occupation or vocation, by remaining upon the 
farm has conferred upon society a distinct benefit which future generations 
will not be slow to recognize, since it is such men as he who are helping to 
maintain the balance between the producers in the country and the consumers 
in the city. 

Robert J. Davis was born on August 3, 1870, in Adams township, on the 
old Davis homestead, the son of James G. and Sarah E. Davis, both of whom 
are deceased. The former was born April 26, 1829, and died May 5, 1904. 
The latter, who, before her marriage, was Sarah E. Braden, was born Janu- 
■ ary 10, 1837, in Decatur county, Indiana, and died June 12, 191 1. James G. 
Davis came to this country from Mayo, Ireland, in 1840, at the age of eleven 
years, a poor Irish lad, without friends and without resources. Settling in 
Adams township, Decatur county, he lived there for many years and pros- 
pered. A natural' trader and financier, he became very wealthy and at the- 
time of his death owned nearly three thousand acres of land. He was a man 
known far and wide for his sterling integrity and rugged honesty. Of his 
great holdings in real estate, twelve hundred acres were situated in Daviess 
county and the remainder in Decatur and Shelby counties. On many occa- 
sions, he was called upon by the courts of many counties to administer 
estates, a most trustworthy and responsible position and one which bears 
evidence of his reputation, not only of honor and integritv, but of abilitv as 
well. 

James G. and Sarah E. Da\is were the parents of eight children, as fol- 
low: Cecelia Jane, deceased; George M. C, deceased; John H., deceased; 
Mrs. Charles Templeton; Robert J., the subject of this sketch; James G. and 
Edward W., twins, the former lives on the home farm and the latter near 
Milford; and Mrs. Luna Smith, of Clay township. 

After living on the home place with his parents until he had reached his 
majority, Robert J. Davis was married and moved to the farm in Clay 
township. The next year he erected a new house on this land and here he has 
lived ever since. 

On August 13, 1891, Robert J. Davis was married to Jennie Copeland, 
daughter of Jerome and Nancy O. Copeland. The former was l)orn in 
Shelby county in 1834 and died on August 17, 191 3, and the latter was born 
on September 15, 1832, in Tennessee, and died on Marcl: 25, 1906. Jerome 
Copeland was the son of Milton L. Copeland, an early settler in Shelby 
■county, Indiana. Mrs. Robert J. Davis, who was the onl\- child born to her 



IIOO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

parents, was born August 30, 1873, in Shelby county. He married, secondly, 
Myrtle Harmon, and they had four children. 

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Davis are the parents of five children, all of 
whom are now living, namely: Fern, born July 13, 1893; Ligonel Welling- 
ton, March 4, 1896; Fay, March 9, 1898; Roland J., March 16, 1904; and 
Violet, January 18, 1909. I.igonel W. was graduated from the Greensburg 
high school in 1913. Fay was graduated from the common school in 1913. 

Mr. Davis received four hundred and eighty-seven acres of land, his 
present farm in Clay township, from his father and has kept the farm in a 
very high state of cultivation. He has one of the best tracts of land to be 
found anywhere in the township and it is especially so because of the skillful 
methods used by its owner. Mr. Davis is a well-known citizen of Decatur 
countv and is recognized today as one of its leading farmers and business 
men. Mrs. Davis is a member of the United Brethren church. Mr. Davis is 
a stanch Democrat but has never aspired for office. 



JOHN H. WOODRUFF. 

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch has been content to let 
"well enough" alone, and make the best of the goods the gods provided, with 
the result of which he should be more than satisfied. He has also done his 
share towards developing good citizenship in the township in which he 
resides. He is second to none in his standing in the estimation of his neigh- 
bors, and his business transactions ha^-e always borne the stamp of honest 
dealing. 

John H. \\'oodruff. of "Maple Hill Farm," Jackson township, was born, 
August 10. 1862, on the old Woodruff farm, now owned by Doctor Oldham. 
He is a son of Enos and Susan (Nowen) Woodruff. After his marriage, 
Mr. Woodruff lived on the home place until 1902. and after renting for one 
year he bought the ninety-acre tract on which he now lives. In politics he is 
a Democrat, and his fraternal memljership is with the Knights of Pythias at 
Letts, Indiana. 

Enos Woodruff, father of our subject, was born in September, 1822, in 
Butler county, and died, August 12, 1899, in Bartholomew county. He was 
a son of Samuel Woodruff, an early settler of Butler and Franklin counties. 
His wife was Susan (Bowen) Woodruff, who was born in 1824. and who 
was a native of Franklin county. She died in August, 1908. They were 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. HOI 

married in the thirties, in I-"ranidin county, and came direct to Jackson 
township, where Mr. Woodruff became a prosperous farmer. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Woodruff were Ijorn the following children: William, Nathan, Eliza, 
Ezra and John. William Woodruff lives in Hartsville, Indiana; Nathan 
lives in Jackson township: Eliza became the wife of a Mr. Wilhams, and 
lives in Clay township; Ezra lives in California. 

John H. Woodruff' was united in marriage on January i, 1888, with 
Emma Wilson, who was born, December 15, 1863, in Bartholomew county, 
four miles northeast of Hope. She is a daughter of John and Rachel Wil- 
son, natives of Franklin and Decatur counties, respectively. They moved 
from Bartholomew county to Jackson township, Decatur county, in 1867, 
where Mr. Woodruff" met his future wife. 

John and Rachel Wilson, the parents of Mrs. Woodruff, settled on a 
farm and lived there until Mrs. Wilson died, on June 18, 1899. Mr. Wilson 
later moved to Hartsville, where he died May 30, 1910. They were the 
parents of eleven children, of whom the following grew to maturity, namely : 
Mary, Barton, Emma, Lida, Nannie, Hattie, Henry and Roy. Mary lives in 
Berney; Barton is now living at Elizabethtown ; Jane is deceased; Lida i.s 
living at Hartsville; Nannie married a Mr. Carroll, and lives at Hartsville; 
Hattie lives at Hartsville; Henry lives in Clay township, and Roy is living at 
Elizabethtown. 

Mr. Woodruff is well respected by all who know him, and has always 
been an industrious, quiet, law-abiding citizen and active in his attention to 
his business interests. 



GEORGE M. MYERS. 



For thirty-five years George M. Myers, a successful farmer of Sand 
Creek township, Decatur county, Indiana, has lived on the same farm in this 
township. Here he has followed farming from year to year, and here he has 
grown prosperous with each succeeding harvest. He and his good wife have 
lived to rear a family of two children, who now have homes and families 
of their own. Here in Sand Creek township the people have had opportun- 
ity to know George M. Myers and their verdict should be accepted as to his 
worth as a citizen. He is a man who is popular in the neighborhood where 
he lives and a man who is admired for his strength of manhood and moral 
•courage. 

George AI. ^Nhxrs, who owns a farm of seventy acres in Sand Creek 



I I02 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

townshi]), wliere he has hved since h'ebruary 24, 1S80, was Ijorn on August 
II, 1849. near Horace, the son of \\'iniam H. and EHzabeth (Annis) Myers, 
the former of whom was born on August 6, 1824. and died on August 8, 
1904. and the latter was born on June 29, 1827, and died on May i, 1900. 
William H. Myers was a native of Kentucky, the son of George Myers, who 
settled in Decatur countv in the early thirties one mile east of Horace in 
Sand t'reek township. He was a well-known citizen during his day and gen- 
eration. He was one of four children born to his parents, but he was the only 
son. The father died at his son's house in 1875. After settling on land one 
mile east of Horace, W illiam H. M\'ers subseciuentK- removed to a fanu in 
Sand Creek township. He was known in this community as a hard working, 
industrious and honest farmer. 

William H. and Elizabeth Myers were the parents of ten children, as 
follow: James A., who was born on July 22, 1847, is a well-known farmer 
of Washington township; George M., the second born, is the subject of this 
sketch: John Thomas, October 21, 1851, a farmer of Clay township: William 
R., July 24, 1854. died in infancy: Alice. July 21, 1857, married a Mr. San- 
derson, died, September 11, 1897, near Forest Hill: Eliza L., February 21, 
1859, lives in Webb City, Missouri; Harvey M., October 18, 1861 ; Merritt 
E., November 2~,. 1864, lives in Indianapolis; ]\Irs. Nancy Berry, September 
26, 1 87 1, lives in Indianapolis. 

George M. Myers was married on March 19, 1873, to Mary A. Taylor, 
who was born on June 20, 1852, in Sand Creek township, the daughter of 
George and Hannah ( Hill ) Taylor, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. 
Myers are the parents of two children, as follow : Wilbur Taylor, of 
Indianapolis, married Lillie Van Treese, and they have one child, Walter; 
Grace Pearl married \\'illiam H. Mobley, a mule dealer of Clay township, 
and they have two children, Mary and Franklin Wayne. 

Before Mr. and Mrs. Myers removed to their present farm they lived in 
Clay township for a few years, and after renting land in Sand Creek town- 
ship for a few years the farm was purchased in 1880. They first purchased 
fifty-three and one-third acres, most of which was covered bv timber. This 
land has been cleared and in the nieantiiue they have added two tracts until 
the farm now consists of se\enty acres. Originally they lived in an old 
log cabin made of round logs daubed with mud, having a brick chimney. 
Several years later !\Ir. Myers erected a frame dwelling and now has a com- 
fortable country home, well kejit and adequate outbuildings, and good fenc- 
ing. He and his good wife have endured many hardships, but they have as a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



I 103. 



result of their early toil and labor a substantial competence for their declin- 
ing years. 

Mr. Myers is a Democrat. The Myers family are all members of the 
Mount Aerie Baptist church and active in the affairs of this cong-regation. 



JOHN FRANK ROBERTSON. 

Farming is becoming in these later days a vocation for highly specialized 
and trained minds. Perhaps there will never come a time when farmers will 
be able to avoid manual labor altogether. Nevertheless, the work of the 
farmer has been greatly lightened by the invention of many modern devices 
and the impro\-ements of many of the instruments of agriculture which it is 
necessary for the farmer to use. Among other things, farming requires care- 
ful planning, the inauguration of a system which is the equal of systems in 
business. The farmer of the present generation- who has failed to catch the 
progressive spirit of the twentieth century is one who will be left behind 
.sooner or later. With the devices which are now available to the man in the 
country, the de\ices which are used for the con\eniences not only for the 
farmer, but also his wife in the home, he is able to live in comparative luxury, 
while his forefathers were compelled to struggle against much greater odds. 
John h'rank Robertson, a farmer of Adams township, Decatur county, 
Indiana, is prosperous mainly because he has caught the spirit of the twen- 
tieth century, and has made nf farming a real business. 

John Frank Robertson, who is the owner of one hundred and twenty- 
four and five-tenths acres of land in .\dams township, where he has lived 
for nearl}- thirty-fi\-e years, was born on June 17, 1856, in the township 
where he resitks, three-fourths of a mile from his present home. He is the 
son of Oliver P. and Mary Ann (Davis) Robertson. Oliver P. Robertson 
was l)orn on August i, 18J5, antl died in 1905, while his wife was born on 
June 15, 1833, ^"<J tlied on May 25, 1907. Oliver P. Robertson, an early 
settler of .Adams township, though born in Lawrenceburg, Dearborn county, 
Indiana, was a son of John and Ruth ( Ridlen) Robertson, natives of Mary- 
land ard early settlers in I3earl)orn county, Indiana, .\fter coming to Adams 
township in 1829, the family became prosperous, and for nearly a century was 
recognized as one of the leading factors in the agricultural life of the com- 
munity. Mary .\nn (Davis) Robertson was a daughter of John \\^ and 
Sarah ( l'"(irsythe) Davis, natives of New Jersey, who came to Decatur 



II04 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

county about 1830, and settled in Adams township. Oliver P. and Mary Ann 
(Davis) Robertson were the parents of seven children, all of whom are 
living, namely: Josiah W., a well-known farmer and stockman of Adams 
township; John Frank, the subject of this sketch: William, also a resident of 
Adams township: Charles, living at Acton, Marion county, Indiana; Edwin, 
a farmer of Adams township; Lydia, the wife of Elmer Shelhorn, and Ruth, 
living with her two brothers, Josiah and Edwin, for whom she is house- 
keeper. 

Oliver P. Roljertson was first married to Nancy Edrington, who was 
born iji 1831, and who died in June, 1852. She was a daughter of Hiram and 
Rhoda Edrington, nati\es of Kentucky and pioneer settlers in Adams town- 
ship, in this county. After coming here they cleared land, built a log house 
and later erected a large brick house, now owned by E. Shelhorn. Oliver P. 
and Xancy (Edrington) Robertson had two children, Louisa L., who is 
deceased, and Lafayette, a farmer of Adams township. 

John F. Robertson was educated in the public schools of Adams town- 
ship and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years of 
age. Soon after his marriage, he came to his present farm in .\dams town- 
ship and here he has resided ever since. 

John Frank Robertson was married on February 22, 1882, to Jennie M. 
Patterson, who was born on June 3, 1858, in Clinton township, the daughter 
of Joseiih and Mary ( P.ird) Patterson. The former was a nati\e of county 
Antrim, Ireland, born on July 12, 1839, the son of Roger and Mary Jane 
(Hall) Patterson. Roger Patterson, after coming to America, in 1845, 
located in Clinton township, bringing his family of two sons to this country. 
He died at the age of thirty-se\en years in 1855. The mother was later mar- 
ried to Michael Ryan and had three children Ijy the second marriage. She 
lived to an advanced age. 

In September, 1857, Joseph Patterson was married to Mary Bird, the 
daughter of William and Maria Bird, natives of Kentucky and A'irginia, 
respecti\ely, who came to Decatur county, Indiana, in the late twenties. 
William and Maria Bird had eight children, of whom Mrs. Patterson was the 
seventh. She was born on July 31, 1839, and died on May i, 1908. Four 
years after her death. Joseph Patterson married Miner\-a Bird, a sister of his 
first wife. The marriage took place on December g, 1912. Of the children 
born to Joseph and Mary Patterson, Mrs. Robertson was the eldest. The 
others were, Harriet, Elizabeth, Nora, John William, James, Charles and 
Ina. 

To Mr. and Mrs. John F. Robertson has been born one child. ^Millie E. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I I05 

She was born on February 9, 18S4, and was married on February 25, 1907, 
to Charles W. Lines, who was born on March i, 1880, the son of Wilham 
and Lina (Snedeker) Lines, of Rusli county. They have one child, Edith 
Robertson, se\en years old, who was born on November 2^, 1907. 

Mr. Robertson is a Progressive. He and his wife attend the Baptist 
church at Adams. John F. Robertson is a man who is well known for his 
industry, his rugged sincerity and his noble and kind impulses. He is pre- 
eminently worthy to be regarded as one of the representative citizens of 
Decatur county. 



EDWARD A. PORTER, M. D. 

Representati\'e of one of the oldest and best-known of the pioneer famil- 
ies of Decatur county, no citizen of this county is imbued with a loftier spirit 
of public service than that which animates the life of Dr. Edward A. Porter, 
a well-known and popular physician of Burney, this county. Interested in all 
measures which have as their object the elevation of the communal interests 
hereabout, Doctor Porter brings to the exercise of his duties of citizenship 
the highest ideals and loftiest impulses; being regarded as one of the most 
influential of the younger professional men in the county. Admirably trained 
in the best practices of the healing art, he brings to his practice a mind 
schooled in the highest ideals and traditions of medicine and a heart warmly 
devoted to the cause of tlie amelioration of human ills. Capable and con- 
scientious, it is but natural that Doctor Porter should have a wide and con- 
stantly growing practice in the neighborhood in which he has labored so 
earnestly and unselfishly, and it is not improper to say that no physician in 
the county enjoys a fuller measure of popular esteem than he. To his public 
service he brings the same high impulses that actuate his professional services 
and is regarded as a most useful and helpful citizen, one to whom his fellow 
citizens are bound by many ties of social obligation. Though having been 
in practice less than a decade. Doctor Porter has established himself in a 
manner that speaks well for his professional skill, and his professional breth- 
ren in this and neighboring counties extend to him frequent evidences of their 
confidence and high esteeem. 

Edward A. Porter was born on a farm in Washington township, three 
and one-half miles southwest of Greensburg. Decatur county, Indiana, June 
16, 1881, son of Matthew E. and Clarissa (McKinney) Porter, both members 
(70) 



II06 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of pioneer families in this county. Matthew E. Porter was born in 1836 in a 
log cabin that is still standing on the Porter farm in Washington township, 
and was the son of Alexander and Elizabeth (Elder) Porter, the former of 
whom was born in Dearborn county, this state, son of a Virginian, who was 
one of the earliest settlers of Indiana Territory, and the latter of whom was 
the daughter of Rev. Matthew Elder, a pioneer preacher of the Baptist 
church, who built the first church in Union county, and was a power for 
good throughout this entire section of the country. In a biographical sketch 
relating to James Porter, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is set out 
in full a genealogy of the Porter family from pioneer times and the reader 
is respectfully referred to that genealogy for further details regarding Doctor 
Porter's interesting family connection. 

Edward A. Porter was reared on the home farm and was given excellent 
educational advantages. Following his completion of the course in the local 
schools, from which he was graduated in 1900, he entered the medical depart- 
ment of the Univeresity of Kentucky, where he studied for two years. He 
then entered Indiana University and in 1908 was graduated from the school 
of medicine of that institution. Upon receiving his diploma he entered upon 
the practice of his chosen profession at Burney and from the very start was 
successful, completely refuting the oft-repeated statement that "a prophet is 
not without honor save in his own country."' Previous to beginning his prac- 
tice. Doctor Porter had endeared himself to the community by a period of 
intimate public service in which he gave the best there was in him to the 
common weal, even as he has done since entering upon his practice. For si.x 
years before finishing his medical course, he had taught school in and about 
Burney, pursuing his medical studies during the summer months and teaching 
during the winter months. He loved teaching and devoted the whole of his 
ardent nature to the interests of the children entrusted to his care, with the 
inevitable result that he made a decided success as a teacher, endearing him- 
self to the whole comniunit\- by Iiis unselfish and faithful service. Upon 
entering upon the practice of medicine he continued the same ungrudging 
and unselfish service to the people and, naturally enough, has built up an 
extensive practice, having achieved a notable success, both from a professional 
and financial standpoint. Doctor Porter very modestly takes some measure 
of pride in the success which has attended his practice in the treatment of the 
diseases of children and in the practice of obstetrics, in both of which he has 
enjoyed an unusual degree of success. 

On August 23, 1910, Edward A. Porter was united in marriage to 
Hester M. Alley, a member of an old and prominent family in this county, 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. ' I I07 

daughter of J. L. and Lucy (Ewing) Alley, the latter of whom was the 
daughter of Joshua Ewing, one of the famous triplets in the family of Patrick 
Ewing. On other pages of this biographical history there are presented 
genealogies of the Alley family and the Ewing family, to which the reader is 
respectfully referred for additional details concerning Mrs. Porter's interest- 
ing family connections. To Dr. Edward A. and Hester M. (Alley) Porter 
have been bom two children, Martha Lucile, born on October 14, 191 1, and 
Jonathan Edward, June 10, 191 3. 

Doctor and Mrs. Porter are members of the Baptist church at Burney 
and are consistent in all good works of the community to which their lives 
are so earnestly devoted, being regarded as among the leaders in the better 
thought of the neighborhood. Doctor Porter is a Democrat and his ardent 
public spirit is a continual stimulus to his unselfish efforts on behalf of good 
local government, his intelligent interest in political affairs giving him a 
prominent place in the councils of the party managers in this countv. In Jan- 
uary, 19 14, Doctor Porter was appointed coroner of Decatur county, 
and has given to the adiuinistration of the affairs of that important office his 
very best thought, even as he gives his very best thought to all his duties as a 
physician and as a citizen. As a family physician, Doctor Porter necessarily 
has been brought into the most intimate relations with the people of the 
community and in all his relations in life has so comported himself as to merit 
the confidence and esteem of the whole countrvside. 



HENRY TOWNSEND. 



Generally speaking, the man who remains in one place, using the oppor- 
tunities which are within his grasp and is satisfied with a reasonable measure 
of progress or profit at the end of each year, makes on the whole the greatest 
success of a vocation whatever it may be. This is particularly true of fann- 
ing and it is no matter for wonderment that Henry Townsend, a well-known 
and well-to-do farmer of Adams township, Decatur county, Indiana, has 
achieved a satisfactory measure of success on the farm. Now fiftv-five vears 
old he lives in the neighborhood where he was born, and it is here that all his 
struggles and his toil have been staged. By saving something from the profits 
of each year's work he has been able to buy more land from time to time 
until he now owns three farms — ninety-four acres in the home place, eighty 
acres across the road and a hundred and twentv acres southwest of his home 



II08 ' DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

■ — two hundred and ninety-four acres in all. Here he has found a realization 
of his boyhood ambition, and here he has been able to surround himself with 
all of the comforts which life in the countryside may afford. 

Born on December 27, 18O0, Henry Townsend is the son of James C. 
and Susan (Warren) Townsend. the former of whom was born on December 
22, 1826, in Decatur county, Indiana, the son of James and Sarah Town- 
send. James Townsend was a native of New Jersey and came to Decatur 
county in 1830 and purchased a tract of a hundred and sixty acres of timber 
land. Susan Warren was a daughter of James Warren, who entered land on 
■the south side of the road opposite the tract entered by the Townsends. 
James C. and Susan Townsend became the owners of a tract of land com- 
prising two hundred and eighty acres in all. ■Mrs. Townsend was born in 
1818, and died in October, 1889. Of their four children, Henry, the subject 
of this sketch, was the youngest. The other children were Mrs. Sarah 
Bailey, of St. Paul; John, a farmer near St. Paul, and James S., a farmer. 

After attending the schools in the neighborhood where he was born, and 
especially the Murphy school, Henry Townsend lived with his parents after 
his marriage, and when his mother died he remained on the home farm. 
When he purchased his first tract of forty acres he bought it with the inten- 
tion of moving to the farm, but changed his plans and continued to reside on 
the home place. His land has been acquired by the purchase of forty acres 
at a time, and he has thus not only grown in wealth and affluence, but he has 
grown in influence as well, since his success is pointed out as a splendid 
example of what may be accomplished by diligence and unceasing effort. Not 
so very long ago Mr. Townsend erected a splendid modern home of ten 
rooms on his home farm, costing approximately four thousand dollars. With 
well-kept and attractive outbuildings the farm is equipped for the most suc- 
cessful operations. He no longer, however, is engaged in active farming, 
but during recent years has been accustomed to rent out his land to others. 

On December 13, 1887, when he was twenty-seven years old, Henry 
Townsend was married to Maggie Garrigan, the daughter of Patrick Garri- 
gan, a native -of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Townsend had only one child, 
Maudie Cecil, who died at the age of eleven years. 

For at least three generations Democracy has been the prevailing politics 
of the Townsends, Henry Townsend's father and grandfather both having 
been identified with the Democratic party. Mr. and Mrs. Townsend are 
members of the United Brethren church, and belong to the Union Chapel 
church in Adams township. He is a worthy citizen of the township and 
county where he resides and where he has always lived. Men who know 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II09 

Henry Townsend admire and respect him for his rugged honesty and his 
interest in the comforts and happiness of his fellows. He makes no preten- 
tion of great achievement, but nevertheless all are ready to say that his life 
has been well spent in sowing seeds of good. He takes a commendaljle inter- 
est in all worthy public enterprises, believes in good roads, public improve- 
ments, and especially in good farming. 



FRANK S. ALEXANDER. 

Frank S. Alexander, who owns a farm of two hundred and seventy-six 
acres two miles SdUth of Burney on the Columbus pike, is one of the rep- 
resentative farmers and stock breeders of Decatur county and one of the 
alert and progressive business men of this community. He has never per- 
mitted himself to fall into the rut which has ruined so many otherwise 
capable men but has studied and experimented in e\ery department of agri- 
culture and has thus been able to obtain the maximum results from his 
efforts. Not only this, but he has so ordered his career as, at all times, to 
command the confidence and respect of the people of this county. The 
time has been when he was a great borrower of money and the substantial 
credit which he enjoyed at a time when credit was necessary to large-scale 
operations, is the basis of his present affluence and prosperity. A man 
interested in public improvements, he has played no small part in the progress 
and prosperity of the county as a whole. 

Frank S. Alexander was born in 1871, in Bartholomew county, near 
Hartsville, the son of A. J. and Charlotta ( Steward ) .Alexander, the former 
of whom was a native of Butler count}-, Ohio, burn in 1839, and wlio moved 
to Bartholomew county when he was eighteen years old. He owned eighty 
acres of land near Hartsville but traded this for one hundred and si.xty 
acres where his son, Frank, now resitles. to which he moved and where he 
spent the remaintler of his acti\e lousiness life. Charlotta Steward, wlm was 
born in Ireland, came with her parents to .\merica when six years old. They 
settled in Bartholomew county, Indiana, where she was married to .\. J. 
Alexander. By industry, economy and shrewd management, they became 
prosperous farmers of the county. 

Born and reared on a farm, b'rank S. Alexander established the foun- 
dation for his business success by working for his father on the farm he 
now owns for one dollar a day. After working this way for two years, 



mo DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

he purchased sixty-acres of land on the banks of CHfty creek and there hved 
for four years. Upon seUing this farm he moved to Tipton county, where 
he purchased one hundred and hve acres of land. The purchase and sale of 
this land was really the substantial foundation of his greater fortune. After 
selling seven hundred dollars worth of timber from the farm, he sold it in 
two years at an advance of fifteen dollars an acre. He came back to De- 
catur county and purchased the old home farm, where he now lives. On 
the day that President William McKinley was killed he paid his father one 
thousand dollars to close the deal for the purchase of the home farm. 
Since 1901 his rise in the business world has been rapid. Mr. Alexander 
owns two hundred and seventy-six acres of land and has a modern home 
worth at least five thousand dollars. He is a heavy stockholder and a di- 
rector in the Burney State Bank. He handles two carloads of cattle and 
six carloads of hogs every year as well as four loads of mules. He has a 
large silo and two barns, one sixty by eighty feet, and one forty by fifty 
feet. In 1914 he raised eight thousand bushels of Yellow Dent corn on 
one hundred and thirty-two acres. Mr. Alexander has always farmed on 
a large scale and to some extent has been a land dealer. In 1909 he pur- 
chased eighty acres of land near the home farm and after cultivating it 
for two years, sold it at a profit of two thousand dollars. In fact, Mr. 
Alexander has been alert to every possible opportunity for making money, 
being quick to recognize a bargain. He is a man of courage in business 
and, while not now a borrower, formerly operated his land on a considerable 
amount of borrowed capital. 

Frank S. Alexander married Elizabeth E. Pumphrey, the daughter of 
\\'illiam and Loduska (Jewell) Pumphrey, the former of whom was a na- 
tive of Kentucky and the son of Andrew Pumphrey, whose family was of 
English origin and who came to Kentucky in pioneer times. Andrew Pumph- 
rey immigrated to Decatur county in pioneer times and settled in Clay 
township, west of where Burney is now situated. He was a successful 
farmer, a Democrat in politics and well respected as a citizen. He had 
seven children, of whom William, the father of Mrs. Alexander, was the 
fourth. William grew to manhood on his father's farm and began life 
for himself after his marriage to Loduska Jewell. They settled on a farm 
which William Pumphrey owned and to which he added until, at the time 
of his death, he owned thirteen hundred acres of land, all in Clay township. 
He was a very successful farmer and business man, a Democrat and a 
member of the Methodist church. A man of decided convictions and moral 
courage, he was more than the ordinary type of citizen. Generous in his 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I III 

impulses, he had a host of friends in this county and township, lie died 
at the age of eighty years. Wilham and Loduska Pumphrey reared a family 
of ten children, eight of whom are now living, namely : James A., Francis 
M. and Edward P., all of whom are residents of Decatur county; William 
P., who is a resident of Shelby county; Doad P. and an unnamed child are 
deceased; Elizabeth E., who is the wife of Mr. Alexander; Fannie, who is 
the wife of a Mr. Miner, of Decatur county; May, who is the wife of Clyde 
Elliott; and Josephine, who married Earl Littell, of Indianapolis. 

Mr. and Mrs. Frank S. Alexander have six living children, as follow: 
Ralph, born on June 25, 1894; Ethel, April 14, 1900; Paul, November 6, 
1904; Ruth, June 28, 1909; Dennis, July 12, 1912, and Mazie E., June 6, 

1915- 

For many years Frank S. Alexander has been prominent in the councils 
of the Republican party of Decatur county and, in a measure, his sei-vices 
were rewarded by his party when in 1908 he was elected a member of the 
Decatur county board of commissioners, an office in which he served until 
1912. Politics is the one diversion from his personal business which he 
permits himself to enjoy. One might search the length and breadth of 
Decatur county and not find a man, who, in the same length of time, has 
enjoyed a more rapid rise in farming and in business than Frank S. Alexan- 
der. He has been successful in life because he has applied himself assidu- 
ously to his business and because he is so constituted that he has not feared to 
take reasonable chances. In an official way he is well known to the peo- 
ple of this county because of his efficient record as a public officer. In a 
private way he is known as an estimable citizen and a prosperous farmer. 



TAMES M. BOSTIC. 



The Union soldier during the great war between the states builded wiser 
than he knew. Through four years of suffering and hardships, through the 
horrors of prison pens and amid the shadows of death he laid the foundation 
of the greatest temple ever erected and dedicated to human freedom. The 
world looked on and called those soldiers sublime, for it was theirs to reach 
up a mighty arm of power and strike the chains from oft' the slaves, preserve 
the country from dissolution and to keep unfurled to the breeze the only flag 
that has ever made tyrants tremble. One of the noble men, now deceased, 
who contributed his time and effort to this honorable struggle, was James M. 
Bostic. 



I I 12 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

James M. Bostic was born in Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1846, the son 
of Titus and Sarah (Jones) Bostic, both nati\es of Dearborn county, who 
removed to Decatur county in pioneer times, and here li\'ed the balance of 
their Hves. 

After being reared to manhood on his father's home farm, James M. 
Bostic enHsted in 1862, in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-third 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, a regiment which saw very hard 
service during the Civil War. It was attached to Grant's army of Middle 
Tennessee, and participated in the battle of X'icksburg, the battle of Fort 
Donelson and many others. James M. Bostic came through the strenuous 
struggle without ever receiving a wound, and without having been sick. He 
was a brave and efficient soldier and was actuated by the highest motives of 
true patriotism. He possessed a hatred of slavery and its injustice, and was- 
willing, if necessary, to give his life to suppress the institution. 

At the close of the war, James M. Bostic came home to Decatur county, 
and in 1867 was married to Melissa Hancock, a daughter of John and Eliza- 
beth (Lemonds) Hancock, the latter of whom was a daughter of Thomas 
and Elizabeth Lemonds. natives of Lawrence county. Indiana, and of English 
extraction. They moved to Lawrence county, Indiana, direct from North 
Carolina, where the first Lemonds family settled on their arrixal from Eng- 
land in America. John Hancock was born in North Carolina and moved to- 
Lawrence county about 1840, bringing with him his wife and two small 
children. After remaining in Lawrence county for some eight years, the 
family came to Decatur county, and settled near St. Paul, in Adams town- 
ship. Later they moved to Clay township, and settled near Milford. Here 
John Hancock lived the remainder of his life. He was a well-known, honest 
and respected citizen. Of his six children, Mrs. James M. Bostic was the 
fourth in order of birth. She was born in Lawrence county in 1848. Mr. 
and Mrs. Bostic began life together in Milford, where Mr. Bostic followed 
the occupation of a farmer until some twenty-fi\-e years ago, \\-hen be retired. 

Mr. and Mrs. James AI. Bostic were the parents of eight children, as 
. follow : George, a resident of Shelby county, Indiana : Fannie and Carrie, 
residing at home with their mother: Stella, the wife of Charles Mote, of 
Jackson township, this county: Emmett, living at home: Nannie, the wife of 
James Thornlmrg, a resident of Daviess county, Indiana: Isophene, the wife 
of Roy Herndon, lives at St. Paul, where her husband operates a saw-mill and 
threshing machine: and Ora Dale, who lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

James M. Bostic was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, 
having been affiliated with Pap Thomas Post at Greensburg. For six years. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. UIJ 

he served as township assessor, and was weU known and weU hked hv the 
citizens of Decatnr comity. .\ Repnljlican in puhtics, he was stanch and true 
to the principles of the party of Lincuhi, and it is not too much to say that he 
belonged to that class of citizens of whom Decatnr counts^ mav well be 
proud. Mrs. Bostic is a member of the Presbyterian church. .Mthough now 
sixty-seven years of age, she enjoys good health. She is a woman of noble- 
Christian instincts, and has a large circle of friends in this township. 



ANDRF.W WlLLIAxMS. 



On the Columlius and Greensburg road four and one-half miles south- 
west of the pleasant village of Burney, in this county, there is situated a 
comfortable farm house within whose walls good cheer and cordial hospi- 
tality ever reign. Here live a delightful old C(.)uple who have made their 
home on that spot since their marriage in ]H()j and who are known far and 
wide throughout that communit)', being held in the highest regard by all. 
Andrew Williams was born on that spot, his present home being a part of 
the original tract entered 1)\' his father from the goxernment l)ack in pioneer 
days. His wife, who was a Woodruff, also was born in this county, member 
of a prominent pioneer family, and the two have witnessed the development 
of the wilderness to its present high state of cultivation. Beginning their 
home life on this spot in a little log cabin, they prospered and presently 
their present comfortable and commodious home was erected, where they are 
living in peaceful content, enjoying the confidence and esteem of all who 
know them. Mv. Williams has displayed enterprise and energy in the oijera- 
tions of his far.Vn and is recognized as one of the most substantial citizens 
thereabout. He has always been a hard worker and is now enjoying the 
fitting reward of his life of well-directed toil. Mrs. Williams is one of the 
gentlest of women, whose lienignant ways have endeared her to the entire 
neighborhood. .\ woman of e.\ce])tinnal natixe ability, she has been a 
hel])nieet indeed to her husband and shares with him the amjile rewards of 
their life of earnest endeavor, Mrs. Williams is of the broad-minded t}[)e, 
charitable to all and a good Christian woman. She has the utmost reverence 
for the memories of the earlier da}-s in that part of the county and delights 
to talk of those davs. her fund of reminiscences making her a very entertain- 
ing con\-ersationalist. 

.Andrew Williams was born on the farm on which he now lives, in 



I I 14 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Clay township, Decatur count)-, Indiana, November i6, 1844, a son of 
Richard and Dorcas (Dunn) WilHams, the former of whom was a native 
of Virginia, born on July 4, 1804, son of Felix Williams, of English extrac- 
tion, and the latter of whom was a native of this county, a member of one 
of the earliest settlers in that part of the county. 

Richard Williams came from Virginia to this county about the year 
1825 and entered a section of land in Clay township. He then returned to 
\'irginia, but presently returned to Decatur county and proved up his claim. 
He married Dorcas Dunn, 'daughter of James and Elizabeth (Swinney) 
Dunn, prominent pioneers of this region, and to this union were born nine 
children, namely: Mrs. Nancy McClintick, of Clay township; Mrs. Martha 
Evans, deceased; James, deceased; Felix, living in Hartsville; Andrew, the 
subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mary Mitchell, deceased; Mrs. Louisa Pumphrey, 
deceased; John, deceased, and Mrs. Minerva Smith, deceased; one died 
young. Richard Williams became one of the heavy landowners of Decatur 
county, adding to his original tract until he owned fifteen hundred acres of 
land. He was a man of strong character and one of the shrewdest farmers 
in the western part of the county. He was reared a Whig, but upon the 
dissolution of that party entered the ranks of the Democrats, and remained 
faithful to the principles of Jefferson and Jackson the rest of his life, his 
death occurring on November 16, 1882. 

Andrew Williams was reared on the home farm in Clay township, 
receiving such educational advantages as the somewhat limited facilities for 
schooling offered in those days, and grew up properly trained for a life of 
farming. On October 30, 1867, he was united in marriage to Eliza Wood- 
ruff, daughter of Enos and Susan (Bourne) Woodruff, early residents of 
Jackson township, this county, the former of whom was a native of Delaware 
and the latter of whom was a native of Massachusetts, of English and Dutch 
ancestry, respectively. 

Enos Woodruff and his wife came to tliis count}- from Ohio at an early 
day in the settlement of this region, settling in Jackson township, where they 
prospered, having been numbered among the mo.st substantial and influential 
residents of that part of the county. Enos Woodruff was born on September 
22, 1822, and died in August, 1899; his wife having been born on January 8, 
1824, and died on August 4, 1908. They were members of the United 
Brethren church and were prominent in the good works of their neighbor- 
hood. Mr. Woodruff' was a Democrat and took an intelligent interest in the 
political affairs of the county. 

To Andrew and Eliza (Woodruff) Williams have been born four chil- 



t 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



"I5 



dren, as follow: Mrs. Lena Galbraith, born on December 30, 1868, lives 
southwest of the village of Burney, in this county; John Wesley, May 16, 
1871, lives in Bartholomew county, this state; Elza Edgar, August 3, 1874, 
lives in Clay township, and Susan Elsie, 1890, married Clyde Thorpe, lives 
at Mil ford. 

Upon their marriage, in 1867, Andrew W'illiams and wife settled on a 
part of the Williams home acres, for some time living in a log caliin thereon, 
but as their affairs prospered and the demand of the growing family required 
more room, they built a comfortable residence and are very pleasantly sit- 
uated. Mr. Williams is a Democrat, following the earnest convictions of his 
father in his political faith, and takes an earnest interest in political affairs, 
being much interested in good government. He has a farm of two hundred 
and sixty-five acres, which is under excellent cultivation, and he has been 
quite successful in his farming operations. He has been a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church for the past thirty years. 



JOHN W. TREMAIN. 



It was, indeed, a rough road over which many of the earlier settlers 
had to travel. The wonder is that they arrived at all and not that they 
carried with them on their arrival especial honors; but John W. Tremain, the 
subject of this sketch, not only traveled the road, but, too, arrived with 
especial honors, for he has succeeded from the financial standpoint, and his 
fellow neighbors have, again and again, elected him to some office of service 
as a mark of honor, the last of which he still holds, the office of county com- 
missioner of the third district of Decatur county. 

John W. Tremain was born on June 11, 1851, in Johnson county, 
Indiana. He was the son of George W. Tremain, who was a native of 
Decatur county, and who was born in 1830. George W. Tremain was a son 
of Reuben and Elizabeth (Hardy) Tremain. Reuben Tremain was a nati\e 
of New York and inmiigrated to Decatur county in 1823, where he, with two 
brothers. Homer and Simeon, entered a tract of one hundred sixty acres of 
land in what is known as the Robbins neighborhood three miles southeast of 
Greensburg. After entering this land, these brothers divided it. each i)uild- 
ing a log cabin, cleared, improved and culti\'ated the land. Homer and 
Simeon died here on this land. Reuben Tremain immigrated to Johnson 
• county, where, in 1848, his son, George W. Tremain, married Phoebe Nay, 



IIl6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Samuel Nay. Samuel Xay settled 
in Johnson county in 1832, after traveling afoot, with six companions, from 
Madison, Indiana. After thc-ir arrival in Johnson county they built a house 
with axes and saws which they had carried with them, and here Samuel Nay 
lived and died. Phoebe Nay was born in 1828 and died in 1901. 

George W. Tremain went back to Decatur county in 1868 and bought a 
farm where he liwd until bis death, in 1003. To George W. and Phoebe 
(Nay) Tremain were born se\"en children, namely: John W., the subject of 
this sketch: Samuel J., deceased: IMilton R., of Columbus, Indiana; George 
B., of Celina, Kansas: Caroline, deceased: Mary married a Mr. Munns, of 
Oxford, Ohirj. and Alartha inarrietl Louis Vouman, of Bartholomew countv. 

John W. Tremain. likt- many of the earlier settlers, secured most of his 
education in the "School of Life Experiences."' He bad only three months' 
schooling after he was thirteen years old. He lived with his parents until 
his marriage, at the age of nineteen. He was married on August 4, 1870, to 
Eliza Jane Jones, the daughter of Horace Jones, one of the early settlers of 
Jackson township. In about 1880 John W. Tremain settled in Jackson town- 
ship and bought a tract of eighty acres, and here they lived until Mrs. Tre- 
main's death, at the age of fifty, in 1900. To this union were born fi\-e chil- 
dren, three of whom arc now li\ing: George L., of Greensburg, county 
attorney: Dr. Milton A., a practicing physician of Adams, who is the father 
of one child, Margaret, eight years old, and Emma, the wife of Forrest 
Stewart, a former teacher of near Adams and who attended the University 
of Chicago, and will teach at Hiram. Ohio, at a school of the Christian 
church of Ohio. 

After the death of Mrs. Tremain, Mr. Tremain lived on the farm until 
in 1904 be sold it and bought an eighty-acre tract south of Sardinia, on which 
he lives at the present time. This is a highly-impro\ed piece of land with 
modern buildings and a fine Ijrick residence. 

On .March 30, 1905, John W. Tremain was uniteil in marriage to Nancy 
(Weill)) LaForge, who was the widow of John LaP'orge, an early settler 
and a natix'e of Decatur county. Nancy Welslj was born in Jackson township 
in 1856 and was the daughter of Jonathan and Nancy -Dilman Webb, now 
deceased and natives of Indiana and Oh.io, respectively, who settled in the 
woods in Jackson townshii>, in Decatur county, when they were first married. 
They were the parents of thirteen children, the following having attained 
maturity : Phoebe Ann, Julia Ann, Joseph Jemima, Monroe and America, 
now deceased, and tlie following are still living : John, of Columbus ; Jane, 
married Mr. Misner, of Franklin: Smiley, of Jennings county; Mollie, of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



I I 17 



Jennings county; Anna Maria, who is the wife of Nathan Watson, of near 
Burney, and Emma, who is the wife of D. H. Pike, of Jackson township. 

Nancy Webb LaForge was the mother of one child by her lirst husband, 
Vinnie, who married Harry Tarkington, of Bartholomew county. 

In politics, John W. Tremain has always been an active and ardent 
Democrat. He has often been elected to offices of trust, all of which he has 
filled with credit and honor. F"or ten years he held the office of justice of the 
peace, he was a school director for a time, and for five years he was trustee 
of Jackson township, and at the present time he holds the office of county 
commissioner from his district. He is a stanch and active member of the 
Christian church. 

It is, indeed, a mark of worth and a creditable example to have "hewn 
through the rocks of adversity" of such a rough road and to have traveled 
over that road, with little but self-education, with sturdy, resolute step to a 
place of honor and trust in the gift of his neighbors, and such is the accom- 
plishments of John W. Tremain. 



WILLIAM H. DENISTON. 

When one thinks of Scotland and its limited area of land with its dense 
population, in comparison to the vast area of the United States with its scat- 
tering population of one hundred years ago, one does not wonder that when 
John Deniston, in his youth, came with his parents to this country they had 
to "look around'' before they could decide just where they wanted to go; but 
after a while they decided to go to the far West, which, at that time, was In- 
diana, and here on December 30, 1836, William H. Deniston was born. 

In .Scotland almost every man has some industrial training, and so we 
find John Deniston, instead of taking up farming for a livelihood, going into 
the business of a tanner and shoemaker, while in contrast to such a business 
life his son, William H. Deniston, the subject of this sketch, takes as his 
vocation the life of a farmer. 

John Deniston was born in .Scotland 'in 1795 and came to this country 
with his parents when a child. Later in life he settled in Franklin county, 
Indiana, where for a time he engaged in the business of tanning leather and 
making shoes, removing to Butler county, Ohio, where he operated a tannery 
and made boots and shoes on a large scale until his death there in 1862. 
John Deniston married Sarah Lines, who was born in 1797 and who died in 



IIl8 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

1853. They had eight children, as follow: George died in California; 
Martha, died in Mt. Carmel, Indiana; David, died in Kokomo, Indiana; 
Sarah Jane, died in infancy ; James, died in White county, Illinois ; Helen 
died in Iowa ; Frank, died on a farm near Sardinia, and William H., the sub- 
ject of this sketch. 

William H. Deniston came, with his brother Frank, to Sardinia, March 
14, 1867 and bought a tract of two hundred and nine acres of land which, 
they operated in partnership until 1879, at which time William H. sold his 
interest and purchased a si.xty-eight acre tract of his own. This venture 
proved a successful one and it was not long until he increased his holdings 
by the purchase of a two hundred and forty acre tract near Sardinia, and to 
this he has added a seventy-five-acre tract on which his son now lives. He 
also owns sixty acres which his son William J. operates. 

Mr. Deniston has not been willing to rest at the simple ownership of this 
fine body of land but has increased its value and usefulness by added improve- 
ments, until, today, he has each farm well equipped with residences, barns 
and granaries, having three good residence buildings and four good barns. 

\\'illiam H. Deniston was married on May 21, 1862 to Celeste Doty, of 
Butler county, whose mother was a Sheilds and whose father was John Doty. 
Mrs. Deniston was born in 1843 s^d was the mother of three children, as 
follow:" William J., lives on one of his father's farms near Sardinia and has 
two daughters, Cecil Bonnie and Dale at home ; Annie Maude married Will- 
iam Hubbard, and is the mother of one son, Lowell C. ; Charles E. is married 
and lives on one of his father's farms, and has one son, Noble Graham. 

After the death of his first wife, which occurred on October 8, 1884, 
William H. Deniston lived with his daughter on one of his farms. The 
daughter was married in 1892 and Mr. Deniston continued to make his 
home with her until on June 7, 191 1, he was married to Sarah Elizabeth 
(George) Powell, widow of Charles Powell, of Indianapolis, when he left 
the farm and moved into Sardinia where he now lives. 

Sarah Elizabeth George was the daughter of Andrew George, who left 
Butler county, Ohio, to settle in Henry county, Indiana. 

William H. Deniston has long been one of the active "wheel horses" of 
the Democratic party in Decatur county. In his earlier days he filled several 
minor township offices with honor. Mr. Deniston is an active member of 
the Universalist church. 

The forefathers of some of our most worthy and substantial citizens 
came to this country from a foreign shore, and among these might be men- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



I 119 



tioned William H. Deniston, whose father, John Deniston, was brought to 
this country by his parents from Scotland. Surely, William H. Deniston 
has proven a worthy and creditaljle accession to our citizenship. 



EDGAR EDDELiNIAN. 



The name heading this sketch is that of a gentleman whose ancestors 
were of good old pioneer stock, and who could, if alive today, tell of many 
thrilling incidents with the Indians, and the hardships that belonged to the 
life in the wilderness. These stories have the same fascination for the lis- 
tener that the war stories of today have, provided one is not called upon to 
take an active part in them. It is not difficult to be brave in time of peace, 
and the early parents who faced the murderous Indians, with neighbors and 
all assistance be}'ond call, were made of sterner stuff than the man who 
faces a sixteen-inch war-gun today. 

Edgar Eddelman, of Jackson township, was born on October 17, 1875, 
on a farm one mile north of where he now resides. He is the son of Amos 
Henry and Abigail (Shinault) Eddelman. His home of one hundred and 
forty-three acres in Jackson township is one of the most prosperous in the 
county, in addition to which, he owns seventy-three acres one mile north, 
making, in all, two hundred and sixteen acres, with two sets of buildings. 
Mr. Eddelman does a general farming liusiness, and raises from hft}- to 
seventy-five hogs annually. His political views are in harmony with the 
Democratic party. 

Amos Henry Eddelman was born in 1850 and died in 1905, on the farm 
where Edgar now lives. He was a son of William H. and Rachel (Whel- 
don) Eddelman, who gave him a farm one mile north. In politics he was 
a Democrat. He was a member of the Baptist church. Abigail Shinault, 
who married Amos Henry Eddelman. was born in 1849, in Jennings county, 
and is a daughter of George Shinault, born of German immigrant parents. 

The paternal grandfather was William H. Eddelman, a native of Jef- 
ferson county, Indiana, and a son of Daniel Eddelman. His wife was Rachel 
Wheldon, also a nati\e of Jefferson county. He was twice married, had 
two children by the first wife and eleven by the second. 

\Mien Kentucky was a wilderness, Daniel Eddelman, great-grand- 
father of Edgar Eddelman. with his mother and brother, was sheltered in 
a strong cabin at Bryant's Station, and while here they were attacked by 



II20 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Indians and Daniel was taken by them to near Lafayette, where he was kept 
until he was twelve years old. when he was returned to Kentucky and claiiued 
by his mother. It is thought that Daniel's brother. James, was killed or 
burned to death by the Indians. Daniel died in Jackson county, Indiana, 
when ninety-eight years of age. He was a hunter and trapper, and loved 
hunting better than farming. He learned the Indian method of counting, 
which goes as follows, by using fingers: "Nequita, nesway, netheny, narro- 
way, nollony, cutatha, nesothy, sathaky, sockaty and metathy," and then 
counting up to one hundred or more by doubling the hands, etc. The Eddel- 
nians came to Decatur county in the early twenties, and settled in Jackson 
township. A log cabin was their home until it was replaced by a new house. 
Edgar Eddelman was united in marriage on December 22, 1907, with 
Christina Margaret Gelling, who was born on October 25, 1877, in Jennings 
county, Indiana, a daughter of George Geiling. Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Eddel- 
man are the parents of four children, namely : Alice Blanche, born on Jan- 
uary 27, 1909; Daniel Amos, July i, 1910: George Albert, February 12, 1912; 
Thomas Edgar, December 9, 19 13. 



JOHN E. ROBBINS. 



When any man serves himself in a fair and honorable manner he serves 
his community, but there are certain types of citizens who, in addition to 
serving themselves well, perform an especial service to their community. At 
the present moment there is a movement being inaugurated by the govern- 
ment to increase the efficiency of the farmer, not only in the improvement 
of soil and soil products, but in scientific improvement of animal breeding 
and animal industry. It is a notable fact that this interest has been largely 
initiated through the pioneer efforts of indi\idual stock raisers and breeders, 
who, while their prime object might have been individual profit, nevertheless 
have rendered a notable service, not alone to themselves and to their imme- 
diate communitv. but to the country as a whole. Indiana has, liv no means, 
stood in the background in this movement, and among the Indiana breeders 
there have been few of more prominence than John E. Robbins, of Decatur 
■county. 

John E. Robbins was born in Sand Creek township, Decatur coimty, on 
October 6, 1861, on the farm on which he still resides. This farm, con- 
sisting of a three-hundred-fifteen-acre tract of improved land, has descended 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I 121 

to its present owner from his grandfather, WilHam Robbins, who settled on 
this land in 1823, and who, at that time, buih a log cabin on what is now the 
site of the palatial farm residence of John E. Robbins. 

John E. Robbins is the son of James G. Robbins, who was born on 
June 10, 1829. in a log cabin which stood where John E. Robbins now lives. 
For further history of James G. Robbins see history of Robbins family under 
J. B. Kitchin sketch, elsewhere in this volume. Tlie mother of John Robbins 
was Elmira H. Stout, who was the daughter of Joab Stout, and who was 
born in September, 1832. Her lineage can be traced to the early history of 
America. 

Richard Stout landed at New Amsterdam in 1618. His wife, progeny of 
Von Princess, with her first husband was shipwrecked off Sandy Hook and 
captured by Indians, the children and husband were killed and the wife was 
held, but later ransomed, afterwards marrying Richard Stout. They had 
six children: Jonathan, John, Richard, James Peter, Daniel Benjamin, 
Mary Sarah and Alice. Jonathan Stout was the founder of Hopewell, New 
Jersey, and his son, Joab Stout, was the father of Joab Stout, who was the 
father of Elmira H. (Stout) Robbins. 

Joab Stout served throughout the Revolutionary War and was present 
at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He married Rhoda Howell at 
close of the war and settled at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, in 1778. Later, with 
a party of emigrants, he made what was then, on account of Indian hostilities, 
a very dangerous trip down the Ohio river and landed near the present site 
of Louisville. Kentucky. Later he went to Lexington and then to Bracken 
county on the Licking river, where he remained for a number of years, and 
then moved to near Cincinnati, where he lived for a short time, and in 181 2 
lie moved to Franklin county, Indiana, where he died on February 28, 1883. 

To Joab and Rhoda Stout were born the following children : Jonathan, 
who married Nancy Thompson in Kentucky ; Rachel, who married \Villiam 
■Cummins; Mary, who was the wife of Andrew Shirk: Elizabeth, who was the 
wife of Samuel Shirk; Abner, who married Malinda Tyner; Joab, who mar- 
ried Amanda Rariden, and after her death Rebecca Wynkoop; David, who 
married Rhoda Wiles: Margaret, who died in infancy: Rebecca, who was the 
wife of Samuel Goudie; Ira, who married Eliza McNutt; Sarah, who was 
the wife of Paul Holliday ; Aaron, who married a ]\Irs. McKinney, and Anna, 
-who was the wife of William Waldroff. 

Toab Stout, the sixth child of this large family, was born on January 15. 
1802, in Bracken countv, Kentucky, and died at Letts Center, Indiana, on 

(70 



I 122 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

November ii, 1877. He, like his own father, was the father of a large 
family. He was twice married and his first wife was the mother of the 
following children: Milton S., who died on June 8, 1830; Jonathan R., who 
died in September, 1835: Rhoda E.,; Elmira H., who was the mother of the 
subject of this sketch, and Mary E., who died on September 24, 1876. The 
following children were born under his second marriage: Joab H., deceased; 
Sarah A., who died on January 10, 1872: John W., who lives in Greensburg; 
Isaac N., who died on April 8. 1871 : Rachel J., deceased: Mrs. Helen 
Eubank, who lives in Greensburg ; Mrs. Frances R. Templeton, who lives in 
Greensburg and who is now a widow : Clara E., who died on January 4, 1863. 

John E. Robbins was educated in the common schools and the high 
school of Greensburg. His land possessions came chiefly as his share from 
his father's estate. He has improved this land until today it is one of the 
most up-to-date farms in Indiana. .Since 1882 Mr. Robbins, with his father 
and brother as partners, has been doing extensive breeding of improved 
Shorthorn cattle, and at the present time he has a herd of over ninety head 
of the best examples of this breed to be found in America. The firm has 
recently imported a number of very fine cattle from Scotland. Some of these 
are of almost priceless value because of their breeding. 

The partnership was established, and is still carried on under the firm 
name of J. G. Robbins & Sons, breeders. This firm has shown in comp2titi(jn 
with state and national breeders every year except one (i8g8) at national, 
state and county shows, and has ne\'er failed to carry ofl^ their proportion of 
the prizes offered. The reason of their failure to shcnv in iSoS was l^ecause 
they sold their show herd for that year, but the bu}'ers of the herd exhibited 
it at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, where it won e\xry premium offered 
in its class. .At the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 John E. Robins & Sons, 
breeders, won the beef-herd championship with fi\e head of cattle and won 
the diploma for breeding the most winners in the Shorthorn class at the 
Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1903. This firm has won 
numerous championships at International Stock Shows at Chicago, and the 
American Royal Shows at Kansas City. They won all prizes ofifered in two 
shows at Madison Square Garden, New York City, and they won numerous 
prizes at the Lewis and Clark Exposition at Portland, Oregon. In addition 
to these they ha\'e won prizes at the following state fairs : Minnesota, Mon- 
tana, Kentucky, Virginia and at Toronto, Canada. 

John E. Robbins has come to be known as one of the best expert judges 
of cattle in this country, and among some of the organizations which have 
sought his service in this capacity are the New York state fair, the Ohio state 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



"-'3 



fair, the Wisconsin state fair, the Minnesota state fair, the Kentncky state 
fair, and the Memphis tri-state fair. He was expert judge at seven different 
international siiows in Chicago, at Portland, Oregon, and Ft. Worth, Texas, 
besides at a great number of county fairs and local shows. Will S. Robbins, 
the brother in the firm, has, also, in many states, served as an expert judge. 

While John E. Robbins has been much engrossed in productive and 
industrial activities he has not failed to know and fill his obligations as a 
citizen, politically, socially and religiously. He always has been a stanch 
Republican in politics. His grandfather was a Whig. Mr. and Mrs. Rob- 
bins are members of the Liberty Baptist church, of which I'ieverend Joab 
.Stout was pastor for many years. There is an association of the Stuut family 
and for many years this association has been holding annual reunions. Miss 
Geneva Robbins is secretary of this association and for the last three years 
these meetings have been held at the Liberty Baptist church and were attended 
l)y scores (if the descendants of the Robbins family. 

Too much praise cannot be given earlier settlers, who have through their 
individual efforts sought scientifically to increase and improve li\-e stock 
jiroduction. Oftentimes this has seemed almost a hopeless and thankless 
task. When one has the full understanding of just what such an undertaking 
means and fights on to accomplish his purpose, it matters little whether he 
succeeds from a financial standpoint or not, he has been a benefactor to 
humanity, and such ser^•ice, when it bi'ings both the compensation to the 
individual and the benefits to the communitv, is indeed a double blessinsf. 



BEXJ.\:\IIN FR.\NKLTN DEXHAAL 

It is extraordinary in this country t(i find a man who is almost a septua- 
genarian capable of performing any considerable amount of work. It is 
even more unusual to find a man at this advanced age who is capable of 
doing manual work, yet Benjamin b'ranklin Denhani. a farmer and stock- 
man of Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, was found plowing in the 
field when sought for the facts of his personal life. It is a strong testimonial 
to the rugged stock from which he is sprung that he is still able to engage in 
exacting toil at this age. His career has been a most active one and his body 
is still strong and his mind alert. Air. Denhain is a noble-minded, public- 
spirited citizen of this great county. 

Benjamin Franklin Denham was born on January J4. 1X46, in Cler- 



1 1 24 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

I 

mont county, Ohio, the son of Benjamin, Sr., and Mary Ann (Patchell) 
Denham, the former of whom was born in 1806 and died in 1880, and the 
latter died in 1S58. The father, who came from Scotch-Irish stock, was a 
native of New York and immigrated to Ohio. He was a Baptist preacher, 
miller and millwright. He preached, however, for the love of the work and 
operated a mill as his real business in life. Coming to Decatur county in 
1848, he erected the Harwood mill on Sand creek and for two years, in con- 
junction with his brother, Daniel, operated this mill. They taught the owner 
of the mill how to run it. In 1850 Benjamin Denham, Sr., built a mill two 
miles north on Sand creek, which was operated by water and there he was 
engaged in sawing lumber and grinding grain for several years. Subse- 
quently, he liecame the sole owner of the mill and operated it for twenty-five 
years. In the meantime, he preached in the local churches of the county. 
Finally he traded the mill and thirty-three and one-third acres of land for one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in Kansas, but later traded this land. For 
some time he was engaged in preaching at Alert and then operated a mill 
at Forest Hill for two years, when he returned to Sand Creek township and 
operated the Harwood mill, finally buying it and operating it until his death. 

Benjamin and Mary Ann (Patchell) Denham were the parents of eight 
children, the five eldest of whom, Elizabeth, Sarah. Maria, Jemima and 
Delilah, are deceased. The others are as follow : James B. lives in Missouri ; 
Benjamin Franklin is the subject of this sketch, and John Edward lives in 
Missouri. After the death of his first wife, the father married a Mrs. 
(Deweese) Miller, who bore him three children, two of whom died in 
infancy. Mrs. Hattie Allen, of Greensburg, is the only living child of this 
marriage. 

Educational opportunities were somewhat limited during the boyhood 
and youth of Benjamin F. Denham and he had comparatively little schooling. 
For some time he attended the Sharp's school near Letts, Pinhook and the 
Rodney school in Sand Creek township. In the meantime, he partially 
learned the miller's trade and helped to conduct the saw-mill. 

Leaving the mill near Adams in 1863, he enlisted in Company H, 
Thirty-seventh Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and served a period of 
twenty-three months in the L^nion army. He was recruited for the Thirtv- 
seventh but was transferred to the Eighty-eighth and then to the Thirty- 
eighth Regiment, which was a consolidation of the Thirty-seventh and 
Eighty-eighth. Among the severe engagements in which he was engaged 
during; the Civil War, were the battles of Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridee, 
Kenesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Pumpkin Vine, Big Shanty, Resaca, 



i 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II25 

and Marietta. He was also engaged in the Atlanta campaign and was in 
the great battle fought twenty-five miles south of Atlanta just before the 
surrender of the Confederates at Atlanta. He was in the march with Sher- 
man from Atlanta to the sea and participated in the battle fought five miles 
from Savannah. He was also in the battles of Columbia, South Carolina; 
Raleigh, North Carolina; and Jonesboro, North Carolina. From Jonesboro 
he was sent to Richmond, Virginia, after Lee's surrender and, after having 
participated in the Grand Review at Washington, was sent to Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania, and from there to Louisville, Kentucky, from which place he 
expected to go to Texas. He was mustered out at Louisville, paid off and 
discharged at Indianapolis. Being very sick, he rested at home for six 
weeks and then began working as a farm hand near Greensburg. 

For some time Mr. Denham worked for Reverend Tisdale and Mr. Gil- 
man. Later he worked as a hay baler for Attorney Piatt Wicks. Having 
learned the blacksmith's trade, he worked at this trade at Old Gaynorsville 
for two years. During the twenty-two years succeeding this, he operated a 
shop at Newburg and, by saving his money, was able to purchase eighty acres 
of land, a part of the farm he now owns. Fie and his good wife saved every 
cent that it was possible to save and were finally able to buy one hundred acres 
of land adjoining the original eighty. Eight years later they were able to 
buy one hundred and twenty acres more. They now have three sets of 
buildings on this land. Mr. Denham erected a large barn in 1909 to replace 
one which burned. 

On Noxember 30, 1870, Benjamin Franklin Denham was married to 
Mary E. Petree, who was born near Sardinia on August 31. 1845, ^^^ daugh- 
ter of David and Jane (Landphair) Petree, the former of whom was a 
native of Franklin county, Indiana, and the latter a native of Butler county, 
Ohio. David Petree was the son of Adam Petree, an early pioneer of Jackson 
township, who was probably born in Franklin county. David Petree died in 
1855. Jane (Landphair) Petree died at her home in 1912. Mrs. Denham, 
before her marriage, was a milliner at Forest Hill. For ten years Mrs. Den- 
ham operated the store at Newburg, assisting her husband in every way pos- 
sible. Much credit for their joint success is due to her able assistance. Mrs. 
Denham's parents had gone to housekeeping on the farm, which came to be 
known as the old homestead and which is now a part of the Denham farm, 
in a house which is still standing. 

Of the six children born to Benjamin F. and Mary E. Denham, Frank, 
the eldest, who was born on May 9, 1872, is deceased. He died in 1903. 
The other five children, all of whom are living, are as follow : Charles, lx)rn 



1 126 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

in 1874, who is farming the home place, married Ehzaljeth Eddleman and 
has two children, Margaret and Robert; Fred H., 1876, who lives in North 
Dakota, married Fannie Talkington and has two children, Eveline and 
Bernice; Enrie, 1878, who is the wife of Clave Bennis and has two children, 
twins, Edna May and Mary June; Dora and Tracy O., both of whom are at 
home. 

Mr. Denham was a Republican until the formation of the Progressive 
party in 191 2, when he identified himself with this party. He voted for the 
first candidate for president which the Republican party elected, Abraham 
Lincoln. For fifteen years Mr. Denham served as a school trustee in Forest 
Hill or Newburg. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and has been 
an elder at Sardinia for the past ten years. 

As a veteran of the Civil War, as a successful farmer and stockman, 
Benjamin F. Denham can look back upon his career with consummate satis- 
faction. The owner of three hundred acres of good land in Jackson town- 
ship, he has lived on the farm since 1890. His success as a farmer is due 
principally to his extensive interest in Hve stock. Ordinarily, he sells one 
hundred head of hogs every year and a carload of cattle. Mr. Denham found 
the road to success and found the road unaided and alone except for the help 
which he received from his good wife. Today he is an honored and esteemed 
citizen of Jackson township, a man who enjoys the confidence of his fellows. 



ALEXANDER BENTLEY. 

The casual traveler in Jackson township, this county, is attracted to the 
fine appearance of "Maple Grove Farm," one of the best kept and most 
attractive places in that part of Decatur county. Alexander Bentley, the 
owner of "Maple Grove Farm" and one of the most progressive and prosper- 
ous farmers in his section, is the first man in that township to inscribe upon 
his mail bo.x the name of his farm; his example in that respect having proved 
so worthy of emulation that now it is a rarity to find a mail box that is not 
so adorned. Mr. Bentley has a beautiful farm to which he gives the most 
devoted care. The fact that this has been the place of his residence for 
sixty-seven years, ever since he was two years of age, and that, with this 
exception he has spent his whole life thus far upon the home acres gives to 
his ownership a sentimental interest which incites him constantly to greater 
endeavors to make of the farm an ideal place of its kind. He has a fine 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1127 

home, his house being of good size, and his barns and outbuildings, all of 
which are painted white to match the house, are kept in a fine state of repair. 
This cluster of white buildings sitting amidst a beautiful grove of maple 
trees, from which latter the farm takes its name, presents an exceedingly 
attractive appearance and speaks loudly for the good taste and careful man- 
agement of Mr. Bentley and his family. 

Alexander Bentley was born in Butler county, Ohio, on March 17, 1844, 
the son of William and Sarah M. (Howe) Bentley, the former of whom was 
a native of New York state and the latter of whom was a native of Butler 
county, Ohio. William Bentley was born on ]\[arch 22, 1795, and upon 
reaching manhood's estate left New York and immigrated to Ohio, locating 
in Butler county where he married Sarah M. Howe, who was born in that 
county on June 8, 1804, the daughter of William and Sarah Howe, the latter 
of whom lived to be ninety-seven years of age, her death occurring at Col- 
lege Corners, Ohio. 

William Bentley and his family moved from Ohio to this county in 
February, 1847, settling in Jackson township and locating ort a tract of land 
in the deep timber, on what is now known as the Tyner farm, where James 
Pavey lives. He built a house of hewed logs on that part of the farm which 
is now occupied by his son and there he spent the rest of his days, his death 
occurring on May 18, 1853. His widow long survived him, her death not 
occurring until April 22, 1881. William Bentley and his wife were excellent 
citizens and their influence was very helpful in the early days of Jackson 
township. They were among the founders of the old Dry Fork Baptist 
church and helped to build that church. INIr. Bentley was an ardent Whig 
and took an active part in the political affairs of the county. 

To \\'illiam and Sarah M. (Howe) Bentley were born eleven children, 
namely: Adolphus G. (deceased), born on March 10, 1822; Ebenezer H. 
(deceased), October 16, 1824: Alvin (decea^sed), November 18, 1826, was a 
veteran of the Union army in the Civil War and died in Illinois; Hazel, 
January 19, 1828, died at the age of two years; Gideon H., May 4, 1830, 
died at Adams, this county, on February 8, 1915; Calvin H., May 16, 1832, 
a veteran of the 'Civil War, went to Putnam county, Missouri, thence to the 
state of Washington, where he died ; Mrs. Louisa H. Brunton, January 4, 
1835, lives in Delaware county, this state; Mrs. Sarah H. Linch (deceased), 
February i, 1837, the mother of Mrs. Louisa M. Cory; Mrs. Anna T. Moore 
(deceased), December 2, 1838; Alexander, the immediate subject of this 
sketch, and Flcatha H. (decea.sed), July 4, 1846. 

Alexander Bentley has lived on the home place since the days of his 



1 128 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

infancy. Upon the death of his father he bought out the interest of the 
other heirs in the original eighty acres and cared for his mother until her 
death. Later he bought eighty acres on the southwest, which he sold some 
years ago, and in the fall of 1914 bought an adjoining tract of one hundred 
and two acres, upon which some improvements had been made. In 1875, 
Mr. Bentlev erected the handsome residence which he is now occupying, 
which he since has remodeled from time to time until he now has one of 
the best and most modern farm houses in the county, in which he is passing 
the evening of his life in peace and calm content. 

On October i, 1872, Alexander Bentley was united in marriage to Mary 
Miles, who was born in Franklin county, this state, June 3, 1848, the daughter 
of Joseph and Eliza Ann (Barrickman) Miles. Joseph Miles, born in 1809, 
died in 1884, was a native of Virginia who moved with his parents from that 
state to Ohio, in 1818; upon the death of his father he moved, with his 
widowed mother, to Franklin county, this state, where the remainder of his 
life was spent. Eliza Ann Barrickman, who was born in the Templeton creek 
neighborhood, in Franklin county. May 16, 1813, and died near Springfield, 
in the same county, December 15, 1893. She was a daughter of Jacob and 
Jane Barrickman, who immigrated to Indiana Territory in 1807, locating on 
what is now known as the Peck farm in Franklin county, where they lived 
until 1810, in which year they moved to the Templeton creek neighborhood, 
where they became substantial farmers, influential in the early affairs of that 
community. They were the parents of four sons and seven daughters. An 
aunt of Mrs. Bentley, Keturah Barrickman, was the daughter-in-law of Rob- 
ert Templeton, who, on October 16, 1804, entered the northwest quarter of 
section 28 in Brookville township, Franklin county, this state. His son, 
James, married Keturah Barrickman. The children of Joseph and Eliza Ann 
(Barrickman) Miles were: William, who died in November, 1893; John, a 
prominent farmer of Franklin county; Mrs. Jennie Barbour, who lives at 
Letts, this county : Ann, deceased ; Mary, who married Mr. Bentley ; Hattie 
and Hettie (twins), deceased; Mrs. Kate Clarkson, of Tippecanoe county, 
this state; James, who lives at Liberty, Indiana, and Mrs. Margaret Lynch 
(deceased), who lived in Union county, this state. 

To Alexander and Mary (Miles) Bentley four children have been born, 
namely ; Estella, born on September 7, 1873, married John Sanders, of Jack- 
son township, this county, and has two children. Noble and Mary; James 
Clifford, June 11, 1876, lives on the home place with his parents; an infant, 
April 9, 1879, died nn June 16, 1879; Joseph Earl, February 13, 1885, a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 129- 

farmer living near Letts Corner, married Nellie, daughter of George Boicourt, 
and has one child, Elvin. 

Air. and Mrs. Bentley are memhers of the Union Presbyterian church 
in Jackson township and their children were reared in the faith of that church. 
Mr. Bentley is a Republican and always has given an intelligent attention to 
political affairs in this county, though never having been included in the 
office-seeking class. He and his wife are deeply interested in the good 
works of the community of which they so long have been an influential part 
and they enjoy the unqualified confidence and esteem of their neighbors, 
being held in the very highest regard by all who know them. Their pleasant 
home is the center of much genial hospitality and they are very popular in 
that part of the county. 



SAMUEL DAVID FULTON. 

The struggle which some of the earlier settlers had to exert for exist- 
ence was such a hard battle that the wonder seems not that so many of 
these received but a meager education but that they received any at all. 
Difficulties thrown in the path of Samuel David Fulton appear almost insur- 
mountable, because, in additi(jn to the natural struggle, he was the only son 
and youngest child in a family of seven, who were left fatherless in the 
time of need. In the case of Samuel David Fulton the question is brought 
up as to whether these difficulties and the determination to rise abo\'e them 
did not prove a blessing rather than a hindrance, for the history of his life 
shows that he became a well-rounded, well-balanced man and a worthy, 
useful and exemplary citizen. 

Samuel David Fulton was born on July 26, 1848, in Jackson township, 
Decatur county, on the farm on which he now resides. He was the son of 
William Fulton, who was born in Kentucky in 1807 and died in Decatur 
county in 1853, and of .Susanna Ratcliffe, the daughter of Samuel Rat- 
cliffe. Susanna Ratcliffe was also a native of Kentucky and was born in 
1809 and died in 1881. 

William F-Alton was married in Kentucky and came with his father, 
David Fulton, to T/?catur county in about 1835 and entered a tract df one 
hundred and sixty acres, a part of which tract Samuel David Fulton now 
owns. After a year's residence in Greensburg, William Fulton cleared a 
strip of this land, built a home and took up his residence there. He increased 
his holdings until, at one time, he owned three hundred and twenty acres. 



J 130 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The same year of his death, in 1853, his residence burned, and was after- 
ward rebuilt by his widow. This house is the present home of Samuel 
David Fulton, but has been remodeled by him, since his mother's death, 
into a beautiful modern farm residence. It is one of the finest farm resi- 
dences to be found in Decatur county. It is set far back from the main 
road, is reached by a beautiful driveway, and is surrounded by modern 
farm buildings, a large catalpa grove and a fine, ui>to-date orchard. 

William and Susanna (Ratcliffe) Fulton were the parents of seven 
children, six daughters and one son, as follow : Kittie Ann, deceased, mar- 
ried Joseph Keislang; Eliza Jane, aged eighty, the wife of Samuel McCul- 
lough, of Westport; Mrs. Paulina Morrow, deceased; Mrs. ^^lartlia Law. 
of Illinois, deceased ; Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Shirk, deceased ; America, de- 
ceased, and Samuel David, the subject of this sketch. 

Samuel David Fulton deserves especial credit for the success he has 
made through seemingly insurmountable difficulties. His father died when 
he was but five years of age, and when he was a mere lad he took hold) 
of the farm work and helped his mother in her struggle. Today Samuel 
David l'"ulti)n is a man far above the average in intelligence, although he 
had only a district school education. He is a great reader, and to this fact 
and his life struggles he owes his present education. Fle bought out the 
interest of other heirs in the home place, and with what his wife inherited 
and what he acquired through subsequent purchase he is now in possession 
of about two hundred and eighty acres, which lies in two tracts. 

He is a breeder of Duroc-Jersey hogs and raises about two hundred of 
these annually. He is also a buyer and feeder of both cattle and hogs. 

Samuel David Fulton was married on September 25, 1883, to Mary 
A. Biddinger, who was born in Jackson township in 186 1, the daughter of 
Dr. Solomon Wesley Biddinger and Eliza (Scott) Biddinger. Doctor Bid- 
dinger was born near Rising Sun, Indiana, and lived for many vears in 
Decatur county. He practiced medicine for over sixty years, ancl is at the 
present time living in Bartholomew county. 

To Samuel David and Mary Ann (Biddinger) Fulton were born the 
following children : Wesley, a teacher at Alert and a graduate of Val- 
paraiso University; RatclifTe, farming at home after being graduated at 
Valparaiso University and studying two years in the Indiana State Uni- 
versity; Ray, a graduate of Valparaiso University and at present a student 
in the Indiana State University ; Sherman, in the district schools, and Will- 
iam Ira and Mabel who died in infancy. 

Samuel David Fulton has fully demonstrated his belief in the neces- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II3I 

sity of higher education by wliat he has done for his own children along 
that line. He knew how much he wanted an education and huw hard he 
had to struggle to secure this and so has determined that it shall be easier 
for his children. Mr. Fulton has always been affiliated with the Repulilican 
part)- and has filled minor township offices. He is a member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal church, and he is always a willing worker in the ranks of that 
denomination. 

Mr. Fulton has reared his family with highest dignity and devotion, 
and has attained to a position of influence and worth in his community by 
hard and persistent effort throughout life. 



MAI^ION M. ELLIOTT. 



The recent development in agriculture which has sought to increase the 
productivity of agricultural land, especially corn land, has done very much 
for the farmers of this state. As an individual state Indiana ranks high 
not only in the acreage sown but in the average production of corn per acre. 
Nevertheless, we are still far behind other cereal producing countries in 
yield per acre, and the fact that a few farmers have in scattered sections of 
the state been able almost to double their production of corn is suflicient 
proof of what may be accomplished in this direction. 

Marion M. Elliott, a well-known farmer of Jackson township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, was one of the first citizens of this section to take an inter- 
est in increased productivity of land planted to corn, and his results have 
been especially gratifying. Two or three principal factors enter into Mr. 
Elliott's success as a corn grower, and these factors are common to the 
similar success of other men. In the first place, soil must be reasonably fer- 
tile naturally, or made so by the use of decayed vegetable matter or com- 
mercial fertilizers. In the ne.xt ])lace, the land must lie well drained, and 
therefore well ventilated. In the third place, the soil must be kept carefully 
prepared, and in the last place the seed must be carefully selected. Of 
course, there are many elements which enter into the cultivation of the crop 
once it is planted. Of all these factors, perhaps the quality of the seed is 
the most important. In any event, Mr. Elliott has mastered the modern 
processes of increased corn production, and has won for himself in this 
connection an enviable reputation as a farmer in Decatur county. 

Marion M. Elliott, who owns one hundred and si\'t\' acres of land in 



i 



1132 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Jackson township, where he has Hved for nearly twenty years, was born on 
February 9, 1868, in Jackson township, the son of Daniel Webster and Cor- 
delia (Bake) Elliott, the former of whom was born in Jennings county on 
April 3, 1841, and who died on May 4, 1897, and the latter of whom was 
the daughter of Eli and Catherine (Risley) Bake. Daniel Webster Elliott 
was the son of David and Lucinda (Spears) Elliott, who came to Decatur 
county when he was a mere lad. He was married to Cordelia Bake on 
May 29, 1864, at Sardinia. Mrs. Elliott's father, Eli Bake, was born in 
Union county, Indiana, June 23, 1813, and died, January 9, 1899. Eli 
Bake married Catherine Risley on December 24, 1834. They had twelve 
children, three of whom died in infancy. Catherine (Risley) Bake was 
born on October 6, 181 7, in New Jersey, and died on March 7, 1904. 

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Webster Elliott were the parents of seven chil- 
dren, of whom Marion M. was the second born. The others were as fol- 
low : Minerva Alice, born on September 27, 1865; Cora May, November 
18, 1870; Rozenia, July 31, 1873; Harry Clinton, March 19, 1886; Lucinda 
Isophene, and Eveline, at home with her parents. 

Educated in the Big Horn school of Jackson township, Marion M. 
Elliott began farming for himself in 1893, when he rented land of Isaac 
Shira for three years. In 1896 he moved to his present farm, and three 
years later purchased the farm at thirty-seven and one-half dollars an acre. 
The farm is now worth more than a hundred dollars an acre. In the mean- 
time he has built a liarn, forty-eight by sixty feet, erected a garage and 
granary, and remodeled his house. The color scheme of the buildings is 
white, and they present an attractive appearance to the passerby. He is an 
extensive breeder of Duroc-Jersey hogs, and keeps registered pure-bred 
stock. Ordinarily, Mr. Elliott raises about a hundred and fifty head of 
hogs every }-ear. 

On December 26, 1893, Marion M. Elliott was married to Grace Moore, 
the daughter of D. J. and Amanda Moore, early residents of Jackson town- 
ship, natives of Decatur county, and whose parents were of German ances- 
try. Grace Moore was born in December, 1871, in Jackson township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Marion M. Elliott have one son, Lester, who is now nine- 
teen years old. He was born on January 16, 1896, and was graduated from 
the Westport high school with the class of 191 5. In 1908, when Lester 
was only twelve years old, he received a prize for the best ten ears of corn 
grown by the boys of Decatur county, in the corn show at Grecnsburg, 
Indiana. At this time he raised the Gold Standard variety. In 1913 Mr. 
Elliott produced eighty bushels of corn to the acre on his farm, and is now 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I 1 33 

competing in the Decatur county contest in tlie class which has untlcrtaken 
to grow one hundred bushels to the acre. 

Marion M. Elliott is a progressive, enterprising and broad-minded citi- 
zen. Not only this, but he is a well-to-do citizen and a man favorably 
known in Decatur county. A Democrat in politics, he served three years, 
1912, 1913 and 1914, as a member of the Decatur county council. Mr. and 
Mrs. Elliott and son are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. 
Elliott is a member of Westport lodge No. 52, Free and Accepted Masons, 
and of Sardinia Lodge No. 146, Knights of Pythias. 



MILTON E. EVANS. 



Milton E. E\'ans, whose name heads this sketch, started in with the 
belief that a farm would yield him a better percentage of profit than any 
other field in which he could invest his funds, and with this end in view, he 
set to work to do his part in bringing about the desired result. He co-oper- 
ated with his investment in every possible way, knowing that money and land 
alone would accomplish but little witliout the willing hands and good manage- 
ment, which were, after all, the principal factors of his success. 

Milton E. Evans, of Jackson township, was born on August 27, 1862. 
and is a son of William A. Evans and Emily M. (Hice) Evans. He began 
his career with one hundretl and twenty acres, just west of his present home. 
On his father's death, received one hundred and sixty acres of the estate. 
He later bought eighty acres, to which he subsequently added fortv acres 
more. He has improved the place with a fine modern home of eight rooms, 
and has fitted it up with acetylene gas, water and bath. He also has a fine, 
large barn fifty by fifty feet, with shed adjoining. He has still further added 
to the beauty and value of his farm by planting shade trees, and building an 
iron fence. In the stock line, he makes a specialty of Duroc- Jersey hogs, 
and an annual output of about two carloads of cattle. He is now (rgiO 
preparing to plant one hundred acres of corn, and has the same amount in 
wheat. His farm contains three sets of buildings. In politics, Mr. Evans is 
a Republican. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. 

William A. Evans was born in Ohio, November 3, 1835, and died in 
iQog. He was the son of William, Sr., and Martha Evans. Of his wife. 
Emily (Hice), little is known, except that she was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, and that she was a sister of Samuel Logan, a pioneer. \\'illiam A. 



I 134 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

E\"ans li\'ud on the Cross Roads farm all of his life, with the exception of 
two years, spent at Colorado. He owned three hundred and ninety acres of 
fertile land. His children were: \\'inston L., deceased: Milton, the subject 
of this sketch, and John C, \\hose death in 1914, was caused by a fall from 
a barn loft. 

The paternal grandfather, William Evans, Sr.. was a native of New 
Jersey, and immigrated to Ohio, and later, in icS'^/, to Indiana. The Evans 
family is of Welsh extraction. They settled in the woods, and the first thing' 
their children did was to gather up a bucket of hickory nuts. They lived in 
a log cabin, and o])erated a grist-mill b}' horse power. They cleared land, 
and owned nearly five hundred acres at the time of Mr. Evans' death, which 
occurred about 1864. 

Milton E. Evans was married on March 6, 1890, to Lillie M. Swope, 
who was born in Jackson towniship on May 2y, 1863, a daughter of J. R. and 
Mary Swope, early settlers of Jackson township. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are 
the parents of two children (twins), Guy and Glen R., born on July 30, 1897. 
Guy died at the age of seventeen days. Glen R., now a student in Letts high 
school, will graduate in the class of 1916, when he will go into partnership 
with his father. He attended school six vears without absence or tardiness. 



JOHN J. SHAW. 



During the years that have elapsed since the first settlers came tu this 
state many changes have taken place and many wonderful inventions per- 
fected. A great part of the farm labor is now done by machinery, which 
was unknown to the pioneers. Railroads and telephones make travel and 
communication rapid and accessible. Homes are provided with comforts 
and conveniences that are in striking contrast to the conditions which once 
prevailed. The subject of this sketch is among those who have seen these 
changes take place, and whose labors have helped to make this state a pleas- 
ant place in which to live. 

John J. Shaw, of Jackson township, was born on December 30, 1847, 
in Marion township, Decatur county, Indiana, a son of John Shaw and 
Eliza (Hunter) Shaw. He lived for a time in Marion township, going in 
young manhood to Ripley county. His present home place was purchased 
in 1882. At first it consisted of twenty-three acres, and he afterward added 
to this, and it now amounts to one hundred and twenty acres. He is a mem- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. H 35 

ber of the Progressive party, and a niemljer of Owen post, Grand Arniv of 
the Republic, at Westport. He went to the army, at the last call, in 1865, in 
Company I, Thirteenth Regiment Volunteer Infantry, and saw service the 
same summer in North Carolina. Mr. Shaw is retiring in his nature, and 
has always preferred the quiet life of a farm to that of the more active 
business life. He has built a neat, comfortable cottage and a large jjarn, 
both of which are well kept up. In the line of stock, his attention is devoted 
principally to Jersey cows. 

John and Eliza (Hunter) Shaw were natives of Ohio, the former being 
a son of John Shaw, also a nati\"e of Ohio, and after his marriage lived for 
a time in Marion township. His wife, Eliza Hunter, was horn on Novem- 
ber 17, 1817. She was a daughter of Nathaniel Hunter, a noted jiioncer of 
Decatur county, who came to the county and entered land in the twenties, 
and where he farmed all his life. John and Eliza (Hunter) Shaw were the 
parents of the following children: Thomas, deceased; Sarah, w^ho became 
the wife of a Mr. Stevens: Reliecca l)tcan:e the wife of a Mr. Bailev; Char- 
lot'e, who n-'arried a Mr. Baker; John J,, the suljject of this sketch; Nathan- 
iel lives at Rloomington, Monroe countv, Indiana; T.ucinda, deceased; Anna, 
deceased. 

Nathaniel Hunter, the luaternal grandfather, was liorn in 1787 or 
1788, at Boone's Station, Kentucky, and was a son of Capt. Charles and 
Rebecca (Dumford) Hunter, who were married within the stockade walls 
of Boone's Station. Captain Hunter was killed by a shot from an Indian 
ambuscade, and his body was buried at Boone's Station, Kentuckv. After 
his death, Mrs. Hiuiter married one Daniel Burcli. and \\hen Nathaniel was 
a lad of twelve the family moved to Butler county, Ohio, and later to Read- 
ing, Hamilton county. Nathaniel worked and gave his earnings to his step- 
father. He wvi a pack-horseman and teamster in the quartermaster's 
department during the War of 1812. 

On November t, 181 4. Nathaniel Hunter was united in marriage with 
Elizabeth Ferris, daughter of John and Mikey (Mires) Ferris, of Sheridan. 
Hamilton county, Ohio. Elizabeth b'erris was liorn, July 25, 1797. Ilcr 
mother's family were of Holland descent. This pioneer couple began life 
by working out the first six months. Mr. Hunter received twelve dollars 
a n^onth, and his wife seventy-five cents a week. He next engaged to John 
Merrv for twenty dollars a month to work ;d)out the luills and (li><lillerv. 
remaining here two \-ears. at the end of which time he invested the money 
he had saved in a flat-boat and a cargo of flour for the lower river trade. 
He was gone five months, going down the river as far as Natchez, sold his 



I 136 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

flour for less than it cost him, disposed of his boat, and arrived home with 
three dollars. His next business engagement was with a millwright for a 
few months, and soon after he leased twenty acres, built a cabin and cleared 
off a little land. This was on the Mill Creek Bottoms, thirteen miles from 
Cincinnati, on the Dayton road. His next venture was as a contractor on 
the Miami Canal, where he built half a mile of that work, between Hamil- 
ton and Redding. After this he was employed by the Cincinnati & Dayton 
turnpike officials, where he made sometimes as high as ten dollars a day. 
With the money thus earned, Mr. Hunter invested in one hundred and 
seventy-four acres of land in Springfield township, Franklin county, In- 
diana, for which he paid about four hundred dollars. This was in 1828. 
Having built a fine brick house, good barn, and planted an orchard, he sold 
the place for four thousand five hundred dollars, and came to Sand Creek, 
Decatur county, and bought one hundred and sixty acres for seven hundred 
dollars. He moved on to this land in October in- 1839, and soon bought one 
hundred and forty acres adjoining for two thousand dollars. After mak- 
ing this his home for about a 'quarter of a century, he disposed of it for 
ele\en thousand tlollars, and after living with his son-in-law, John E. Rob- 
bins, a few months, bought a home in Greensburg, where he spent his 
declining years. 

To Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Ferris) Hunter were born the following 
children: John, born on September 17, 1815, died in 1817: Ann Eliza, 
November 12. 1817, married John Shaw; Rebecca, October 2, 1819, mar- 
ried Robert Wallace, died in Jasper county, Missouri, May 25, 1876; Sarah, 
March 25, 1822, married William W. Stephenson, died in Sand Creek town- 
ship, in 1864; Nathan, September 25, 1824, married Sarah M. Anderson, 
and resided in Washington township; Nancy, December 8, 1826, married 
John E. Robbins and lived in Washington township; Charlotte, August 16, 
1829, died October 18, 1834; Peter, April 18, 1834, married Caroline Black- 
more, a daughter of Owen and Eliza Blackmore, early settlers of Washing- 
ton township. 

John J. Shaw was united in marriage, in 1870, with Eliza R. Skiles, 
who was born in Butler county, in 1843, ^ daughter of Isaac and Jane 
(George) Skiles, natives of Ohio, who came to Decatur county. To Mr. 
and Mrs. John J. Shaw was born one son, Edwin L., who attended West 
Point Military Academy and is now in the insurance business. He mar- 
ried Alice Harrell, and they have had one child, who died in infancy. 

Mrs. Shaw is a member of the Christian Union church. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II07 

BARTON W. JAMESON. 

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch has the proud distinction 
of belonging to a class of brave men of but whom few remain. He served 
his country well and faithfully during the Civil War and feels that he has 
done his part toward the land of his birth. His record will make interest- 
ing reading for his descendants, who will, in turn, be able to tell their chil- 
dren what a bra\e and loyal man their ancestor was. 

Barton W. Jameson, retired farmer, of Jackson township, was born 
on August 28, 1843, i" Berks county, Pennsylvania, a son of Phineas P. 
and Jane (Wilson) Jameson. He lived at Milford with his father until 
his marriage, when he rented a place, on which he remained two vears, and 
then moved to the old Handley farm in Jackson township. After living 
here for thirty-five years, Mr. Jameson moved to his present home, which, 
at that time, consisted of forty acres, to which he has since added twenty 
acres more, making sixty acres in all. Valuable improvements have been 
made on the place, including a comfortable house. After Mr. Handlev's 
death, he took charge of his estate, and cared for his three sisters-in-law 
until their death. He went to war September 17, 1862, in Company E, 
Eighty-third Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, and arrived home, June 12, 
1865, nearly three years later, after taking part in the following battles: 
Yazoo River, Siege of \^icksburg, Chattanooga, Mission Ridge, Atlanta 
campaign, and Sherman's march to the sea. He was in Savannah, and 
went from Columbia to Goldsboro. He claims that the Confederates set 
fire to cotton piled in the streets of Columbia, thus causing the burning of 
that city — the Union soldiers were not to blame. Mr. Jameson was also in 
many minor battles and skirmishes. His division made a charge on the 
Savannah forts, and he was in the thick of the fight, from which he escaped 
without a wound, and was never in a hospital. Mr. Jameson is a Repub- 
lican. He is a member of the Christian church, and is a member of the 
West Point Fred Small Post No. 531, Grand Army of the Republic. 

Phineas P. Jameson was born on September 19, 1815, and died, April 
12. 1883. His wife, Jane (Wilson) Jameson, was born on February 5, 
1810. Phineas P. Jameson was of old pioneer stock, and a native of Penn- 
svlvania. His father was the Rev. Jacob Jameson. Phineas P. came to 
Bartholomew county in the spring of 1858, moving later to a farm on the 
county line, going later to a farm near Milford, after which he moved to 
the William Fi.x farm, three miles east of Hartsville, and then to the Levi 



1 138 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Moore farm 011 the Hartsville pike. From there he went to the Davis farm 
west of Burney, finally settling on the Venner farm, where he died. 

To Phineas and Jane (Wilson) Jameson were born five children, as 
follow: Mary Ann was born on October 5, 1836, and died on May 22,, 
1873; Sarah Jane, September 11, 1840, married Davis Hinton; Barton W., 
August 28, 1843, the subject of this sketch; Martha F., April 28, 1847, mar- 
ried William Pumphrey; Caroline L., March 18, 1853, married Joseph 
Oliphant. 

The paternal grandfather was the Rev. Jacob Jameson, who was born 
in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1793, and was married, July 
27, 1813, to Mary A. Saylor, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and united with 
the Baptist church, August 27, 1814, at Springfield, Pennsylvania, where 
he was licensed to preach, February 27, 1827. He was ordained a deacon 
in May, 1823, at Philadelphia. He later moved to Lawrenceburg, and was 
an elder there in 1839. His wife, Mary, died in 1868, and he afterward 
married Jane Smith, of Harrison, Ohio, who died in 1879. He died on 
March 22, 1881. 

Barton W. Jameson was married, October 20, 1867, to Lizzie M. Hand- 
ley, who was bom. May 11, 1844, in Ohio, and died, March 4, 1874. She 
was a daughter of Robert and Nancy Handley, and came with her parents 
to Decatur in 1846. Robert Handley was bom on November 6, 1801, and 
died in Decatur county on January 6. 1873. When he first came to Decatur 
county, he settled in Jackson township. His wife, Nancy, died on Decem- 
ber 19, 1861. They were the parents of eight children, namely: James, 
Samuel, Margaret, Jane, Catherine, Rebecca, John and Elizabeth. 



DANIEL WEBSTER ELLIOTT. 

Among the successful farmers of a past generation in Jackson town- 
ship, Decatur county, Indiana, was Daniel Webster Elliott, who was born 
on April 3, 1841, in Jennings county, and who died on May 4, 1897. 

Daniel Webster Elliott was the son of David and Lucinda (Spears) 
Elliott, who came to Decatur county when Daniel Webster was a mere lad. 
The father having died when Daniel W. was a lad, his widow, the mother 
of Daniel W., lived in Greensburg for some time. 

Daniel Webster Elliott was married on May 29, 1864, at Sardinia, to 
Cordelia Bake, the daughter of Eli and Catherine (Risley) Bake, the for- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 139 

nier of whom was born on June 23, 1813, in Union county, Indiana, and 
who died on January 9, 1899. Eli Bake was married to Catherine Risley on 
December 24, 1834. She was born on October 6, 181 7, in New Jersey, and 
died on March 7, 1904. EH Bake moved to Decatur county in 1842, where 
he and his wife reared a large family and prospered. Of their twelve chil- 
dren, three died in infancy, Catherine, Elizabeth and one who died unnamed. 
The other children were as follow: Louis; Mrs. Amanda Gant, of Minne- 
apolis, Kansas; Mrs. Clara Gant, of Kingfisher, Oklahoma; Mrs. Cordelia 
Elliott, widow of Daniel W. Elliott; Perry, of Seattle, Washington; Mrs. 
Lucinda Matthew, deceased; Mrs. Martha Reilley, of Sardinia; William, of 
Jackson township, and Mrs. Louisa Shaw, of Westport. 

Eli and Catherine Bake came overland from New Jersey to Indiana, 
and after coming to this state faced many hardships, being compelled to 
live for a time on parched corn. Eventually, however, they became well- 
to-do, and Eli Bake, who was always a hard worker, kept three hands and 
owned several farms. During a part of his life he ojierated a broom fac- 
tory and sold his brooms in Louisville, Kentucky, and in many other cities. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Webster Elliott lived the 
first year on a farm northeast of Westport and then moved to a farm one 
mile north of Sardinia, where they lived for three years. Subsequently, 
they purchased eighty acres of land, which is a part of the present farm, 
and in 1894 purchased eighty acres additional. After Mr. Elliott's death, 
Mrs. Elliott built a splendid new house and moved the barn. She has a 
very attractive place on a widely-traveled highway and is surrounded with 
all of the comforts possible on the farm. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Webster Elliott were born seven children, 
namely: Mrs. Minerva Alice Gardner, born on September 27, 1865; Mar- 
ion Monroe, a farmer, February 9, 1868; Cora May, November 18, 1870, 
married a Mr. Gant and lives at Columbus: Mrs. Rozenia Anderson, July 
31, 1873, lives near Hartsville in Bartholomew county; Hariy Clinton, 
March 19, 1876, lives in Elizabethtown, Indiana: Mrs. Lucinda Isophene 
Tremain lives at Adams ; Mrs. Lena Osthimer lives at home. 

Mrs. Elliott has thirteen grandchildren, as follow : Mrs. Minei-va 
Gardner has three children, Agnes Collins, Olsa and Dora; Mrs. Cora Gant 
has four children, Audrey, Guy, Gertrude and Kenneth; Mrs. Rozenia An- 
derson has three children. Garnet, Hazel and Opal ; Harry has one daugh- 
ter, Thelma ; Marion has one son, Lester, and Lucinda has one daughter, 
Margaret. 

The late Daniel W. Elliott was a Democrat. Lie was a mcmlier of tlie 



I 140 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Methodist Episcopal church, and was active in church work throughout his 
hfe, and was a steward at Wesley Chapel. He joined the church in Jan- 
uary, 1876. during the pastorate of Reverend Lathrop. Mrs. Elliott is a 
refined and cultured woman, a woman of exquisite tastes and one who is 
possessed of a keen sense for the beautiful. She is especially well known 
in Jackson township, as was her husband during his life. 



JOHN S. OWEN. 



A native Eloosier son, John S. Owen has been for many years a farmer 
in Jackson township, Decatur county, Indiana, where he and his sister own 
the old Owen homestead, comprising a hundred and twenty acres. He is 
one of a large family of children, of whom two brothers fought valiantly 
in the cause of their country during the Civil War, one of them giving up 
his life on the field of battle. These early days were associated with the 
first struggles of the Republican party, and with its first candidate elected 
to the presidency, Abraham Lincoln. It is not, therefore, surprising that 
he has been a Republican. His early recollections are associated with the 
enlistment of his two brothers and with their service during a period in 
which the new party and the beloved man it had elected to the chief e.xecu- 
ti\'e oftice of this land were on trial. 

John S. Owen, now a well-known farmer and the joint owner of one 
hundred and twenty acres of land in Jackson township, was born on Sep- 
tember 13, 1847, ii'i Fayette county, Indiana. His parents, Thomas and 
Mahala (Walker) Owen, were natives of South Carolina and Pulaski 
county, Kentucky, respectively. The former was a son of Edward Owen, 
a native of Scotland, who came to this country with his parents and settled 
in South Carolina in pioneer times. Thomas Owen was one of a large 
family of children, who made his way northward from South Carolina 
to Indiana, and here married. In 1849 he settled on a farm in Decatur 
count}'. This farm was located in Jackson township, and here he built a 
log cabin, and proceeded to establish a home in the wilderness. Some years 
later, in 1866, he built a frame house. Two of his sons, William and Ander- 
son, served in the Civil War. \\'illiam, who enlisted in Company D, Sev- 
enth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, was killed on June 18, 1864, 
at the assault on Petersburg, Virginia. Anderson was a private in Company 
E, Thirty-seventh Regiment, Indiana \^olunteer Infantry. Other children 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II4I 

of Thomas and Alahala Owen, several of whom died in infanc)', were Mrs. 
Pon_v Johnson, deceased; Louisa, who is the housekeeper for the subject of 
this sketch, and who with him owns the old home farm; Mrs. Matilda John- 
son, of Greensburg; Thomas, deceased; JNlrs. Fannie M. Lett, of California, 
and Richard M., who lives on the home farm. Thomas Owen died in Feb- 
ruar_\-, 1884. at the age of seventy-seven, his wife surviving fourteen years 
and passing away at the age of eighty-four in 1898. 

John S. Owen has always lived on the home farm, and until the death 
of his parents cared for them tenderly in conjunction with his Iieloved sis- 
ter. Mr. Owen is a good farmer and has a highly protluctive farm in this 
township, a man honored and respected by the people of his community, 
devoted to all good works and all worthy public enterprises. Although an 
ardent Republican, he has held only minor township offices. He is a mem- 
ber of the Free and Accepted Masons No. 36, at Westport. Neither Mr. 
Owen nor his sister. Miss Louisa Owen, has ever married. 



JACOB LESLIE THURSTON. 

Since the creation of the office of advisory board in Indiana some fif- 
teen years ago, a board whose purpose it is to keep tab on the expenses 
and expenditures of the county and township, it is a known fact that in 
the men who have been elected to fill this office the farmer as a class has 
been far in the majority. The farmer as a class is often the butt of the 
humorist and is the stock in trade for the slapstick actor and the funny- 
column writer, but when it comes to filling a place that is of particular 
importance from the standpoint of substantial honesty, the farmer is most 
often the man chosen, and so when Jackson township wanted a man of par- 
ticular honesty and substantial worth to fill a vacancy on her advisory board, 
she choose Jacob Leslie Thurston. 

Jacob Leslie Thurston was Ijorn on November 4, i86rj, one mile iKirth 
and one mile east of where he now resides, and when he was eighteen 
months old his father moved to the present site of the home of Mr. Thurs- 
ton in Jackson township. 

Jacob Leslie Thurston was the son of William and Mary Jane (Evans) 
Thurston. William Thurston was born on November 26, 1838, and died 
on September 11, 1897. and his wife, Mary Jane (Evans) was born on 
January 23, 1845, and died on August 27, 1897. 



1 142 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

William Thurston was the son of Lewis Thurston and jMartha (Birch) 
Thurston. Lewis Thurston was born on January i, 1806, in Pennsylvania, 
and came to Indiana when quite young and settled in Jackson township, 
where, on November 14, 1830, he married Martha Birch, who was born 
in Indiana, on May 31, 1813. To this union were born ten children, six 
sons and four daughters, namely: Elizabeth, who was born on August 15, 
1831; Charles, January 14, 1834; Mary, August 31, 1836; William, the 
father of the subject of this sketch; Enos, July 4, 1841 ; Sarah, September 
26, 1845; Benjamin, January 26, 1845; Thomas, December 19, 1848; Emily, 
May 28, 1852, and Morgan, January 24, 1854. 

Lewis Thurston was one of the very earliest settlers in Decatur county 
and at the time of his death he was the owner of a fine tract of two hundred 
and seventy-five acres of land. William Thurston, who was the fourth child 
of Lewis Thurston, and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born 
and reared in Jackson township, and was the owner of two hundred and 
fifty-three acres of land. He was an active and stanch churchman and was 
an elder in the Christian church for many years. He married Mary Jane 
Evans on October 8, 1863. 

Mary Jane Evans was the daughter of Ratcliffe and Melissa Lane 
(Vailes) Evans, who were married on August 7, 1829, and who were the 
parents of the following children: Laban, Daniel, Mary Jane, John Russ, 
Martha Ann, Sarah Ellen, James, William Calvin, Melinda Emeline, Thomas 
and Charles. 

William Thurston was the father of the following children: Martha 
Helen Fear, who is the wife of S. W. Fear; an infant son, who died on 
March 29, 1866; Edward, who was born on April 23, 1867; Jacob Leslie, 
the subject of this sketch; Charles, March 31, 1874, and who is now de- 
ceased; Clarence, July 22, 1882, and who is now deceased, and Ora, Jan- 
uaiy 6, 1892. 

Jacob Leslie Thurston was educated in the common schools and began, 
at the age of twenty-two, to do for himself. He farmed on his own initia- 
tive on his father's fami for three years, and then, on January 12, 1895, he 
was married to Mabel E. Anderson, and they continued to live for another 
year with Mr. Thurston's parents, and then built a small cottage, in which 
they lived until the Thurston parents died, and the home place was then 
sold, and they purchased a portion of this (one hundred acres), on which 
Mr. Thurston, practically with his own hands, built one of the most beau- 
tiful farm houses to be found anywhere. This house is equipped with its 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1 143 



-own gas plant for lighting, with a water system, and it is heated by a fur- 
nace. A fine orchard is near the house. 

Mabel E. (Anderson) Thurston, the wife of Jacob Leslie Thurston, 
was born in Bartholomew county near Clifty Falls on March 15, 1873. She 
was the daughter of Combs and Margaret Tetrick, natives of New Jersey 
and Ohio, respectively. Margaret Tetrick died on Januaiy 3, 1877, and her 
husband died on April 18, 191 1. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Leslie Thurston are : Ruby May, 
who was born on March 25, 1897, and was graduated from the Greensburg 
high school in the class of 1915, and Marion Earl, who was born on Novem- 
ber 6, 1899, and who is now in the Waynesburg high school. 

Mr. Thurston takes great interest in local politics and affiliates with the 
Democratic party. He was elected a member of the advisory board of Jack- 
son township in 19 14. He is a deacon in the Christian church of Waynes- 
burg, and is a man of power and influence in his community. 



NICHOLAS ANDERSON. 

No farmer of Jackson township is better known than Nicholas Ander- 
son, who has lived on the farm he now occupies for a period of forty-one 
jears. He has lived in this community a life of rare consecration, not only 
to his life's vocation, but of rare consecration as well to the interests of his 
neighbors and fellow citizens generally. He has lived to rear three children, 
who are well established in homes of their own and have families of their 
own. He has assisted his children to get a start in the world as only a kind, 
loving and wise father could do. He and his good wife have always been 
hard workers and, as a consequence of their frugal living, economy in many 
lines and saving, they have prospered until now they have, aside from the 
help they have given their married children, a substantial competence which 
will keep them in comfort the rest of their lives. 

Nicholas Anderson was born on October i, 1844, in Jackson township, 
two and one-half miles north of Alert in a log cabin, the son of Charles and 
Lottie (Gross) Anderson, the former of whom was born in New Jersey. 
He was the son of Nicholas Anderson, the first to come to Decatur county 
at the time of the "Fallen Timbers" or during the thirties. Here he entered 
land and cleared it of the timber, establishing a home in the wilderness. Here 
Charles Anderson was reared and married to Lottie Gross, the daughter of 



T T I I DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Frederick Gross, a native of Germany, who came to this country when his 
daughter Lottie was a mere infant. Charles and Lottie Anderson had six 
children, of whom Nicholas, the subject of this sketch, was the eldest. Tlie 
other children were Fred, John, Charles, Catherine and Margaret. John 
and JMargaret are deceased. Charles makes his home with his brother, 
Nicholas. Catherine married a Mr. Irvin and lives in Nebraska. The mother 
of these children died in 1861 and after her death Charles Anderson married 
Mrs. Louisa Coleman. By this marriage there were five children : ]\lrs. 
Mary Etta Tremain, of Columbus; Annie, who lives in Kokomo; William, 
who resides in Connersville; Mrs. Cora Swartz, of Hope: and James, who 
lives at Alert. 

On February 8, 1877, Nicholas Anderson was married to Hannah L. 
Carson, who was born on October 22, 1858, in Geneva township, Jennings 
county, Lidiana, the daughter of David and Flannah (Bennett) Carson, the 
former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter a daughter of 
Samuel Bennett, a nobleman and excise officer, who, displeased with the 
government, left England quietly in 1820 and settled in Jennings count}-. Indi- 
ana. There he purchased over six hundred acres of land and became, within 
a few years, a famous leader of the people in his community. He was a 
justice of the peace for many years and, being a man of education and rare 
intelligence, transacted for the settlers of Decatur and Jennings counties all 
of their legal business. David Carson was the son of Hiram Carson, of 
Penns}lvania, who came to Jennings county in 1831. 

Hannah L. Carson was one of eight children born to her parents, she 
being the se\'enth. The others were as follow : George, of Council Bluffs, 
Iowa, who served three years and eight months in the Sixty-eighth Regiment, 
Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War; James B., of near Celina, 
Kansas; Dr. C. H., who died in Kansas City, Missouri; Mary A., deceased; 
David Tavlor, deceased; Elizabeth, the wife of D. F. Shera. of Columbus; 
and Mrs. Rachel Galloway, of Jackson township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have li\'ed on their present farm for thirty-eight 
years together and Mr. Anderson has lived on it for forty-one years. He 
bought his first tract of forty acres in 1874, when he had only five hundred 
dollars, paving fifty dollars an acre for the land. Mr. and jMrs. Anderson 
are the parents of three children, namely: George E.. who lives in the north- 
western part of Alissouri, married Edith Strader and has four children, 
Jeannette, James. Marguerite and Mildred ; James D., of Jackson township, 
who married ]\Iollie Beesley and has two children, Beatrice Elizabeth and 
Ruth Helen; and Leroy, who died in 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I I _j. - 

given each of the two married sons forty acres apiece and, inchuiiii,<i- the land 
which has Ijeen given to the sons, they liave owned three linn(h-ed and forty 
acres aUogether. Eighty acres of the farm land belonging to Mr. and Mrs. 
Anderson is located in Bartholomew county. 

Democracy it seems is a political prepossession of the Anderson family, 
the family having been Democrats for several generations. Mr. and Mrs. 
Anderson are members of the Christian Union church. They have done their 
part not only to promote the physical development of the soil of Jackson 
township, Decatur count}-, but they have done their part to develop a whole- 
some and interesting community spirit. Mr. Anderson is a man of strong 
convictions and a leader in his neighborhood. He is a man whose opinions 
and belief are respected by all who know him. 



SAMUEL KELLY. 



The burdens of the Ci\il War were not alone on the men who went out 
in the field to tight, but often on the mothers and children who were left at 
home and in too many cases were orphaned and widowed. The immediate 
burdens of war are scarcely ever as terrible as the subsequent burdens that 
are -inflicted on its victims. IMany a son is compelled in his earlv youth to 
take up the family burdens of a father lost in war. Such was the case of 
the subject of this sketch, Samuel Kelly. 

Samuel Kelly was the son of John ^^■. and Harriet (Russell) Kelly, 
natives of ^^'est \'irginia, who came to Decatur county at the time of their 
marriage. John W. Kelly enlisted in the Eighty-third Regiment Indiana 
V^olunteer Infantry and contracted measles at Memphis, Tennessee, in r86v 
and died. Harriet (Russell) Kelly died in 1901. 

John W. and Harriet (Russell) Kelly were the parents of si.x children, 
all nov, deceased except Samuel and Matthew. There were three sons. 
Samuel. Jcshua and Matthew, and three daughters, Minerva. Marv A., and 
.\nna. 

Samuel Kelly, after his father's death, lived with .Matthew Kelly, a 
great-uncle of his father, south of Waynesburg until he was twenty-nne vears 
old. He then tnok employment in Columbus for a year with Moonev & 
Company, tinners. He then married and settled two years in CTrant countv 
and then came to .\iert and engaged in a profitable nursery business which he 
conducted until 1912, when he sold out this business and engaged in the grain 



TI46 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

and coal business in Alert until in the spring of 1914. when he again sold out 
his business and worked for the company to which he had sold until Novem- 
ber at which time he was elected to the office of township trustee for Jackson 
tow-nship. His term of office was not to begin until in January of 191 5, 
but on account of the death of Trustee Evans, he was appointed to fill the 
vacancy caused by Evans' death and so began his duties as township trustee 
.at once. 

Samuel Kelly has been an active worker in the Democratic party in 
Jackson township for many years. He has served as township chairman 
of his party and was elected and re-elected to the office of township assessor 
for a period of ten years and was four years a deputy in this office. He is 
always present at township and county conventions of his party and has 
served more than once as a delegate to state conventions. He is a member 
of the Methodist church, and is an active and loyal lodge man, holding mem- 
bership in the following fraternal organizations ; the Free and Accepted 
Masons, of Alert and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Westport. 

Samuel Kelly was married on ^larch 16, 1880, to Cynthia A. Hamilton, 
a. native of Decatur county, and the only living child of W'illiam and Nancy 
Hamilton, who came to Decatur county from Kentucky and settled in Sand 
Creek township. 

Samuel Kelly is a fair type of the citizen who has struggled against 
hardships and has won a position of trust and influence among his neighbors. 



JAMES HAMLIN SHAFER. 

One of the well-known farmers of Jackson township, the proprietor of 
"Maple Leaf Farm," located one-half mile south of Alert, a man who is well 
known in this part of Decatur county, and who comes from an old family, is 
James Hamlin Shafer. 

James Flamlin Shafer, who was born on the old Shafer homestead in a 
•covered log house on May 21, 1853, is the son of a pioneer Methodist minister 
in this section. Rev. Daniel W. Shafer, who was born in 181 7 and who died 
in April, 1897. He was a native of Franklin county, the son of John Shafer, 
•of Pennsylvania, and came to Decatur county with his father at the same time 
the father of W. M. Shafer came here. James H. is a cousin of W. M. 
Shafer, of Westport. After coming to Jackson township about 1848, the 
IRev. Daniel W. Shafer became a prosperous and well-to-do citizen of this 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I I47 

community. He assisted in the building of Wesley Chapel and also of Mt. 
Olivet, located near his home, as well as in the construction of several neigh- 
boring churches, all of which he served as a minister. Before the breaking 
up of the Whig party, he was firmly attached to the principles of this party and 
when the Republican party was organized, he became a Republican and 
remained so all of his life. In 1878 he built a fine large house which is now 
occupied by his son. The home of James H. is just across the road from the 
■old Shafer homestead, and the log house in which many members of the 
family were born and reared is partly standing today. Rev. Daniel W. 
Shafer married Audriah Shera, a native of Ireland, who was born in 1815 
and who died in August, 1892. They were the parents of six children, all 
of whom are living: William Glover, a veteran of the Civil War, who lives 
in Kansas City, Missouri; John Whitmore, who lives at St. Paul, Minnesota; 
Mrs. Eliza Ann McGaughey, of Rogers, Arkansas; Sarah Ellen Shafer, of 
Indianapolis; Mrs. Julia Frances White, of Albany, Indiana; and James H., 
the subject of this sketch. At the time of his death, Rev. Daniel W. Shafer 
owned one hundred and sixty acres of land and his son, James H., received 
a sixth interest in this estate and, after eighty acres were sold, purchased the 
interest of the other heirs in the remainder. He has fifty-eight acres of land 
in his present farm and one hundred and sixty acres in Colorado. In 19 10 
Mr. Shafer and his wife went to Colorado and homesteaded a quarter sec- 
tion of government land. It is a splendid farm and is located near Ft. 
Morgan, Colorado. 

James Hamlin Shafer received a liberal education early in life and for 
seven years w'as a teacher in the public schools of Decatur county. His edu- 
cation having begun in the common schools of Decatur county, it was finished 
in Hartsville College. 

On April 20, 1886, James Hamlin Shafer was married to Kate Wright, 
who was born on September 6, i8'6o, near Burnsville in Bartholomew county. 
She was the daughter of John H. and Ann (Brown) Wright, natives of 
Delaware and Ohio, respectively. Both are now deceased, the father having 
died in August, 1892, and the mother on April 21, 1885. Mrs. Shafer's 
mother belonged to the Randall family, an old and wealthy family of Revolu- 
tionary ancestry. Mrs. Shafer had four brothers in the Civil War; Dr. 
Charles H., who died near Madison, Indiana, and who was an orderly ser- 
geant : George Washington, who was captain of an Indiana company : John 
Francis, who was a teacher for many years and who was a corporal in the 
Union army, now lives at Topeka. Kansas ; and James Kellogg, who was 
also a soldier and who died at the age of twenty-two years. Mrs. Shafer also 



I 148 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

had two sisters: Mrs. Alary J. Shafer, the wife of Wilham Shafer, of Kan- 
sas City: and Sidney Ann, who died in 1910. 

With tlie exception of nine years in which Mr. Shafer was engaged in 
the furniture business at North \'ernon, he has hved on his present farm 
practically all of his life. James Hamlin and Kate (Wright) Shafer are the 
parents of seven children, as follow: Daisy B., who is at home: Edna A., 
who is a teacher in the Amora schools: Lloyd Hamlin, who was a student in 
Moores Hill College and was graduated with the class of 1Q15: Ruth, who is 
a teacher at Sunman, in Ripley county : Sydney Daniel, who is a student at 
Moores Hill College: Olive ard Irene, who are students in the school at 
Alert. Mr. Shafer's eldest son served one year in the United States army. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shafer have lived to rear a splendid family of children 
and one of which they have every reason to be proud. All of the members 
of the family are bright and capable young men and women who will 
undoubtedlv achie\e for themselves marks of no small importance. In 
Jackson township, the Shafers are well known for their interest in education. 
Mr. Shafer having been during all of his life, one of the a1:)lest and ardent 
exponents of public education. The Shafer family .stands very high in this 
community. 



CALEB STARK WRIGHT. 

Few men now living in Clay township, this county, have exerted a wider 
or more beneficent influence therein than Caleb Stark \Vright, former town- 
shi|i trustee and one of the most prosperous and progressive farmers in the 
western part of Decatur county. Mr. Wright has a fine farm of one hun- 
dred and fifty-three acres in Clay township, on which he has erected one of 
the best farm houses in this part of the state, his home being one of the 
])leasantest and most delightful homes thereabout. The mammoth barn and 
large silo, together with the other outbuildings on the place, bespeak the enter- 
prise of the owner and attest his excellent business cpialities : for Mr. Wright 
looks upon farming as a business instead of a mere haphazard proceeding in 
which the elements of nature are expected to relieve the tiller of the soil of any 
res])onsil)ility in the matter. The hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Wright is of 
that type so often referred to as real "old southern hospitality." and their 
home is one of the most poptilar gathering places in that whole neighborhood. 
In his pulilic service Mr. W'right placed Clay township under a debt of obliga- 
tion which never properly can be paid and his fellow citizens hold him in 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II 49 

the highest esteem, his counsel and advice being- sought generally on matters 
of public concern. He is warmly interested in the educational affairs of the 
township and during his administration of the office of trustee devoted the 
most thoughtful care to the interests of the schools, it being his theory that 
in the education of the children none but the very best and most approved 
methods should be employed. It was during his administration that the fine 
high school building at Burney was erected and the people of Clay township 
are unanimous in the declaration that the schools of the township were very 
largely advanced by reason of his constant application of sound business 
principles thereto. 

Broad in his views and liberal in his dealings with his fellow men, Mr. 
\\'right has a well-deserved popularity in the part of the county in which he 
resides, this popularity ha\'ing been proved upon the occasion of his election 
to the office of trustee. Though the head of the Republican ticket carried the 
township by a majority of about thirty-five, Mr. Wright, who stood for elec- 
tion on the Democratic ticket, was elected by a clear majority of twenty- 
seven votes, amply attesting the esteem in which he was held. The same 
broad business policies enter into his transactions in connection with his 
extensi\e farming interests. He believes in handling only pure bred stock 
and his sales of live stock prove the soundness of his judgment in this direc- 
tion, his stock invariably bringing fancy prices ; a policy which has proved 
highly profitable to him. Mr. Wright has his own gas well on his farm and 
the c|uestion of light and heat, so far as he is concerned, is thus effectually 
solved. Energetic, industrious and capable, Mr. Wright, now in the sixth 
decade of his life, finds himself quite well circumstanced and capable of enjoy- 
ing life to the full. I''ull of the zest of living, he takes a close interest in 
current affairs and is fully informed on all matters of public concern, being 
a most entertaining conversationalist and a right genial gentleman. 

Caleb Stark Wright was born on the farm on which he still lives, in 
Clay township, Decatur county, Indiana, fi\'e miles southwest of the town of 
Greensburg, sixty-three years ago and has consequently seen the greater part 
of the de\elopment of that section of the county and has been an active par- 
ticipant in the same. He is the son of Richard and Lovica ( Stark) Wright, 
pioneers of Clay township, the former of whom was born in Rockbridge 
■county, Virginia, in 1821 and died at his home in this county in 18(84. When 
about twenty-one years of age Richard Wright came to Decatur county 
from Virginia, settling in Clay township, near the village of Liberty. The 
Christian church in that village now stands on the part of the farm which he 
bought at the time of his arri\al in this county. He bought a quarter section 



1 150 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of land which practically was in its primeval state, and in the wilderness 
made his home, gradually bringing the farm to a fine state of cultivation, the 
same now being of the very first quality. The Wright family is of English 
origin and Richard Wright was the son of Charles Wright, the latter of 
whom came to this county from Virginia some time after his son, Richard, 
had located here and spent the rest of his life in the home of his son, dying 
when Caleb S., the subject of this sketch, was about seven years of age. 

Richard Wright became one of the substantial residents of Clay town- 
ship and was held in very high repute in that neighborhood. He married 
Lovica Stark, daughter of Caleb and Anne (Boone) Stark, who came to 
Decatur county from Kentucky in 1826, settling in Clay township, and found- 
ing" the well-known Stark family of this county, a now numerous progeny. 
Caleb Stark was the son of Joseph Stark, who was a son of John Stark, a 
native of New Hampshire, who moved from that state to Virginia, later 
migrating to Kentucky, -where he became an influential pioneer in Henry 
county, in the latter state. Joseph Stark was a member of the local guards 
of Virginia, the "minute men," who constituted the militia organization of 
the Old Dominion, and was sent with his company into what then was known 
as Kentucky county, Virginia, now the state of Kentucky, to put down an 
uprising of the Cherokee Indians, and for two years was engaged in Indian 
warfare. During that time he became so impressed with the value of Ken- 
tucky lands, particularly in the blue-grass region, over which he had ranged 
as an Indian fighter, that he decided to locate there as soon as the oppor- 
tunity presented. In 1780 when Daniel Boone headed his famous band of 
Virginia settlers into Kentucky, Joseph Stark joined the colony ; first settling 
in Shelby county, where his children were born and where his wife died. 
Upon the death of his wife he moved to Henrv county, in Kentucky, where 
he bought a farm at Floyd's Fork, near the headwaters of the Little Kentucky 
river and established his home, remaining there the rest of his life and found- 
ing a numerous family, the descendants of which now are widely scattered. 

The Stark family is of ancient and lionoraljle descent, having had its 
origin in Scotland in the days of the last James, when John Muirhead, a 
German soldier, for an act of signal bravery by which he saved the life of 
the king, was created bishop of Glasgow and his name changed, by royal 
decree, to Stark, German for "strength." In succeeding generations the first 
son in the family invariably was christened John until John Stark, born in 
1665, named his first son Archibald. This John Stark was the founder of 
the family in America, he having emigrated to this country in 1710. His 
eldest son, Archibald Stark, was the father of General Stark, of Revolution- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II5I 

ary fame. John Stark, the founder of the American family of that name, 
was the father of nine children: Archibald, born in 1693; James, 1695; Joh". 
1697: Richard, 1699; Louise, 1701 ; Daniel, 1703; Samuel, 1705; Susannah, 
1707; Silas, 1709. In 1716 James Stark married Elizabeth Thornton, of 
Londonderry, New Hampshire, sister of Matthew Thornton, one of the sign- 
ers of the Declaration of Independence, and in 1730 moved with his family to 
Stafford, Virginia. 

To James and Elizabeth (Thornton) Stark were born fifteen children, 
namely: John, born in 1717: James, 1719: Thomas, 1721 : Jeremiah, 1722; 
William, 1725; Mary, 1727; Susannah, 1729; Elizabeth, 1730: Sarah, 1731 ; 
Jane, 1733; Anne, 1736; Benjamin, 1738; Donald, 1744; Isabella, 1746; 
Lydia, 1748. It is to the firstborn of this family, John Stark, born in 1717, 
that the Stark family in Decatur county owes its descent. John Stark was a 
minister of the gospel. In 1746 he married Hanson Porter, who died, 
whereupon he married, secondly, in 1756, Hannah Eaves, a beautiful English 
governess who had been giving lessons in the family. To this first union 
there were born the following children: Anne, born in 1746; Eliza, 1749; 
Sarah, 1752, and William, 1754. To the second union there were born: 
James, born in 1757; Thomas, 1759: John, 1761 ; Mary, 1762; John, 1766; 
Susan, 1768, and Joseph, 1771, the latter of whom moved to Kentucky, as 
noted above and was the father of Caleb Stark, who married Anne Boone 
and was the father of Lovica Stark, who married Richard Wright and is 
the mother of Caleb Stark Wright, the immediate subject of this sketch. 
Joseph Stark had three other sons beside Caleb, they being Effner, Phillip 
and Rheuben. 

John Stark, the Virginian, the great-great-grandfather of Mr. Wright 
was a man of superb courage and a great hunter. On one occasion while 
hunting in the depths of the great forest in the vicinity of his home he was 
captured bv Indians and taken to the Indian camp, where the chief decided 
that he should be compelled to "run the gauntlet." Stalwart warriors of the 
tribe were lined u]) in parallel rows, each brave armed with a war club, and 
Mr. Stark was commanded to seek what safety he might find in fiiglit 
between these two formidable rows of armed redskins. With a cat-like 
spring, the courageous hunter leaped upon the two nearest redskins and tear- 
ing from their hands the clubs which they held, laid aljout him, right and left, 
knocking the two astonished warriors to the ground, rendering them Iiors de 
combat. This act of strength and courage so impressed the magnanimous 
chief that he gave Mr. Stark his liberty and a safe escort to his home, there 
ever afterward existing a firm friendship between the chief and the mighty 



1 



I I 52 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

hunter. Afterward this same John Stark served as a colonel in the British 
army in the French and Indian wars. 

To Richard and Lovica (Stark) Wright were born nine children, four 
of whom died in infancy, the others being as follow : Mrs. Sarah L. McGee, 
who li\'es in Iowa ; Caleb Stark, the subject of this sketch ; Richard Todd, who 
lives in Colorado; Mrs. Minnie M. Myers, of Clay township, this county, and 
Loda, who lives at Westport, this county. 

In 18S2 Caleb Stark Wright was united in marriage to Alpha B. Rob- 
bins, member of a pioneer family of Decatur county, daughter of Holman 
Robbins, who was a son of \\' illiam Robbins, and to this union one child has 
been born, a daughter, Alma, who married James Calvin Thornburg, of this 
county, and has one son, Merritt, who was born on March 25, 1910. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wright are members af the Baptist church and always 
have taken a deep interest in the moral development of the community in 
\\liich for so many years they have labored with an unselfish devotion to the 
common g(.)od. They are active in all good works affecting that communitv 
and are held in the very highest esteem throughout that whole countr3'side. 



ALEXANDER I^ORTER. 

In the industrial life of Decatur county there is one name, a firm of 
large building contractors, that stands out strong and dominant, and no 

.review of the history of the times in this county would be complete without 
fitting mention of the same, together with proper reference to the men who 
have brought the business which they represent to its present proud emi- 
nence. Alexander Porter, of the firm of Pulse & Porter, contractors and 
builders, at Greensburg, Indiana, the biggest concern of its kind in the state, 
is too well known locally to retjuire an introduction to the readers of this 
volume living in this county, but, in the interest of the future, the biogra- 
pher takes pleasure in setting out at this point a brief resume of his notably 
successful and useful career. 

The firm with which Mr. Porter is associated. Pulse & Porter, was 

•organized in December, 1886, by William C. Pulse, William R. Porter and 
Alexander Porter. This firm has employed as high as seven hundred men 
at one time, and has l)een engaged in the construction of some of the most 
notable luiildings in Indiana, among which may be mentioned the Baptist 

■church, the Swan block, tw'O main buildings of the Odd Fellows' state home. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IIC7 

the Odd Fellows' block, the Carnegie library, remodeling the Presbyterian 
and the Centenary Methodist churches, the high school building, the sani- 
tary sewer system, all at Greensburg; the power-house of the Indiana Union 
Traction company, at Anderson; power-house of the Indianapolis & New- 
castle Railroad Company, at Newcastle; the Maxwell-Brisco motor plant, 
at Newcastle; the Gentry hotel, at Bloomington; Science hall, at Indiana 
State University; Science hall, at Hanover College; Hendricks library, at 
the same college; Spring Hill Presbyterian church and the Southeastern 
Indiana Hospital for the Insane, at Madison, the latter , contract involving 
the expenditure of one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

Alexander Porter was born on a farm three and one-half miles south- 
west of the city of Greensburg, Indiana, December 2, 1861, the son of Mat- 
thew E. and Rebecca (McKinney) Porter, the former of whom also was a 
native of Decatur county, and the latter of whom was born in Orange 
county, this state. 

Matthew E. Porter was born on July 5, 1836, a son of Alexander and 
Elizabeth (Elder) Porter, the former of whom was the first white child 
born in Dearborn county, Indiana. Alexander Porter was born in 1799, 
the son of David Porter, a native of Virginia, who, after having served for 
five years as a British soldier in the French and Indian wars, took up arms 
in the cause of the patriots during the Revolutionary War and for five years 
served valiantly in the army of General Washington. Following the Revo- 
lution, David Porter came west and for a time was located at the point 
where the city of Cincinnati later sprang up. While there, in 1795, he 
waited until General Wayne made a treaty with the Indians. He later 
proceeded down the river and settled in Dearborn county, this state. At 
that time there was but one brick house in Cincinnati and but one log house 
in what since has come to be the city of Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Locating 
permanently in Dearborn county, David Porter carved a home out of the 
wilderness and there reared his family, his other children, beside Alexander, 
above mentioned, being David,' John, James and Mrs. Mary Evans. 

Alexander Porter left his father's place in Dearborn county when he 
was twenty-three years of age and moved to this county, where he for a 
time leased school land, later entering from the government the land three 
and one-half miles southwest of Greensburg on which his grandson and 
namesake, Alexander Porter, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born, 
and which is still owned by the family, Mr. Porter and his two brothers 
being in possession of the same. On this farm of two hundred and fifty- 

i7i) 



1 1 54 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

six acres this pioneer spent the remainder of his hfe and on the same farm 
his son, Matthew E., father of the present Alexander Porter, spent his entire 
Hfe, rearing his family there. 

When he was thirty-six years of age, Alexander Porter married Eliza- 
beth Elder, the daughter of the Rev. Matthew Elder, a pioneer Baptist min- 
ister, who came to Decatur county in 1824 and located four miles south of 
Greensburg, where he founded the Union Baptist church, which still is in 
existence. He was a farmer as well as a preacher, and there he reared his 
family, living to a ripe old age, proving a very tower of strength to the 
pioneer settlement. Rev. Matthew Elder organized the first Baptist church 
in Decatur county. He died on July 7, 1865, at the age of seventy-nine 
years. He and his wife were the parents' of seven children, namely : Mrs. 
William Goodwin; Elizabeth, who married Alexander Porter; Jane, who 
married Silas Porter; Martha, who married Elijah Goodwin; Rebecca, who 
married William McCormick ; Andrew, deceasetl, married a Miss Jackson, 
and Asenath, who married Peter Martin. To Alexander and Elizabeth 
(Elder) Porter were born two children, Matthew E. and Asenath, the latter 
of whom died at the age of three years. Alexander Porter died on Sep- 
tember 9, 1891, aged ninety-two, and his widow died on October 22, 1893, 
at the age of eighty. 

Matthew E. Porter remained on the home farm all his life, being the 
stay and comfort of his parents in their latter days. In 1857 he was united 
in marriage to Rebecca Clarice McKinney, who was born on Feliruary 20, 
1836, near Paoli, in Orange county, Indiana, the daughter of John and 
Martha (Van Cleave) McKinney, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in 
Indiana, where John McKinney was a prominent farmer in the neighbor- 
hood in which he lived, an ardent Republican and a leader in the congrega- 
tion of the Presbyterian church thereabout. John McKinney and his wife 
were the parents of the following children: James; Mrs. Sarah J. Porter; 
William R. ; Margaret; Mary, wife of William Goddard; Rebecca, wife of 
Matthew E. Porter; Emily, wife of John Pulse, and Matthew, who died in 
his youth. 

To Matthew E. and Rebecca Clarice (AIcKinney) Porter were born 
nine children, namely: Martha A., who married J. W. McConnell and 
lives on a farm six miles south of Greensburg; Alexander, the immediate 
subject of this sketch; John, who died in 1893, at the age of twenty-nine 
years; Elizabeth, who died in 1881, at the age of eleven years; William R., 
a member of the firm of Pulse & Porter, in charge of the branch plant at Hope, 
Indiana; Barton, who died in 1902; Dr. Edward A., a practicing physician 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I I 55 

at Burney, Indiana; James, who occupies the old home farm in this county, 
and Andrew, who resides in Greensburg. These children all were born in 
the house in which their father had been rocked in the cradle and all were 
rocked in the same cradle in which their father had been rocked. While 
remaining on the old homestead, JMatthew E. Porter made an extensive 
addition thereto, in 1892 buying a farm adjoining and erecting a fine home, 
in which he and his wife spent their last days in happy comfort. He was 
recognized as one of the most solidly-established farmers in Decatur county. 
He was one of the organizers of the well-known Farmers Insurance Com- 
pany and was active in all works looking to the development of the best 
interests of the community in which his whole life was spent. His death 
occurred in 1908, his wife having preceded him to the grave in 1901. 

Alexander Porter received his elementary education in the district 
school in the neighborhood of his home, following which he spent one year 
at the normal school at Danville, Indiana, and three years at the Indiana 
State Normal at Terre Haute. He then taught school for four years, at the 
end of which time he engaged in the lumber and construction business, in 
1886 forming the association with his brother, William R., and William C. 
Pulse, mentioned in the introductory paragraph of this review, which, from 
a small beginning, has grown to the great concern which is now recognized 
as the leading construction company in the state of Indiana. 

In 1892 Alexander Porter was united in marriage to Ada R. Richard- 
son, of Hartwell, Ohio, the daughter of Colonel Richardson, of Civil War 
fame. To this union five children have been born, as follow : Elder A., 
who is a student in the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor; Sarah M., 
who is a student in the Randolph-Macon School, at Lynchburg, Virginia; 
William B., a student in the Greensburg high school; Marietta, who is still 
in the grade school, and one son, John, who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
Porter are members of the Presbyterian church and have reared their chil- 
dren in the faith of that church. 

Mr. Porter is a Democrat and gives the most earnest attention to the 
political affairs of his home county. Notwithstanding his extensive private 
business, he ever has been able to find time to devote a good citizen's atten- 
tion to the public business, and served as city treasurer of Greensburg for 
si.x years, 1898-1904. He is one of the most progressive and public-spirited 
citizens of Decatur county and no movement having to do with the welfare 
of the county finds him hanging back when it comes time to promote the 
same. He and his wife take an active part in the social affairs of their home 
town and are deservedly popular in their large circle of friends. Mr. Porter 



1 1 56 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

also is actively concerned in the fraternal societies of the town, and is a 
Mason, an Odd Fellow, an Elk and a Red Man, in the affairs of which 
lodges he is warmly interested. 



CLARENCE LEORA HILL, D. D. S. 

Clarence Leora Hill, who was educated for the practice of dentistry and 
practiced this profession of six years in Valparaiso, Indiana, is a striking 
example of a man who has turned his attention from professional life to the 
farm and it must be admitted that he has enjoyed since coming to the farm 
in 1907 a most gratifying success in agriculture. He is a man who is fond 
of life in the open; having been reared in the country and having spent the 
most of his life there. 

Clarence Leora Hill, farmer and dentist of Jackson township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, who owns one hundred and twenty acres of land at his home 
place one mile north of Alert, and a hundred and sixty-five acres one-half 
mile north and one and one-half miles west of Sardinia, was born on May 
24, 1877, in Bartholomew county, near the Bartholomew and Decatur county 
line. He is the son of Martin and Elizabeth (McManiman) Hill, the former 
of whom was a native of Bartholomew county, born in 1848, and the latter 
of whom was a native of Decatur county, born in 1852. Elizabeth McMani- 
man was the daughter of William McManiman, an early settler of Decatur 
county, who lived near Waynesburg. In 1884 Martin Hill moved to a farm 
one-half mile east of Waynesburg, and there he still resides. He is the son 
of J. C. Hill, an early settler of Decatur county. 

Clarence Leora Hill was educated in the district schools of Decatur 
county, at the Danville Normal School, the Indianapolis College of Com- 
merce, the Louisville College of Dentistiy, and the Indiana Dental College at 
Indianapolis where he was graduated in 1901. He practiced his profession at 
Valparaiso, Indiana, for six years after his graduation, and then came to 
Decatur county, Indiana, to take charge of his firm. 

About a year after his graduation from the Indiana Dental College at 
Indianapolis, Clarence Leora Hill was married on August i, 1902, to Joeva 
Green, of Rensselaer, Indiana, who is a native of Ohio, and the daughter of 
Joseph and Jane (Crumley) Green. The Greens came from Ohio to Indiana, 
and settled near Rennselaer, where Joseph died. He was a "forty-niner," 
having gone to California when gold was first discovered. Mrs. Hill's mother 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 1 57 

resides in the home of her daughter and son-in-law in Decatur county. Doc- 
tor and Mrs. Hih have had six children, Joseph Graydon, Martin Dwight, 
Mary Josephene, Paul Eugene, Rose Wendall and John Wesley. 

On Doctor Hill's farm, located one mile north of Alert in Jackson town- 
ship, Decatur county, Indiana, there are two sets of buildings. He has a 
modern house, a large barn, fifty by sixty-eight feet in diameter, and a silo 
which was erected in 191 4. Doctor Hill is an extensive raiser of mules. 
He buys weanling mule colts, and raises them until they are ready for the 
market. At the present time he has twenty-five head on the farm. Aside 
from his interest in mules he is engaged in general farming and stock raising. 

Although a Democrat in politics. Doctor Hill has never taken any special 
interest in political matters. He is a member of Porter Lodge No. 137, Free 
and Accepted Masons. 



CHARLES CLAY ROBBINS. 

Occupying a commanding position on a hill, overlooking the river val- 
ley in Sand Creek township, this county, the elegant farm house of Charles 
C. Robbins presents to the eye of the traveler who may be journeying that 
way a most attractive appearance. This eleven-room farm house, erected 
in 191 1, is one of the best-appointed houses of its kind in Decatur county. 
It was built along modern plans, is enclosed on three sides with an orna- 
mental stone wall and is piped throughout for gas and water. Mr. Rob- 
liins has an admirable water-pressure system on his farm, and his private 
gas well, which flows with a pressure of three hundred and twenty-five 
pounds, gives him, in addition to ample gas for heating and lighting pur- 
poses throughout the house and barn, fine power for the operation of grind- 
ing-machines and other machinery on the place. His beautiful grounds also 
are well lighted from the gas thus supplied. The water plant not only sup- 
plies the house and barn with running water, but affords ample irrigation 
for the grounds and garden. 

Mr. Robbins' farm of one hundred and seventy acres is one of the 
most fertile and productive in the county, including a fine stretch of river 
bottom, one hundred acres in extent, and seventy acres of hill land. The 
bottom lands produce about eighty bushels of corn and twenty bushels of 
wheat to the acre. There is excellent pasture land, through which a pretty, 
never-failing stream flows, and his meadows produce as much as two tons 
of hay to the acre. A copioUsly-flowing well, driven to a depth of one hun- 



1 1 58 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

dred and fifteen feet, supplies water to the uplands. The barn, a commo- 
dious structure, sixty b}' one hundred feet, is equipped with cement floors 
for the stalls and has all the modern appliances for the most expeditious 
operation of a well-conducted farm. The carriage house, fifty by fifty feet, 
also has cement floor, as have the ample corn cribs and granaries, while the 
cement watering troughs are well shaded, a pleasant sidelight on Mr. Rob- 
bins' humane regard for his live stock. 

One of the attractive features of the Robbins farm is a beautiful grove 
of sugar-maple trees, seventy-five or more in number, which supplies the 
Robbins table with a fine quality of maple syrup, besides quantities of choice 
maple sugar. A well-kept chicken park offers a fine range for the extensive 
brood of Plymouth Rock chickens which Mr. Robbins raises. There are 
few farms in Decatur county more carefully tended than is that of Mr. 
Robbins, and it is but natural that he takes a high degree of pride in his 
place, finding much comfort and content thereon. In addition to his gen- 
eral farm operations, Mr. Robbins is an extensive breeder and feeder of live 
stock. He formerly handled from sixty-five to seventy carloads of stock 
annually, Init lately has reduced his operations in this direction and now 
handles about twenty-five car loads annually, his stock all being of high 
grade. 

Charles C. Robbins has lived all his life on this same farm, having 
been born there on September 2, i860, the son of Merritt Holmand and 
Jeannette (Gilchrist) Rol^bins, the former of whom, born on August 30, 
1832, died on August 14, 1882, was the son of a pioneer settler of Decatur 
county, and the latter of whom, born on June 25, 1837. died on February 
13, 1911, was a nati\e of Steubenville, Ohio. Merritt H. Robbins was the 
son of William Robliins, who settled in this county in an early day and 
became one of the most influential pioneers of Sand Creek township. Will- 
iam Rolibins was the son of William Robbins, a Virginian who served in 
the arm of the patriots during the War of the Revolution and located in 
Kentucky after the close of that war. Further interesting details regarding 
the genealogy of this family may be found in the biographical sketch relat- 
ing to J. B. Kitchin, presented elsewhere in this volume. Jeannette Gil- 
christ was the daughter of Hugh Gilchrist, one of the early and influential 
settlers of this county. 

Merritt H. Robbins and his wife were members of the Liberty Baptist 
church and took a large part in the good works of their community in an 
early day. Mr. Robbins was a Republican and was one of the leaders of 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1159 

that party in his part of the county. He was not inchned to seek office, 
however, and several times decHned to accept positions of pubhc trust and 
responsibihty which his neighbors sought to thrust uix)n him. He was an 
active, energetic farmer and became the owner of four hundred and eighty- 
four acres of fine land in Sand Creek township. At the age of fifty, Mr. 
Robbins was overcome by an ihness which would not respond to local treat- 
ment. He was taken to Sheppard sanitarium at Columbus, Ohio, where 
treatment likewise proved unavailing, and there he died. His land was all 
sold with the exception of the tract of one hundred and seventy acres sur- 
rounding the home, and which now is occupied by his son, Charles C. 

To Merritt H. and Jeannette (Gilchrist) Robbins were born six chil- 
dren, as follow: Alpha B., who married Caleb Wright, a well-known farmer 
of Clay township, this county; Laura L., who married Walter B. Planke and 
lives in Washington township; Charles Clay, the immediate subject of this 
sketch; Greeley G., of Greensburg, a rural mail carrier; William W., who 
died on June i, 1914, at the home of his brother, Charles C, at the age of 
forty-seven years, and Erie Etna, the wife of Bird Sefton, of Washington 
township, this county. 

On February 28, 1888, Charles Clay Robbins was united in mar- 
riage to Effie M. Styers, who was born on the old Styers homestead, near 
Greensburg, this county, on April 6, 1868, the daughter of William G. and 
Dorinda F. (Wright) Styers, the former of whom is now deceased. Fur- 
ther details of the genealogy of this couple may be found in the biographical 
sketch of William G. Styers, presented elsewhere in this volume. 

To Charles C. and Effie M. (Styers) Robbins have been born six chil- 
dren, namely: Hari-y H., born on November 29, 1889; Walter W., who 
lives on the John W. Ferris farm, in Marion township, this county, was 
born on July 6, 1891, married Grace Ferris and has three children, Gerald, 
Roy R. and Wilma; Marie, February i, 1898, is in high school; Corinne C, 
December 25. 1900, also in school; Millard M., October 30, 1902, and 
Lowell, July 18, 1905, who died on March 4, 1907. 

Mr. and Mrs. Robbins are members of the Liberty Baptist church, as 
are all the members of their family, and long have been prominent in the 
affairs of that church, as well as being included among the leaders in the 
various good works of the community in which they live. Mr. Robbins 
is a Republican and takes a warm interest in political affairs, though not 
an office seeker or a particularly active political worker, preferring to give 
the full measure of his time to his farm and to his home. Harry Robbins 



II 6o DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

is a member of the Masonic fraternity and is deeply interested in the affairs 
of that ancient fraternal order. No family in Decatur county is held in 
higher repute than the Robbinses and their home is one of the most popular 
places of social gatherings in the part of the county in which it is situated. 



HAMLIN ANDERSON. 



Situated on a hill, the handsome farm residence of Hamlin Anderson, 
in Clay township, this county, commands a fine view of the country there- 
about. This residence, painted an attractive yellow, with its broad veranda 
lending a particularly home-like air to the place, is regarded as one of the 
pleasantest and most hospitable farm homes in the county, and is the center 
of much cordial hospitality, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson being fond of their 
friends and their friends likewise fond of them. Corresponding with the 
general well-kept appearance of the house, the big bank barn, painted in 
slate color, and the outlying farm buildings all are in excellent condition, 
speaking well for Mr. Anderson's orderliness and accurate attention to 
detail. Though somewhat past what generally is regarded as the meridian 
of life, Mr. Anderson retains a youthful appearance and manner that belie 
the date of his birth, and takes the liveliest interest in affairs. He is an 
excellent conversationalist and a good companion. A keen, intelligent, 
enterprising man, he has made a success of his afifairs, and is rated among 
the wealthy men of Decatur county. He has traveled widely and is well 
informed. For three years he lived in Los Angeles, California, and for a 
time was engaged in the automobile business in Indianapolis, but now con- 
fines his attention wholly to his extensive farming interests, finding Decatur 
county the most desirable spot on earth, his pleasant home being to him all 
that he desires. 

Hamlin Anderson was born on the farm on which he still lives August 
29, 1853, son of William and Mary (Stanley) Anderson, the former of 
whom was born in 181 1 and died in 1891 ; the latter born in 1832, died in 
1908. William Anderson was born of poor parents in a log cabin in the 
pine woods of New Jersey, and in his youth was compelled to work hard. 
He was one of eleven children born to his parents, four boys and seven 
girls. By the utmost diligence and frugality, he had saved four hundred 
dollars by the time he had reached his majority, at which time he started 
for Indiana, arriving in Decatur county in 1831, having driven through in a 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I161 

one-horse wagon, the long trip having been made alone. For several years 
after his arrival in this county, William Anderson worked for various farm- 
ers in the Milford section, receiving eight and one-third dollars the month. 
He then bought eighty acres of timber land south of Milford and chopped 
out a home in the wilderness, later selling this and buying another eighty- 
acre tract, a part of the present Anderson home acres. On the hill where 
stands the present handsome residence, William Anderson built a log cabin 
and entered seriously upon the life of a farmer. He prospered, as his indus- 
try and zeal entitled him to prosper, and presently became one of the large 
landowners in the county, his holdings comprising no less than eight hun- 
dred acres of fine land in the Milford neighborhood. Though he could not 
read or write, William Anderson was a clear thinker and had a good mind. 
He was an able manager and an excellent financier, proving himself to be 
one of the most important factors in the development of the \icinity in 
which he made his home. At the time of his death, besides his- large land 
holdings, he possessed tifteen thousand dollars in cash, an excellent example 
of what energy and enterprise may accomplish in the face of obstacles that 
would seem well nigh insuperable to one of a less direct mind. William 
Anderson also possessed the entire confidence of the whole community and 
was held in the highest esteem throughout that part of the county, his death 
being much mourned thereabout. Mr. Anderson was an earnest member of 
the Methodist church and his children were reared in that faith. He was 
a Republican and his keen, discriminating mind gave to his political opin- 
ions much weight with the managers of the party in this county. 

William Anderson was twice married. By his union with Jane Fowler 
three children were born: John H., deceased; Mrs. Mary Parker, widow of 
a former well-known Adams township farmer, and William, Jr., deceased, 
a former prominent farmer of this county. Upon the death of his first wife, 
William Anderson married, secondly, Mrs. Mary (Stanley) Whiseman, 
widow of Warren Whiseman, and to this union two children were born, 
Mrs. Etta Russell, of Greensburg, this county, and Hamlin, the immediate 
subject of this sketch. By her first marriage the second Mrs. Anderson was 
the mother of one child, a daughter, Mrs. Sarah Armstrong, who lives at 
Kewanna, Indiana. 

Hamlin Anderson was reared on the paternal farm, receiving his edu- 
cation in the district schools of that neighborhood. Inheriting much of his 
father's directness of manner and energy of both mind and body, he has 
made proper use of his opportunities and is looked upon as one of the lead- 
ing men in the part of the county in which he resides. HJs father willed him 






Il62 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

one hundred and sixty acres of the home farm, to which he gradually added 
until he became the possessor of five hundred and thirty acres, which he 
later reduced to the present compact farm of four hundred and thirty acres, 
one of the best and most scientifically cultivated places in that part of the 
county. In 1894 Mr. Anderson erected his present fine farm house, one of 
the best in the county. This house is of thoroughly modern construction, 
ec|uipped with a fine water system and is heated and lighted with natural 
gas, Mr. Anderson having an inexhaustible gas well on his place. The big 
bank barn, fifty by seventy feet, is equipped with all proper appliances for 
the most economic operation of a well-managed farm plant, and is supple- 
mented by a massive silo. The farm is admirably fenced and otherwise 
kept up to the top notch of efficiency. 

Hamlin Anderson has been twice married. In 1874 he was united in 
marriage to Myra Belle Trimble, daughter of John Trimble, to which union 
one child was born, a daughter, Maudie, who died at the age of seven years. 
In August, 1883, Mr. Anderson married, secondly, Ida M. Washburn, 
daughter of Dr. R. R. Washburn, of Waldron, Shelby county, this state, 
and to this union one child was born, a son, Raymond, who died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are members of the Methodist church, and 
are earnest workers in the congregation of that church, as well as being 
devoted to the general good works of the community. They are highly 
esteemed among their large circle of friends and are potent factors in the 
social life of their vicinity. Mr. Anderson is a member of Greensburg 
Lodge No. 36, Free and Accepted Masons, and takes an active interest in 
the afifairs of that lodge. 



JACOB BLACK. 

A distinguished veteran of the Civil War, a prominent stockman and 
farmer of Sand Creek township, Decatur county, for over sixty years, Jacob 
Black is one of the best-known citizens of Decatur county. Of all his life 
work, perhaps his record as a loyal and valiant soldier in our country's 
greatest war will endure longest. He was an enlisted soldier in one of the 
first regiments organized in this state for the defense of the Union in the 
early months of 1861, and after serving his enlistment of thirty days, 
enlisted the second time in Company C, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth 
Regiment, Indiana \^olunteer Infantry, for one hundred days, being dis- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II63 

charged September 2, 1864. Subsequently, he enhsted for the third time, 
in Company H, Thirteenth Regiment, Indiana Vohinteer Infantry, and 
served one year, being discharged September 5, 1865, at Goldsboro, North 
Carohna. During his long service he was engaged in many severe skir- 
mishes and battles. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil War and 
at the time of his first enlistment he was scarcely seventeen years old. 

Jacob Black, farmer and stockman of Sand Creek township, Decatur 
county, Indiana, who owns a well-improved farm of one hundred acres, was 
born on April 17, 1844, in Franklin county, Indiana, the son of David and 
Susan (Heimlich) Black, the former of whom was born on December 3, 
1809, in Virginia, and the latter born on July 13, 18 16. They were married 
on December 29, 1834, in Franklin county, where David Black's parents had 
settled in 1820. Nineteen \ears after their marriage, David and Susan 
Black, in 1853, came to Sand Creek township, Decatur county. Of their 
seven children, five are deceased. The living children are Jacob, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, and John C, of Letts. The deceased children are: An- 
drew, who was born on November 29, 1835; Mrs. Elizabeth Smith; Nancy 
Thompson; Margaret Helen Eubanks, and Catherine, died young. 

During the declining years of David Black's life, his son, Jacob, cared 
for him, and at his death, which occurred in March, 1865, came into pos- 
session of the home place. He has lived nearly all of his life on the farm 
he now occupies, having moved to the house in which he lives in the spring 
of 1854, sixty-one years ago. Mr. Black has been a horse breeder for forty 
years, and formerly handled great numbers of French and German coach 
horses. He also bred trotting horses and owned at one time "Jay Bird'' and 
'"Wilkes," two well-known horses. At the present time, however, he is 
breeding draft horses, Belgian and Percherons, and at the present time has 
six head, including three pure-bred and registered stallions. For many 
years he was a well-known exhibitor at county and state fairs and won many 
prizes on his imported stallions and mares. 

It is difficult to estimate what the pioneer breeders of the state have 
accomplished in the way of improving the Ijreed of horses on the farm. 
Horses may not be so important to the success of the farmer as they for- 
merly were, because of the advance of farm machinery, driven by power, 
yet the time is far remote when farmers will not be interested in good horses 
and when they will not be regarded as important assets on the farm. As a 
pioneer breeder in Decatur county, Jacob Black has performed an invaluable 
service, not only to the farmers in this county, but to the farmers of this 
state, since he personally, during his long and useful life, has furnished a 



1 1 64 ' DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Strong incentive to the men with whom he has come in contact to breed 
better horses. 

On September i, 1881, Jacob Black was married to Mary A. Parker, 
the daughter of John J. Parker. Mrs. Black was born on December 3, 1850. 
Jacob and Mary A. Black are the parents of two children: Harry Cecil, 
\vho was born on November 26, 1882, and who was married on August 31, 
1904, to Vella May Simmons, of Sand Creek township, and has one child, 
Helen Louise; and Clarence Wayne, born on March 18, 1890, who is 
engaged in farming on their own farm with his brother. Both young men 
are successful farmers and have taken up the useful work so long carried 
on by their worthy and honorable father. 

Jacob Black is a Republican, but he has never been a candidate for office 
and has never aspired to office. As a result of his long and arduous labors, 
he has won for himself a competence in life and is now situated so that he 
may enjoy his declining years in comfort and happiness. Mr. Black has 
manv friends in this section of the state. 



MYRON C. JENKINS. 



The Jenkins family was founded in America by one of the sturdy 
Pilgrim fathers, who came over to the rock-bound New England shore in 
the "Mayflower." Myron C. Jenkins, a well-known lawyer of Greensburg, 
Indiana, a man who has filled one of the principal offices within the gift of 
the people of Decatur county with credit to himself and to the people of 
the county who elected him, is a representative of the second generation of 
the family in Decatur county. His father, who had been a printer and a 
lawyer, settled on a farm near New Point in the early sixties. As a profes- 
sion the law is not new to this generation of the Jenkins family, his father 
having practiced for many years in the state of Ohio. 

Myron C. Jenkins, who was born on February 10, 1859, in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, is the son of Alfred C. and Lydia A. (Rigsbe) Jenkins. The former 
was of New England descent, and the son of Alfred Jenkins, a native of 
Massachusetts, and an early settler in Ohio, and the latter was a native of 
Union county, Indiana, and the daughter of William Rigsbe, a native of 
Chatham county, North Carolina. William Rigsbe, who was an early set- 
tler in Indiana, drove through from North Carolina to Indiana with his 
wife, in a one-horse wagon. An ardent member of the Quaker church, he 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II65 

left the southern home on account of slavery, after having been married to 
a Miss Clark. After farming for some years in Union county, he removed 
to Decatur county, where he purchased a large tract of land. Alfred Jen- 
kins, Sr., of Massachusetts, was married early in life to a Miss Snow. 

The Jenkins family had removed from Ohio to Mt. Carmel, Franklin 
county, Indiana, when the father of Myron C. Jenkins was a mere child. 
Here Alfred C. Jenkins was reared. He became a printer by trade, having 
learned the trade with the Clarksons, who were the proprietors of the 
Brookville American at the time. Subsequently, he moved to Cincinnati, 
where he became a typesetter on the old Cincinnati Gazette. Supporting his 
family by setting type, he was able to attend the Cincinnati Law College, and 
was graduated from that institution while he was setting type on the Gazette 
and delivering papers in the evening after working all day. Removing to 
Decatur county, Indiana, during the early sixties, he located near New 
Point on a farm owned by his father-in-law, William Rigsbe, and here he 
built a house and barn. After living upon the farmer for a number of years, 
he moved back to Ohio and practiced law in Hamilton county and at Har- 
rison, where he died. 

To Alfred C. and Lydia A. Jenkins were born four sons, Horace W., 
Myron C, and two who died in infancy. 

Educated in the public schools of Ohio and Indiana, Myron C. Jenkins 
was graduated from the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, and 
from the Cincinnati Law School with the class of 1884. In this class was 
Judge O'Hara and many other distinguished men. Mr. Jenkins began the 
practice of law in Decatur county after spending one year on the farm, 
and then obtained desk room in the office of Doctor Jerman at New Point. 
He was accustomed to remain in Greensburg during the session of court, 
and subsequently was appointed deputy prosecuting attorney for Rush and 
Decatur counties, a position which he held for two years. After the expira- 
tion of his term of office he removed to Greensburg, and except for eight 
years, the period between 1904 and 1912, when he was clerk of the Decatur 
•circuit court, he has ever since been engaged in the practice at Greensburg. 
He enjoys a large and lucrative practice in the circuit, district, state and 
federal courts, and owns a splendid law library, which is kept in his office 
in the old First National P.ank building of Greensburg. 

Myron C. Jenkins was married on September 6, 1898, to Nellie Adams, 
a native of Decatur county, and the daughter of Roll G. Adams, the son of 
an early Indiana settler and a pioneer in Franklin county. Roll G. Adams 
was born, in Fairfield, Franklin county, and was the son of Washburn 



Il66 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Adams. To Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins four children, I.ydia Alice, Wendell 
Crocker, Dorothy and Miriam G. have heen born. All are living at home. 

Mr. Jenkins lias always been identified with the Republican party. The 
Jenkins family are members of the Christian church of Greensburg, and 
Mr. Jenkins is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Aside from the cares 
of his professional practice, the chief interests of Myron C. Jenkins are his 
home and his family. His law practice has grown from year to year, and 
he is today numbered among the successful attorneys of Decatur county, an 
honor of no mean importance. 



CHARLES P. MILLER. 



Ha\'ing spent all his life thus far on the farm on which he was born, in 
Adams township, this county, Charles P. JMiller, one of the prosperous and 
progressive farmers of Decatur county, is in a position to make fitting con- 
trasts with conditions existing thereabout at the time of his earliest recol- 
lection and the conditions now prevailing in that favored section of the 
county. Mr. Miller has a beautiful home, a fine old lirick mansion built by 
his father back in 1862, which has been modernized in numerous ways to bring 
it up to the latter-day standards until it now is one of the best farm houses in 
Decatur county. Fitting accompaniment to this is his big red bank barn, 
fifty by one hundred by thirty-two feet to the scjuare, with other commodious 
farm buildings to match. Mr. Miller is an extensive landowner in the county. 
At one time he was the owner of eleven hundred and seventy-eight acres, 
four hundred and fifty acres of which comprised the home farm ; three hun- 
dred and twenty acres in Washington and Adams townships ; two hundred 
and forty-eight acres in Clinton townshij) and one hundred and sixty acres in 
Clay township. Much of this land he since has disposed of to his sons, re- 
ducing his holdings to the home farm of four hundred and fifty acres and one 
hundred and sixty acres in Washington township. In addition to his large 
general farming operations. Mr. Miller formerly was engaged in the breeding 
of Shorthorn cattle, but of late years has given little attention to that phase 
of farming, having on his farm now only about one hundred hogs, sixty head 
of cattle and sixteen or eighteen horses. 

Charles P. Miller was born on the farm on which he still lives, in Adams 
township, Decatur county, Indiana, October 6, 1853, the son of Charles and 
Louisa (Pleak) Miller, the former of whom was born on May 9, 1814, and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II 67 

died on March 15, 1888, and the latter of whom was born on January 15, 1816, 
and died on June 8, 1907. 

Charles Miller was born in western Virginia, the son of George Miller, 
who brought his family to Decatur county, Indiana, in 1827. George Miller 
made his home in what was then the forest wilderness of Ada:ms township, 
where he lived until 1857, in which year he sold out and moved to hnva, again 
becoming a pioneer, and in that state he died. His wife, who was a Miss 
Elizabeth Swope before her marriage, bore to him sixteen children, thirteen 
of whom lived to maturity and married, the numerous progeny of this union 
making now a large family. These thirteen children were as follow : Jacob, 
Michael. John, Mrs. Mary Riffe, Mrs. Catherine Johnson, Mrs. Nancy Will- 
iams, Mrs. Anna Jones, George W., Mrs. Elizabeth Spraker, Charles, Mrs. 
Martha Spraker, Mrs. Sarah Dunn and Joseph. 

Charles Miller for a time lived on a part of the Nathan Hunter farm in 
Washington township, but when his father moved to Iowa he sold that tract 
and bought the tract where his son, Charles P., now lives, and there spent 
the rest of his life. Charles Miller became one of Decatur county's progressive 
farmers, owning about five hundred and twenty acres of land at the time of 
his death. He was an ardent Whig and took an active interest in the early 
political life of the county. Upon the formation of the Repul^lican party he 
became afiftliated with that party and ever thereafter espoused its principles. 
He was an earnest Methodist and his children were reared in that faith, 

On June 2, 1835. Charles Miller was united in marriage to Louisa Pleak, 
daughter of Narcus Baron Steuben Isaac Henry Fielden Louis and Sabina 
(Virt) Pleak, natives of Kentucky and pioneer settlers of Decatur county, 
a family which has Ijeen largely represented in the affairs of this county since 
the year 182 1. Further interesting details of the genealogy of the Pleak 
family may be found in the biographical sketch relating to Strauther Van 
Pleak. presented elsewhere in this volume. To this union were Ijorn ten 
children, all of whom are now deceased save Charles P. Miller, namely : 
Michael, Elizabeth, Sabina, America, George, Joseph, Ira, Narcus Baron 
Steuben Isaac Henry Fielden Louis, Charles P., and one who died in in- 
fancy. 

Charles P. Miller, being the only survivor of his father's family, suc- 
ceeded to the home acres and not only kept the same up in the most admirable 
manner, but largely increased the original acreage, becoming one of the large 
landowners in this part of the state, as set out in the introductory paragraph 
of this narrative. As he advanced in }ears and his children started out to do 
for themselves, he gradually reduced his land holdings by disposing of tracts 



Il68 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

to his children, until now he retains but the four hundred and fifty acres sur- 
rounding the home place and one hundred and sixty acres in Washington 
township, all of which is in an excellent state of cultivation. 

On October 31, 1878, Charles P. Miller was united in marriage to Mar- 
garet Eudora Graham, who was born in this county on November 27, 1856, 
and died on February 23, 1915, daughter of Joseph and Almira (Donnell) 
Graham, both of whom were natives of this county. Joseph Graham was 
the son of Joseph Graham, a native of Kentucky, who came to Decatur county 
in 1823, settling in Fugit township, where he was known as one of the most 
prominent pioneers of that section. 

To Charles P. and Margaret Eudora (Graham) Miller were born five 
children: Louisa Katherine, born August 10, 1879, who, on December i, 
1904, married Elbert Earl Meek and lives in Fugit township; Joseph Gra- 
ham, December 19, 1880, married Wilhelmina Jacob on November 15, 1905, 
at Watseka, Illinois, and lives in Washington township, this county; Leoni- 
das Melville, April 11, 1883, married Elizabeth Link on November 21, 1907, 
and lives in Clinton township; Margaret Eudora, June 5, 1S85, married 
James Barton McLaughlin on February 14, 1912, and lives in Washington 
township, and Charles Ira, February 14, 1888, who is managing the home 
farm for his father. 

Mr. Miller is a member of the Methodist church and an active worker in 
the same, being earnest in good works ; a man who is held in the very highest 
esteem throughout the neighborhood in which he is so well known. He is a 
Mason, but having spent his life five miles from the lodge and being a lover 
of home he has not been an active member though he admires very much the 
teachings of the order. 



WILBUR BOONE WRIGFIT. 

Wilbur Boone Wright, a successful and well-known gas well contractor 
of Adams, Decatur county, Indiana, is the scion of one of the oldest families 
of this section. During practically all of his life he has been identified with 
the business life, not only of this county and state but of many other states 
and is quite as well known in the gas fields of Texas and Illinois as he is here 
in Indiana. His residence in Decatur county, however, has served to increase 
the admiration of his fellowmen since he has led an honorable life in every 
particular. It is no idle statement to say that he is indeed worthy of the 
confidence and respect of his fellows. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II69 

Wilbur Boone Wright was born in 1871, tiie son of John and Luvenia 
(Stark) Wright, pioneers of Clay township, the former of whom was born 
in Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1827 and who died at his home in Decatur 
county in 1899. When about twenty-one years of age, John Wright came to 
Decatur county from Virginia and settled in Clay township near Liberty. 
The Wright family is of English origin. John Wright was the son of Charles 
Wright, who came to this county from Virginia some time after his son, John 
and located here. Luvenia Stark was the daughter of Caleb and Anne 
(Boone) Stark, who came to Decatur county from Kentucky in i8j6 and set- 
tled in Clay township. Caleb Stark was the son of Joseph Stark, who was 
the son of John Stark, a native of New Hampshire, who moved from that 
state to Virginia and later to Kentucky, settling in Henry county. Joseph 
Stark was a well-known Indian fighter and a member of the famous colony 
headed by Daniel Boone. He came from Virginia to Kentucky in 1780. The 
Stark family dates from the days of the last James in Scotland, when John 
Muirhead, a German soldier, for an act of bravery in which he saved the life 
of the king, was created bishop of Glasgow and his name changed by royal 
decree to Stark, which is the German for "strength." John Stark, who was 
born in 1665, was the founder of the Stark family in America, he having come 
to this country in 1710. His eldest son, Archibald, was the father of General 
Stark of Revolutionary fame. The remainder of the Stark genealogy may 
be found in the sketch of Caleb Stark Wright, recorded elsewhere in this 
volume. He is a cousin of Wilbur Boone Wright, the subject of this sketch. 

Born on his father's farm in Clay township, Wilbur Boone Wright was 
only a small child when the family moved from Clay township to z\dams town- 
ship. Here he grew to manhood and lived and worked on his father's farm. 
He began business for himself when seventeen years old drilling gas wells 
under contract. He has been eminently successful in this business and has 
drilled wells in most of the counties of central Indiana, also in Texas and 
Illinois. There is no man now living in the state of Indiana, who is more 
familiar with this business than the subject of this sketch. 

\\'il]3ur Boone Wright was first married to Pearl Coy, of Adams, but she 
died a little less than two years after their marriage. About two years after 
her death, Mr. Wright was married, secondly, to Ada Boling, of Franklin 
county, Indiana. She is the sister of Albert Boling, whose sketch is contained 
elsewhere in this volume and which contains the genealogy of the Boling 
familv in Decatur county and in this country. To Mr. and Mrs. Wright has 
been born one child. Luvenia Alice, who was born on August 5, 1910. 
(74) 



I I/O DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wright have a beautiful home in Adams, where he is known 
as one of the solid and substantial citizens of Decatur county. He is a stanch 
and true Democrat and a member of the Christian church of Adams. Mr. 
Wright is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the 
Encampment and the Rebekahs. He is also a member of Masonic Lodge, No. 
94, of Milford. A top-notch citizen, a liberal and broad-minded man, he is 
one of whom this county has every reason to be very proud. 



CHESTER HAMILTON. 

W^ith calm satisfaction Chester Hamilton, one of the oldest and best- 
known farmers of Decatur county, looks back over the days that have gone, 
contemplating with gratitude the wonders that have been accomplished in 
his day and generation. Born on the farm on which he still lives and where 
he confidently expects to pass the remainder of his days, Mr. Hamilton has 
witnessed the transformation of the forest wilderness into one of the most 
favored sections in the Central states. With genial satisfaction he reviews 
the labors that have accomplished this wonderful transformation and knows 
that all is well. At peace with the world, enjoying the trust and confidence 
of his neighbors and the devoted and affectionate attentions of his family and 
kinsfolk, he is passing the evening of his life amid comforts which in the 
days of his youth hardly could have been dreamed of in connection with life 
as it was then known in the deep woods of this county. 

There are not many families in Decatur county that have so wide a con- 
nection as that of the Hamiltons or are better or more honorably known, and 
it is but fitting that there should be presented here something of the history 
of this pioneer family, a task to which the biographer applies himself with 
pleasure. 

Chester Hamilton was l.iorn on the farm on which he still resides in 
Fugit township, Decatur county, Indiana, December 18, 1838, the son of 
Cyrus and Mary (McCoy) Hamilton, the former of whom was born in 
Nicholas county, Kentucky, July 14, 1800, and died at his home in this 
countv on August 19, 1S79, and the latter of whom was born in Bourbon 
county, Kentucky, September 18, 1798, and died at the home of her daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Donnell, in this county, on September 8, 1881. 

Cyrus Hamilton was the son of Robert and Mary (Eward) Hamilton, 
the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania on June 17, 176S, and died 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II 7I 

at his home in Kentucky on June 17, 181 7, and the latter of whom was born 
in Virginia on May 20, 1774, and died at the home of her son, R. M. Hamil- 
ton, northeast of Greensburg, in this county, March 15, 1848. They were 
married on June 19, 1794 in Kentucky. Robert Hamilton emigrated from 
Pennsylvania to Kentucky when the latter state was admitted to the Union 
and recruited a company and captained it during the War of 1812, serving 
against the Indians. He died in 181 7 and his body was buried in the old 
Concord churchyard in Nicholas county, Kentucky. Afterwards his remains 
were brought by his descendants and placed beside those of his wife in the 
Kingston cemetery. 

Robert Hamilton was the son of William Hamilton, a Scottish Presby- 
terian who emigrated from the north of Ireland about 1750 and located in 
Pennsylvania, whence he later emigrated to Kentucky, settling on McBrides 
creek, then in Bourbon county, now Nicholas county, being among the earliest 
settlers of that section. William Hamilton married Isabella Thompson, in 
Pennsylvania, to which union were born seven children, namely: William, 
who was killed while battling with the patriots for independence during the 
Revolutionary War ; Alexander, who settled in Clark county, Indiana ; 
Thomas, who married Charity Welch and died near Carlisle, Kentucky, in 
1803; Samuel, who married Jeannie Sweeney: Robert, who married Mary 
Eward, the grandparents of the immediate subject of this sketch; Eleanor, 
affectionately known as "Nellie," born on May 12, 1758, married John Blair 
and died on December 25, 1827; and Isabella, who, about 1808, married 
Samuel Hindman, the Hindman family later moving to Newmarket town- 
ship. Highland county, Ohio, whence they moved into Illinois. 

To Robert and Mary (Eward) Hamilton were born eleven children, as 
follow: James Eward, born on March 31, 1795, died on January 13, 1881, 
married Jane McCoy, born on November 18, 1796, died on February 8, 185 1, 
upon whose death he married, secondly, Rosannah McCoy, born on Novem- 
ber 15, 1808, died on July 20, 1891 ; Fidelia, September 18, 1796, died on 
July 16, i860, married Elijah Mitchell; Thomas, August 25, 1798; died on 
June 16, 1880, married Julia Ann Donnell; Cyrus, who married Mary McCoy, 
parents of the subject of this sketch; Spicey Glover, October 12, 1802, died 
on Decemlier 22, 1838, married John Thomson; Eliza. November ii, 1804, 
died on December 26, 1880; Ellen E., September 12, 1806, died on Septem- 
ber 26, 1832, married Barton W. S. McCoy; Sarah. April 14, 1809, died on 
January 11, 1892, married Thomas Donnell; Robert Marshall, Noveml)er 17, 
1811. died on August 6, 1901, married Mary Morgan; Mary Jane. November 
15, 1814, died on December 23, 1891, married Jackson Lowe; Minerva, Janu- 



I 1 72 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ary 2, 1S17, died on November 25, 1903, was twice married, her first husljand 
having lieen Peter Bartholomew and her second husband John C. Donnell. 

Upon his marriage to Mary McCoy in the year 1822, Cyrus Hamilton 
came at once to Decatur county, the newly-wedded couple regarding the trip 
thither as their wedding tour. Cyrus's brother, James E., with his family, 
accompanied them. Cyrus with another brother, Thomas, had jointly filed 
entries for a half section of land in Fugit township in 1821. The homestead 
claims were filed in the land office at Brookville and the warrants bear the 
signature of James Monroe, then President of the United States. Cyrus 
Hamilton and his wife quickly were recognized as among the leaders in the 
pioneer settlement. They were great temperance advocates and anti-slavery 
protagonists and were influential and useful members of that earnest band 
which so successfully operated the famous "underground railway" here- 
about during the troublesome days preceding the outbreak of the Civil War. 
They were members of the Sand Creek, or Kingston Presbyterian church, 
with which they became affiliated on September 4, 1824, and Mr. Hamilton 
and his brother, James E., made the shingles which were used to cover the 
house of the first minister of that congregation. Mrs. Hamilton, lovingly 
known throughout that part of the county as "Aunt Poll}-," was a daughter 
of Alexander McCoy and was a very bright woman. She and her husband 
were witty, hospitable and entertaining and were great favorites throughout 
that whole section. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 
1872 and the occasion was made one of general merrymaking among their 
hosts of friends who gathered from far and near to celebrate with them the 
happy day. 

To Cyrus and Mary (McCoy) Hamilton were born six children, namely: 
William McCoy, born on November 26, 1822, died on February 25, 1905, 
married Euphemia Donnell; Melissa, February 26, 1825, died on June 17, 
1880, married the Rev. B. M. Nyce, a onetime well-known pastor of the 
Presbyterian church at Kingston, this county, also an educator of ability; 
Orlando, Januai-y i, 1827, died on May 5, 1914, on his farm two miles north 
of Kingston; Cordelia, August 13, 1832, widow of Lowrey Donnell, resides 
with her son. Cyrus Donnell, on a farm one and one-half miles south of 
Clarksburg, this county; Chester, the subject of this sketch; and Everett, 
October 16, 1841, who resides in Greensburg. William, above named, was 
the first manufacturer of drain tile in Decatur county. 

Chester Hamilton acquired a good common-school education in his 
native township, later attending Hartsville College, and became a very suc- 
cessful farmer. He began farming on a tract of eighty acres which was 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II 73 

gi\-en him by his father, to which he has added, with the assistance of his 
wife, until he now owns a farm of four hundred acres of as good land as 
there is in Decatur county. Though general farming is his chief pursuit he 
is quite a stock raiser and annually ships from one hundred and fifty to two 
hundred hogs and as much as three carloads of cattle. He sells no corn off 
his place, finding it much more profitable to feed the same. He always has 
continued to live on the home place and the fine old home which, he built in 
1879 has been remodeled into one of the most comfortable and modern farm 
homes in the county and is the center of hospitality for that whole region. 

On May 22, 1866, Chester Hamilton was united in marriage to Mary 
Elizabeth Mitchell, who was born on June 26, 1842, southeast of the town 
of Rushville, in Rush county, this state, the daughter of Thomas V. and 
Amanda (Gregg) Mitchell, natives of Kentucky, who emigrated to Rush 
county in 1821. Amanda Gregg was the daughter of Judge John Gregg, a 
onetime well-known associate judge in Rush county. To this union were 
born four children, Thomas M., George Cyrus, Edith and Amanda. Thomas 
M. Hamilton, who was born on November 2, 1867, attended school at Oberlin 
College, now resides one-half mile east of Kingston, in this county. He mar- 
ried Catherine Lowe, to which union were born three children. Earl, born 
on January 29, 1890; Elizabeth, May 12, 1893; ^""^ Isabel, September 12, 
1895. Earl married Fannie Gregg on November 4, 1914, and is farming in 
Fugit township. Elizabeth, married Inscoe R. Bailey on May 29, 1914. 
Isabel is a successful teacher in the public schools of Kingston. George 
Cyrus Hamilton, who was born on August 4, 1869, lives on the adjoining 
farm, near his father's place. He married Edith Aldrich and has one child, 
a daughter, Lillian, born on May 28, 1899. Edith Hamilton was educated 
at O.xford College for Women, Oxford, Ohio ; has given much study to the 
subject of genealogy and is working on a very extensive and quite valuable 
history of the Hamilton family. She lives at home with her parents, as does 
her sister, Amanda Hamilton. Both are interested in club work and every- 
thing that makes for the upbuilding of their community. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are members of the Presbyterian church at 
Kingston, their children also being members of the same congregation. Mr. 
Hamilton is a Republican. His first vote for President was cast- for Abra- 
ham Lincoln and he ever since has stood steadfast to the principles of the 
party. He and his wife are earnest, kindly people who for years have been 
interested in all the good works of the community in which they live and 
are held in the highest regard by all. Progressive in thought and cultured 
in manner, they have exerted a fine influence in that part of the county aild 
enjoy the esteem of all who know them. 



11/4 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

CLARENCE C. DEUPREE. 

In the considerable Decatur county colony at Indianapolis, the state's 
capital city, no one is more popular than Clarence C. Deupree, the young 
cashier of the Marion County State Bank of Indianapolis. Elsewhere in 
this volume there are presented biographical sketches of Mr. Deupree's father 
and of his elder brother, Everett L. Deupree, both now living at Indianapolis, 
to which the reader is respectfully referred for details regarding the genealogy 
of this interesting family and the history of the beginnings of the family in 
this section of Indiana. Suffice it to say, in this connection, that the Deupree 
family is of stanch Huguenot descent, the first member of the family to come 
to America having been Grancie Joseph Deupree, who came to this country 
to escape religious persecution in France, in which country his fine estates 
had been confiscated and he compelled to flee for his life. The first of the 
Deuprees to come to Indiana was Thomas Deupree, who came from Ken- 
tucky in 1 82 1 and entered a Government tract in Johnson county, this state, 
near the town of Edinburg, and who lost his life by drowning while crossing 
the Muscatatuck river while returning from Kentucky, whither he had gone 
to settle up his affairs after locating his family on the homestead in this state. 
Abraham, his son, succeeded him and the latter 's son, William N., still is 
living in Johnson county at the age of eighty-two years. William N. Deu- 
pree married Martha A. Matthis. daughter of Benjamin and Nancy (Hibbs) 
Matthis, Kentuckians and early settlers in Johnson county. Their son, 
Thomas M., married Laura B. Prichard, daughter of John M. and Louisa 
(Robinson) Prichard, both natives of Johnson county and prominent among 
the early residents in that section, the former of whom is still living at the 
age of eighty-one years. His wife, who was born on February i, 1832, died 
in 1914. 

To Thomas M. and Laura B. (Prichard) Deupree were born seven 
children, six of whom are living, of whom Clarence C. is the second son and 
fourth child. Everett L., a well-known lawyer and financier of Indianapolis, 
being the eldest. In the biographical sketch relating to Thomas M. Deupree, 
presented elsewhere in this volume, separate mention is made of each of 
these children. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Deupree left their home in West- 
port, this county, some years ago, removing to Indianapolis, where they since 
ha\e made their home, living in pleasant retirement in the capital city. 

Clarence C. Deupree was born at Westport, this county, on January 8, 
1888, and there he received his elementary education. At the age of sixteen 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1 1 75 

he went to Edinburg, this state, to secure the advantage of the schools at that 
place and was graduated from the Edinburg high school with the class of 
1906. He then went to Indianapolis and there he followed various pursuits 
until the year 1912, in which year the Marion County State Bank of Indi- 
anapolis was organized. Since May i of that year Mr. Deupree has been 
connected with that sound financial institution. He began as assistant cashier 
and in May, 1914, was elected cashier, which position he now occupies. 

On October 20, 19 10, Clarence C. Deupree was united in marriage to 
Stella Edith Gaston, of Decatur county, Indiana, daughter of J. Minor and 
Lottie (Beesley) Gaston, former prominent residents of this county, fur- 
ther information regarding which family the reader may obtain by referring 
to the biographical sketch relating to J. Minor Gaston, the well-known banker 
of Indianapolis, on another page of this volume. To the union of Clarence 
C. and Stella Edith (Gaston) Deupree one child has been born, a son, Robert 
Gaston, born on January 12, 1914. 

Mr. and Mrs. Deupree are earnest Christian workers, the former being 
a. member of the Christian church of Westport, this county, and the latter a 
member of the First Presbyterian church at Indianapolis. Both are very 
popular in a large circle of acquaintances and are held in the highest esteem 
by their many friends. Mr. Deupree's ability in financial matters is well 
recognized bv bankers in Indianapolis and he is regarded as among the rising 
young financiers of the capital city, where he enjoys in a high degree the con- 
fidence of all men of affairs with whom his important duties bring him in 
contact. 



THOMAS M. DEUPREE. 

Scattered far and wide over this fair country are loyal sons and daugh- 
ters of Decatur county who, for one reason or another, have been lured away 
from this favored section of the state and are making their homes elsewhere. 
The exigencies of business life or the call of the professions have induced 
some of these absent ones to leave this county, seeking fairer fortunes in 
other places ; the desire for a closer family unity has been the impelling motive 
in other cases. Whatever the cause of such departure, however, there is full 
assurance that all former Decatur county people are loyal and true to their 
former place of residence and that their hearts are here, even though other 
scenes and other places claim their personal activities. Among the numer- 
ous families that once had a seat in this county none is better remembered 



I 176 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

or is held in higher esteem hereabout than the Deupree family, the head of 
which, a few years ago moved to Indianapolis, retiring after a life of useful 
acti\ity in this county, to the state capital, where his sons have taken promin- 
ent places in the financial and professional life of that city. The design of 
a work of this character being to hold in remembrance for future generations 
something of the lives and the labors of those men and women who wrought 
well in Decatur county, contributing of their best to the upbuilding of this 
thriving commonwealth, it is fitting that those who, though now living else- 
where, have done their parts toward making this county a better place in 
which to live should have a place in these memoirs. The biographer there- 
fore with pleasure calls the attention of the reader, at this point, to a brief 
and modest re\'iew of the life of Thomas M. Deupree, a former well-known 
and prominent citizen of the town of Westport, this county. 

Thomas M. Deupree was born near the town of Edinburg, Johnson 
county, Indiana, on August 12. 1857, son of William N. and Martha A. 
(Matthis) Deupree, the former of whom was born in Shelby county. Indiana, 
on June 28. 1833, and is now living on a farm near Edinburg, Johnson 
county, at the age of eighty-two years, and the latter of whom was born in 
Johnson county, same state, daughter of Benjamin and Nancy (Hibbs) 
Matthis, natives of Kentucky and early settlers in central Indiana. 

William N. Deupree is a son of Abraham C. and Hannah B. (Carter) 
Deupree, the former of whom was born in Kentucky in the year 181 1. the 
son of Thomas and Martha (Hatchett) Deupree, and who moved to Shelby 
county, Indiana, with his parents in childhood and became one of the most 
prominent and influential pioneer residents of that county, his fine personal ' 
influence undoubtedly having been a strong factor in the development of 
proper social and civic conditions thereabout. After locating his family in 
Shelby county, the elder Thomas Deupree went back to Kentucky to settle 
his affairs there and on returning to Indiana on horseback was drowned in 
the Muscatatuck river. Al^out se^•cn generations back the first of the Deu- 
prees to come to America was Grancie Joseph Deupree, a Huguenot, who 
was driven out of France by religious persecution and his fine estates in that 
country confiscated. He founded in this country a family which now is 
widely scattered, its various representatives in whatever communities they are 
found performing well and honorably those things which their hands find to 
do. The Hatchett family also is of French origin, while the Carters are of 
English origin, the first of the family in this country having been a Quaker 
who came to America with the party that accompanied William Penn to this 
side. On the land entered by his grandfather, near Edinburg, this state. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. i i 77 



re 



William N. Deupree grew to manhood, married and reared his family the 
and has heen a life-long farmer, still making his home on the old homestead, 
at an advanced age of eighty-two, one of the most honored and respected 
residents of that part of the state; a man who possesses a marvelous fund of 
reminiscence regarding early conditions in south central Indiana. In all his 
relations in life William N. Deupree has heen true to his fellowmen and no 
one thereabout is held in higher esteem than he. 

Thomas M. Deupree was reared on the paternal farm near Edinlnirg. in 
Johnson county, attending the local schools and growing up to a full acquaint- 
ance with the life of the farm. He was united in marriage to Laura B. 
Prichard. who was born in the same neighborhood, daughter of John M. and 
Louisa (Robinson) Prichard, both natives of Johnson county and promin- 
ent pioneers of that section. John M. Prichard was born on March i, 1834, 
and is still living. His wife, who was born on February i, 1832, died in 
1914. 

In January, 1885, Thomas M. Deupree left his home in Johnson county 
and came to Decatur county, locating at Westport, where he built the first 
livery stable ever operated in that village. He continued the livery business 
for two years, at the end of which time he engaged in farming. He was not 
long thus engaged, however, for he presently resumed business in Westport, 
opening a harness store, in which business he was engaged quite successfully 
for a period of fourteen years, coming to be one of the most substantial and 
influential citizens of that part of the county. He and Mrs. Deupree took 
an acti\-e part in the religious and social life of the town and were held in the 
very highest regard there. Mr. Deupree was chairman of the building com- 
mittee that built the Christian church at Westport, Indiana.. When, in the 
middle of June, 1913, they moved to Indianapolis, where four of their chil- 
dren are making their homes, there was much regret expressed throughout 
the entire neighborhood, for the\' had J^een good neighbors and good friends 
of all. 

To Thomas M. and Laura B. (Prichard) Deupree seven children have 
been born, namely: Everett L., a well-known Indianapolis lawyer, a liio- 
graphical sketcli oi whom is presented elsewhere in this vdIuuic. married 
Edith A. Wheeler,' daughter of Hillis A. and Elizabeth (Linton) Wheeler; 
Maude married George Burk, of Westport, this county, and has one child, a 
daughter, Lillian ; Jessie married Clarence Baker, a telegraph operator at 
North Vernon, Indiana, and has two children, both sons, Gwynn and Max; 
Clarence C, cashier of the ]\Iarion County State Bank of Indianapolis, a bio- 
graphical sketch of whom is presented elsewhere in this volume, married 



TI78 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Stella Edith Gaston, daughter of J. Minor and Lottie (Beesley) Gaston, of 
this county, and has one child, a son, Robert Gaston; William J., of Indi- 
anapolis, manager of the Seminole hotel, married Leona Pleak, of this county, 
and has one child, a son. Jack ; Bessie married Chester L. Robinson, also 
lives at Indianapolis ; and Jamie, who died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Deupree are members of the North Park Christian church 
at Indianapolis and are active in the good works of that congregation. 
Though having retired from the scenes which once they knew so well in 
this county, they have not forgotten their old friends and the latch string 
of their pleasant home at 3343 Graceland avenue, Indianapolis, ever hangs 
out for their former neighbors in the Westport vicinity. Mr. Deupree is a 
member of the Knights of Pythias, retaining his membership in Westport 
Lodge No. 317, of which he is one of the charter members, the lodge having 
been constituted in 1891. Though practically retired from business cares, 
Mr. Deupree retains an active interest in general affairs and is ever an earnest 
•exponent of the principles of good government. 



RICHARD A. WILLIAMS. 

In a work of the character contemplated in the publication of this his- 
tory of Decatur county it would be highly improper to omit fitting reference 
to the numerous band of faithful sons and daughters of Decatur county 
who have gone out into other fields of actitvity seeking their fortunes away 
from the scenes of their youth. Naturally enough a large number of these 
errant children of old Decatur have gravitated to the state capital, carrying 
with them the sterling principles of manhood and womanhood inculcated in 
their early schooling, and have entered into the larger life of the city in 
such a way as to reflect great credit upon their youthful admonitions. Among 
this considerable number of former residents of Decatur county now living 
at Indianapolis few are better known in the latter city or are more kindly 
remembered in this county than is the gentleman whose name the reader 
notes above. 

Richard A. ^\'illiams, an honored product of the Greensburg schools, who 
is now a prominent figure in the musical and cultured life of the state 
capital, was born at Richmond, Indiana, on February 24, 1870, the son of 
Edgar S. and Druet (Worthin) ^\''illiams, the former of whom also was 
born in Richmond. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1179 

Edgar S. Williams received his education in Richmond, the city of his 
birth, and upon reaching manhood's estate entered into the general mer- 
chandise business; later he moved to this county, locating at Greensburg, 
where he engaged in the same form of business. He married Druet Worthin, 
who was born in Greensburg. Druet Worthin received her elementary edu- 
cation in the Greensburg schools, supplementing the same by a course in the 
Western Female Seminary at Oxford, Ohio, from which admirable old 
institution she was graduated. 

Richard A. Williams was educated in the schools of Greensburg and 
was graduated from the high school in that city. He then entered upon a 
three-3'ears' course at Purdue University, and in 1893 entered into partner- 
ship with James DeArmond in the piano business in Greensburg, a business 
connection which continued with much success for a period of ten years. 
This long connection with the piano business gave him an acquaintance with 
the same which caused his services to be sought elsewhere and in 1903 he 
went to Indianapolis, where he ever since has been connected with the sales 
force of the Starr Piano Company, at present occupying the important 
position of city sales manager for that company. 

Mr. Williams, though living at Indianapolis, is still devoted tn the 
interests of his old home in this county. He retains his membership in the 
Presbyterian church at Greensburg and in the Odd Fellows lodge in the 
same city, being much interested in the affairs of both. Mr. Williams not 
only is a skilled pianist, but is well known in Indianapolis as one of the most 
earnest promoters of the musical interest of the city, and there are few 
large musical functions there that are not in some way helpfully influenced 
by his intelligent and skillful direction. 



STRAUTHER VAN PLEAK. 

The debt which the present generation owes to those hard\- pioneers 
who opened up this fax'ored section and made it a fit habitation and place of 
abode, of course, never can be paid. Indeed, it is difficult even to estimate 
the value of the extraordinary service which those early settlers rendered; 
an ungrudging, unselfish and faithful service rendered in the sweat of their 
faces — often, indeed, in their very life's blood. Though impossible ever to 
reward that service, the present generation at least may ofi'er some slight 
requital, some fitting trii)ute, by preserxing the utmost deviation tu the mem- 



Il8o DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

ories of those who "blazed the ways." "Rely upon it," said William E. 
Gladstone, "that the man who does not worthily estimate his own dead fore- 
fathers will himself do very little to add credit to or do honor to his coun- 
try." Among the pioneer families of Decatur county there is one which 
dates back to the very beginning of a social order hereabout, a family to 
which unstinted credit is due and to which the biographer takes pleasure in 
here calling to the attention of the reader. 

The Pleak family in Decatur county had its origin in this country 
through Johann Pleak, a Hollander who emigrated to America in the mid- 
dle of the eighteenth century and settled in Kentucky in the neighborhood of 
Castletons Fort, now I\It. Sterling, where he married 'a Aliss Wade, a sister 
of General W^ade, of Re\-olutionary fame, to which union was born Fielden 
Blickenstorfer. In 1818 Fielden married Sabina \'irt, who was born in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of Dutch descent, who was six months old when 
her parents emigrated to Bryants Station, in Kentucky, and was a member 
of that station at the time of her marriage. Following this marriage Fielden 
Pleak and his bride moved across the Ohio river and settled at Crossplains, 
in Jefferson county, this state. They remained there, however, but a short 
time, on March 11, 1822, coming to this county, where they entered a farm 
in Washington ti^wnship, which farm still is in the possession of the Pleak 
family. 

Johann Pleak, whose mother was a Blickenstorfer, was born in Holland 
on April 15, 1726. In the year 1750 Johann, with two brothers and a sis- 
ter, emigrated to America, landing at Jamestown. Joseph, one of the broth- 
ers, went to North Carolina and never was heard of again. The sister mar- 
ried a Pennsylvanian of the name of Throgmorton and reared a consider- 
able family. Johann presently pushed along into the wilds of the W^est and 
settled in Kentucky, where he bought a piece of land. His abilities as a 
scout frequently brought him into scouting service and he became one of 
the Iiest-known of the pioneers of the region about Castletons Fort. One 
day while scouting for a party of salt makers, he followed an Indian trail 
to a salt "Hck," discovering encamped about the "lick" a band of Indians. 
These aboriginals maintained a loose guard and were lolling about the camp 
in lazy comfort. Johann was alone, and of course hardly could expect to be 
a match for the entire camp, but he then and there demonstrated the white 
man's superiority over the red man. Pulling off his high-top Dutch hat, he 
yelled in his native tongue : "What ye doin' here, ye lazy rascals !" which so 
affrighted the Indians that they broke camp instanter and ran pellmell, dis- 
appearing in the depths of the forest fastness, leaving their war accoutre- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I181 

ments behind. These Johann very carefully gathered up, and taking them 
back to the fort sold them, the money realized from the sale of this booty 
being applied to the purchase of the bit of land' above referred to. It was 
shortly after this incident that his marriage to Miss Wade, a sister of Gen- 
eral Wade, took place. To this union there were born three sons and three 
daughters. One of these sons was slain by the Indians. The other two 
were Dawson and Fielden. 

Fielden Pleak married Sabina Virt and in 1822 came to this county, as 
set out above, locating on a tract of eighty acres in what is now Washing- 
ton township, which original tract still is in the possession of the Pleak 
family. The first shelter which he set up in this forest wilderness for his 
wife and babies was a brush lean-to, covered with branches of trees and 
blankets, which served as a home until a log cabin presently was erected. 
Not long after making good his location here, Fielden returned to Kentucky 
for the purpose of bringing his furniture to the new home. The trip was 
long and arduous. When he finally rejoined his family he found that dur- 
ing his absence his wife had sawed the logs and had erected the first four 
courses of a log cabin. This structure speedily was completed and in this 
log cabin a large family was reared. Fielden Blickenstorfer Pleak was born 
■on December 24, 1792, and died on December 29, 1835, his widow surviving 
until December 24, 1875. They were married on June 9, 1814, and to this 
union there were born thirteen children, namely : Louisa, who married 
Charles Miller; Llewellyn, Joseph Dawson, John Isaac, George G. W. B., 
Catherine, Joseph D., Eletvan, America, Susannah, Norcus Baron Steuben, 
Isaac Henry Fielden and Louis, the latter of whom was the father of the 
immediate subject of this sketch. 

Louis Pleak was born on June 27, 1832, and spent his entire life on the 
old homestead, to which he added adjoining tracts until he had a farm of 
four hundred acres. He married Elizabeth Woolverton, who was born on 
February 17. 1853. and erected a large brick house across the road from the 
old parental home, in which both he and his wife spent the remainder of 
their days, his death occurring on December 24, 1875, her death occurring 
on July 4, 1 87 1. Mr. and Mrs. Pleak were members of the Christian church 
and were persons of large influence in their community, being among the 
leaders in that part of the county. Mr. Pleak was a Republican and e\-er 
took a good citizen's part in the political afl:'airs of the county, his excellent 
judgment often proving of value in the deliberations of the party managers. 
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and took a deep interest in the 
afi'airs of that historic order. 



Il82 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

To Louis and Elizabeth (Woolverton ) Pleak were born seven children, 
as follow : Walter B., born on March 2 7,. 1854, is now residing on a part 
of the old homestead farm; Strauther Van, the immediate subject of this 
sketch; Dawson Steuben, October 14, 1857, now lives in Oakland, Iowa; 
John Charles, September 8, 1859, now living at Red Oak, Iowa; George W., 
Septemljer 14, 1861, died on November 29, 1862; Louisa, November 23, 
1863, married Elmer Upjohn, and lives at Lebanon, Indiana; and 3ilisse- 
line, April 15, 1867, who lives at Greeley, Colorado. 

Strauther Van Pleak was born on the old Pleak homestead in Wash- 
ington township, Decatur county, Indiana, September 7, 1856, and lived 
there until the year 1892, in which year he retired from the farm and 
moved into the city of Greensburg, where he has a very pleasant and com- 
fortable home at 525 Broadway. He received his youthful education in 
"Beech-foot Hall" school, which then stood on a corner of the Pleak farm, 
and early in life entered upon the responsible duties of a farmer's life. He 
succeeded his father on the home place, where he remained until his retire- 
ment from the farm, as noted above. He has been quite successful in his 
farming operations and owns, in addition to his farm of two hundred and 
seventeen acres in Washington township, in this county, a farm of two hun- 
dred and twenty acres in Jasper county, Indiana, giving close personal 
direction to the management of these farms from his home in Greensburg. 

On October 19, 1880, Strauther Van Pleak was united in marriage to 
Anna M. Meek, daughter of John and Sarah Jane (Montgomery) Meek, of 
a prominent family of this county. For genealogies of the Meek and the 
Montgomery families the reader is referred to sketches relating to those 
two well-known families presented elsewhere in this volume. To the union 
of Strauther Van Pleak and Anna M. Meek one child was born, a daughter, 
Floy, who married Harry Butterton, of Tucson, Arizona, to which union 
there has been born one son, Van Pleak, now about three years of age. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pleak are members of the Presbyterian church of 
Greensburg, in the various good works of which they are actively interested. 
Mr. Pleak is a Republican and though taking a proper interest in political 
affairs, never has been included in the oilfice-seeking class, preferring to 
devote his time and attention to his extensive personal affairs rather than 
to the public service. He is an active and public-spirited citizen, however, 
and does his part in promoting all movements having as their object the 
advancement of the common weal. He is a member of the Elks lodge at 
Greensburg and takes his part in the general affairs of that order. He and 
Mrs. Pleak are held in the highest regard in their large circle of acquaint- 
ances and are popular with all. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I183. 

LUTHER D. HAAIILTON. 

In the biography relating to the venerable Chester Hamilton, of Fugit 
township, this connty, presented elsewhere in this volume, there is a compre- 
hensive presentation of the genealog}' of the well-known Hamilton family 
of this county. It, therefore, will be unnecessary, in presenting the biog- 
raphy of the gentleman v^'hose name is noted above, to enter largely into 
the history of that interesting family before its active entrance into afifairs 
of this county. The reader is respectfully referred to the genealogy above 
mentioned for details regarding the lineage of the subject of this sketch, 
one of the best-known and most prosperous farmers of Decatur county, 
who is living in the fine home which his father built in 1865 and where he 
has made his home for the past fifty years, on the south edge of the town of 
Clarksburg. The large brick residence which is the seat of the hcjnie farm 
sets well back in a fine grove and is one of the most comfortable and 
attractive homes in the county, the center of much genial hospitality. 

Luther D. Hamilton was born on the old home farm, where he still 
lives, on March 9, i860, the son of William M. and Euphemia (Donnell) 
Hamilton, both members of old and prominent families in this county, the 
former of whom was born on November 26, 1822, and died on February 25, 
1905. and the latter of whom died on December 6, 1896. 

William M. Hamilton was the son of Cyrus and Mary (McCoy) Ham- 
ilton, natives of Kentucky, the former of whom was the son of Robert, 
who was the son of Col. William Hamilton, who served in the War of 
1812. \^^illiam M. Hamilton was reared on the paternal farm in the Kings- 
ton neighborhood, in this county, and on January 27, 1854, married Euphe- 
mia Donnell, moving immediately thereafter onto the farm on which his 
son. Luther D., now lives. At that time there was an old pioneer dwelling 
house on this farm, which a few years later was supplanted by the fine large 
brick residence which Mr. Hamilton erected and which, with remodeling to 
suit modern conditions, still does fine service as a place of abode. Mrs. 
Hamilton inherited about six hundred acres of land from her father and 
gradually this was increased by Mr. Hamilton until he became possessed of 
about three thousand acres. One of Mr. Hamilton's specialties was the 
buying of timber tracts, clearing the same for the valuable timber thereon. 
He also was an extensi\e breeder of mules, large numbers of which he 
raised for the market and also dealt extensively in cattle and hogs. In 
creating a market for his mules he made several trips to Iowa, before the 
days of the railway, and on one occasion swam the Wabash river, a large 



I 184 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

herd of mules swimming along behind him, following an old gray lead mare. 
William M. Hamilton was one of the most substantial citizens in Decatur 
county. He was an earnest Republican and took an active part in the 
political affairs of the county. He was a fiery Abolitionist and was prom- 
inently connected with the affairs of the "underground railroad," by which 
agency many slaves found their way to freedom in ante-bellum days. His 
home was on the line of this historic "railroad" and many runaway slaves 
found welcome shelter there on their way to Canada. On one occasion an 
irate slave-owner obtained a judgment for three thousand dollars against 
Mr. Hamilton for the latter's participation in the escape of a slave and Mr. 
Hamilton's father-in-law and willing friends gladly paid the judgment. 
Mrs. Hamilton was as ardent a friend of the fugitive slaves as was her 
husband, and many a harried black man and woman had cause for gratitude 
by reason of her sympathetic interest in their efforts to secure freedom. 
Mrs. Euphemia Hamilton was the daughter of Luther A. Donnell, one of the 
wealthiest landowners of his day in this county. He was the son of 
Thomas Donnell, the son of Samuel Donnell, the founder of the family in 
Decatur county. The reader is referred to a biographical sketch of the 
Donnells, presented elsewhere in this volume, for further information relat- 
ing to this interesting family and the important part it played in the early 
history of Decatur county. 

To William M. and Euphemia (Donnell) Hamilton were born five 
children, namely: Enrie Jane, born on November 8, 1854, who, on Septem- 
ber II, 1883, married Edwin S. Fee, and resides in the town of Clarksburg, 
in this county: Grace Greenwood, November 20, 1859. died on January 16, 
1S98: Luther D., the immediate subject of this biographical sketch; Myrta 
Gay, February 18, 1865, married John M. Berry on December 26, 1893, and 
died in Chicago on March 19, 1897; and Mary Blanch, March 9, 1863, who, 
in 1900. married George Lyons and lives at Greensburg. 

Luther D. Hamilton received his elementary education in the schools 
at Clarksburg, supplementing the same with a course at Oberlin College, 
Oberlin, Ohio, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1884. 
Following his graduation Mr. Hamilton entered upon the serious business 
of farming, taking up his location on the old home farm, where 
he e\er since has resided and Avhere he has prospered largely. Mr. Hamil- 
ton's farm of twelve hundred acres is the largest estate in Decatur county 
under one management. He operates the great farm as a Avhole and all 
grain that is raised is fed on the farm, Mr. Hamilton finding it much more 
profitable to put his grain into cattle and hogs than to sell it.' He feeds and 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I185 

sells more than one hundred head of cattle and two carloads of mules 
annually, besides large numbers of hogs. Included in this fine estate is the 
land which was pre-empted jjy William Fugit, after whom the township 
received its name. 

On February 22, 1899, Luther D. Hamilton was united in marriage 
to Carrie Emmert, who was born at Greensburg, this county, on October 18, 
1862, the daughter of Jacob Emmert, a well-known retired miller and farmei, 
who moved from Greensburg to Clarksburg, this county, in October, 1868. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are active working members of the Presbyterian 
church at Clarksburg and for many years have been persons of large 
influence in that part of the county, ever displaying their interest in all 
mo\ements looking to the advancement of better conditions thereabout. 
Mr. Hamilton is a Republican and has taken a prominent part in local politi- 
cal affairs, his sound judgment and wide experience giving to his counsels 
much weight. He has served on the township advisory board and in every 
relation of life has proved his worth as a good citizen, he and his wife being 
held in the highest esteem throughout the whole countryside. 



JOHN T. MEEK. 



The Meek family was established in Decatur county, Indiana, bv Josiah 
Meek, who came with his family from Kentucky to this state about 1827 
and who shortly after coming to Decatur county purchased land in Fugit 
township, and became one of the enterprising and successful citizens of the 
county. He and his wife, Jemima Meek, had the misfortune shortly after 
coming to Decatur county to lose four members of the family from fever, 
due, perhaps, to the unhealthful condition brought about by the vast swamps 
common in this county during the first half of the last centurry. For nearly 
a hundred years the Meek family have been prominent in Decatur county, 
not only as large landowners and enterprising farmers, but as highly honored 
and respected citizens of this great county, each successive generation having 
contributed its full share to the material growth and civic development of 
the community. Few families ha\e had a larger part in the agricultural 
development of Decatur county than the Meek family, and few families 
have furnished better citizens to this political subdivision of the great Hoos- 
ier state. 

John T. Meek, a well-known capitalist of Greensburg, Indiana, was 

(75) 



Il86 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

born February 13, 1848, in Clinton township, on a farm, and who is the 
son of John and Sarah Jane (Montgomery) Meek, is a representative of 
the third generation in Decatur county, Indiana. John Meek, a nati\e of 
Kentucky, who was born in 1826, and who passed away in 1909, at the 
age of eighty-two years, came to Decatur county, Indiana, with his father, 
Josiah Meek, about 1827. After having been educated in the rural schools 
of Decatur county, where he had no better advantages than the average 
youth of his day and generation, and after growing to maturity on his 
father's farm, he was married to Sarah Jane Montgomery, a native of 
Decatur county, who was born in 1827, and who passed away in 1892. 
To them were born ten children, one of whom, the youngest, Lola Frances, 
is now deceased. The children, in the order of their birth, are as follow: 
Robert S., who lives in Greensburg; Margaret, who married J. B. Robison, 
lives in Greensburg; John T. is the subject of this review; Martha Louise 
married Capt. John A. Meek, of Kansas; Adam is living retired in Greens- 
burg; Jethro C. also lives in Greensburg; Mary is the wife of J. C. Brown, 
of Rushville; Theresa Lavinia is the widow of Robert Innis, deceased; Mrs. 
Anna Pleak lives in Greensburg. 

John T. Meek has been one of the most successful farmers in the 
history of Decatur county. Educated in the district schools of the county, 
he began farming for himself at the age of twenty-three years. Two years 
later, at the age of twenty-five, and after his marriage, he moved to a farm 
of eighty acres located in Clinton township, and five years later, in 1878, 
removed to Rush county, Indiana, where he purchased a farm of three hun- 
dred and twenty acres. The Rush county farm, however, was not purchased 
until after the disposal of the farm in Decatur county. Later, during his 
thirty years" residence in Rush county, he purchased altogether twelve hun- 
dred acres of land in Anderson township, acquiring a considerable portion 
of the land during the agricultural, commercial and industrial panic of the 
second Cleveland administration, when it was possible to buy land at thirty- 
five dollars an acre which now sells for four and five times that amount. 
In 1908, Mr. Meek, after having resided in Rush county, Indiana, for thirty 
years, moved back to a farm in Fugit township. Decatur county, and in 
19 ID he moved to Greensburg. Altogether he owned some two thousand 
acres of land in Indiana, a plantation in Louisiana in partnership with 
John E. Osborn, consisting of five thousand acres, and located across the 
river from Natchez, Mississippi, and four hundred and eighty acres indi- 
viduallv near Tallulah, Louisiana. ^lessrs. Meek and Osborn took charge 
of the Louisiana plantation, which is located in Concordia Parish, in 191 1. 
They owm a large saw-mill and are well equipped for lumbering. Also they 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II87 

have extensive holdings in hve stock, and one of their principal revenues 
from this plantation is the sale of stock raised on the farm. Moreover, 
Mr. Meek is a part owner in a cooperage company at Helena, Arkansas, and 
another cooperage company at McGehee, Arkansas. Both of these concerns 
are in a most prosperous condition, due to the natural ad\antages for 
acquiring timber and to the able and skillful management of the owners 
and proprietors. In addition to his many other interests, Mr. Meek also 
owns a fine residence property in Indianapolis. This property is a part of 
the present Horton addition to the city of Indianapolis. 

In 1873, when John T. Meek was twenty-five years old, he was married 
to Florence E. Bonner, of Fugit township, the daughter of James Bonner, 
a representative of one of the oldest families in this section of Indiana. 
Mrs. Meek, who was born in 1854, has been the mother of four children, 
Mrs. Lura Helen McCoy, of Washington township; Mrs. Mildred Davis, of 
Rush county; Elbert E., a well-known farmer of Fugit township, and Flora 
E., who lives at home. 

John T. Meek is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. ]\Ieek and the family are 
leading members of the Presbyterian church of Greensburg, and are among 
the largest contributors to the support of this church. 

Although it may be said quite truthfully that John T. Meek has enjoyed 
exceptional advantages and was given a good start in life, nevertheless he 
has done what a comparatively large percentage of the sons of the "second 
generation" failed to do. He has used the opportunities which fell in his 
way, and has greatly increased the property which came to him by gift or 
inheritance. Moreover, he has lived the life of a good citizen of this state. 
He is charitable to a fault, generous with the poor, broad-minded and liberal 
in all his views — a man eminently worthy to bear the name of the distin- 
guished family to which he belongs. 



CHARLES McHARGH NESBITT. 

Nati\-e sons of Decatur county are found in responsible positions of 
trust and authority in many of the chief cities of the country. One almost 
is inclined to express the belief that there is something in the atmosphere 
hereabout that has a tendency to make men and women of fine caliber, 
dependable in all the relations of life; firm characters, self-reliant and enter- 
prising. The attention of the reader is here called to a brief biography of 
one of these Decatur cnunl}- men whose special talents were so well used 



Il88 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

that he was caHed upon to go higher. Beginning his telephone service in 
the town of Greensburg in 1898, Charles M. Nesbitt has mastered the details 
of telephone management so thoroughly that now he occupies one of the 
most responsible positions in the gift of the telephone service in the middle 
states, being general superintendent of the department of commercial tele- 
phones of the Central Union Telephone Company for the state of Indiana. 

Charles McHargh Nesbitt was born in the city of Greensburg. Decatur 
county, Indiana, on April 20, 1877, the son of John James and Mary 
(McHargh) Nesbitt, the former of whom was the son of John and Martha 
Nesbitt, early settlers of this count}', who came here during the early youth 
of John James Nesbitt, locating on a farm near Spring Hill. On this farm 
John James Nesbitt grew to manhood, acquiring a wide acquaintance 
throughout the county. He entered the horse business in Greensburg, becom- 
ing a large buyer and shipper of horses, continuing in this business all the 
rest of his life, his death occurring in December, 191 1. 

John James Nesbitt's name is inscribed on the great monument erected 
to the memory of Wilder's Brigade at Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the fol- 
lowing highly laudatory terms: "John J. Nesbitt, one of the bra\est men 
in Wilder's Brigade." And the honor of being thus held up to the admira- 
tion of the ages is well deserved. John J. Nesbitt served through the Civil 
War as a member of Wilder's famous brigade, being attached to General 
\Mlder's staff. At one time, Isy an act of special bravery, he saved the 
brigade from probably annihilation by riding through the line of the oppos- 
ing army to carry essential dispatches to his general, and to perpetuate the 
memory of this heroic deed his name was given a special place on the impos- 
ing battle monument. 

John J. Nesbitt was united in marriage to Mary McHargh, who was 
born in Decatur county, the daughter of Peter ]\IcHargh. Peter McHargh 
was a native of Scotland, who emigrated to America in his youth and after 
prospecting a bit over the country located in this county, where he became 
a man of large influence. He was a prosperous farmer and was one of the 
first county officers in the countv, performing excellent service therein. He 
was an ardent Republican and took a leading part in the political afifairs of 
the county, his name being deeply impressed upon the political history of this 
section. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nesbitt were memliers of the Presbyterian church and 
for many years were active in all good works in and about Greensburg, 
where they were held in the highest regard by all. Mr. Nesbitt was for 
years one of the leaders in the Republican party in this county, his counsels 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. II89 

recei\ing the utmost consideration from the party managers. He was not 
of the office-seeking class, however, preferring to devote his chief attention 
to his- business affairs. He was one of the most prominent meml)ers of the 
Greensburg post of the Grand Army of the Repubhc and ever displayed the 
deepest interest in the affairs of that patriotic organization. He was a 
member of the Masonic fraternity and had attained to the chapter degree 
in that order. His death, in 1911, was sincerely mourned, for he was a good 
man and his influence ever had been directed in behalf of the best interests 
of the community in which nearly the whole of his long life had been 
spent. 

Charles M. Nesbitt received his elementary education in the schools 
of Greensburg and was graduated from the high school there. He supple- 
mented this course of instruction by a course in the Alexander Hamilton 
Institute and in the International Correspondence School, later serving as 
deputy postmaster in the postoffice at Greensburg until 1898, in which year 
he was made manager of the plant of the Central Union Telephone Com- 
pany at Greensburg, later being transferred to the general offices of the 
company at Indianapolis, in which he served in several capacities until his 
promotion to the important position of superintendent of the commercial 
telephone service for the entire state of Indiana, a position which he still 
occupies. 

On October 20. 1911, Charles M. Nesbitt was united in marriage to 
Beulah Merriken, who was born in Alexandria, Indiana, daughter of Will- 
iam S. and ]\Iary Merriken, the former of whom is a well-known real-estate 
dealer at Alexandria. To this union one child has been born, a daughter, 
Mary Elizabeth, who was born on February 5, 1915. 

Mr. Nesbitt is a Republican and during his residence in Greensburg 
was an active worker in the ranks of that party, retaining his interest in 
political aft'airs after moving to Indianapolis to the extent of his ability and 
the limited time he has for the exercise of such activities. He is a member 
of the Masonic fraternity, of the Elks and the Knights of Pythias, his 
memijership in these fraternities at Greensburg having been retained ; and 
is a member of the Columliia Club at Indianapolis, the leading Republican 
club of the state of Indiana. Mr. Nesbitt retains the heartiest interest in 
Decatur county affairs and is ever sure of a hearty welcome upon his return 
to this county. He still retains a one-third interest in the extensive mule- 
sale stable at Greensburg which was founded and so successfully conducted 
bv his father, beside owning other property in that city and property at 
Indianapolis. His activity and energy have made him a leader in the field 



IigO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

of endeavor in which his later years has been occupied and he has the entire 
confidence and respect of the heads of the company with which he so long 
has been connected. 



GEORGE A. WEADON. 



In a biographical sketch relating to his honored father, the late Frank 
M. Weadon, presented elsewhere in this volume, the genealog}' of the gentle- 
man whose name the reader notes as the caption of this sketch is set out at 
some length; revealing there that he is a scion of the union of two of the 
most prominent families in the history of Decatur county, the Weadons 
and the Jamisons, his father having been a former county auditor of Decatur 
county and for years deputy postmaster at Greensburg; later revenue collec- 
tor for this district, under appointment by Abraham Lincoln, and later and 
for many years prominently connected- with the offices of the Big Four 
Railroad Company, in the division headquarters of that company at Indian- 
apolis, in which city his death occurred on December 21, 1914. His widow, 
who is the daughter of Francis Jamison, for many years a prominent mer- 
chant of Greensburg, this county, whose father, Martin Jamison, a native 
of Scotland, was the leading merchant of Greensburg in the pioneer days 
of that city, still is living in Indianapolis, the object of the most affectionate 
regard of many devoted friends, who take pleasure in honoring her beautiful 
old age. 

George A. Weadon was born in Greensburg, Indiana, on December 25, 
1863, the son of Frank AI. and Mary Jane (Jamison) Weadon, of pleasant 
memory in this county, and received his education in the Greensburg schools, 
being a graduate of the high school in that city. He enjo3'ed an excellent 
preliminary training in the dry-goods line in his grandfather's old-established 
store at Greensburg, devoting his attention particularly to the millinery 
department of the same, and in 1885, went to Indianapolis, forming a busi- 
ness connection with the old firm of Griffiths Brothers, wholesale millinery, 
in that city. This connection continued until 1891, in which year he trans- 
ferred his ser\'ices to the firm of Fahnley & McCrea, well-known in the 
millinery trade throughout the middle states as wholesale, milliners and 
dealers in millinery supplies. Beginning practically at the bottom of this 
line of business, Mr. Weadon, by close application and the proper exercise 
of a native talent for that business, has risen to the top and is now and for 
some years past has been a member of this well-established old firm, occupy- 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. _ I igi 

ing a most substantial position in the commercial life of the state's cajjital 
city. 

George A. Weadon was united in marriage to Jennie A. Nicholson, of 
Indianapolis, and to this union one child has been born, a daughter, who is 
now a student at Fairmount Seminary, at Washington, D. C. 

Mr. and Mrs. Weadon are members of the Methodist church and are 
active in good works in the capital city. Mr. Weadon is a meml:)er of the 
Masonic fraternity, being connected with Oriental lodge at Indianapolis, 
and is warmly interested in the affairs of that order. For years he has been 
one of the most active workers in the state organization of traveling sales- 
men and is now the vice-president of that popular association. He is a 
Republican and takes a good citizen's part in the political life of the city and 
state, his sound judgment and close acquaintance with business conditions 
giving much weight to his political opinions. He is one of the really suc- 
cessful of the younger business men of Indianapolis and enjoys the firm 
confidence and respect of business circles in that city. He has a very exten- 
sive acquaintance in the millinery trade throughout this section of states 
and no one in that line is more popular than he. 



FRANCIS GATES KETCHUM. 

Among the prominent younger attorneys of Greensburg, Indiana, is 
Francis Gates Ketchum, who was born on January 30, 1888, on a farm 
four miles south of Greensburg, Decatur county, the son of the Rev. \\'illiam 
E. and Sarah (Meredith) Ketchum. 

The Rev. William E. Ketchum, the son of William Stanley Ketchum, 
a veteran of the Civil War, who migrated to Decatur county at the close 
of this war, is the president of the Holiness Christian denomination, and is 
a traveling evangelist, although he owns a farm of ninety-eight acres in 
Decatur county. His wife, who, before her marriage, was Sarah Meredith, 
is a native of Decatur county, Indiana, and has been the mother of five 
children. Francis Gates is the eldest. The others are Laura Rebecca, Ina 
May, Isom Stanley and Carrie Anderson. 

Reared on the old \Villiam Anderson Robbins farm, in Decatur county, 
Indiana, and educated in the public schools of Decatur county, and in the 
Greensburg high school, Francis Gates Ketchum read law during odd times 
and in law offices in Greensburg, and was admitted to the practice in 



1 



I 192 ^ DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

March, 1909. Although he is still a comparatively young man and has 
been engaged in the practice of his profession but a few years, he has won 
many friends in Greensburg, and promises in time to become one of the 
leading attorneys of Decatur county. He is a young man of engaging 
personality, though modest and unassuming in his manners, and one who 
for his years is well versed in the profession in which he is engaged. With 
his capacity for profound and thorough studentship, and for making and 
maintaining cordial relations with the people with whom he comes in contact, 
it would appear that Francis Gates Ketchum has a bright future. 

Mr. Ketchum is a member of the Democratic party and in time is 
expected to take his place among the leaders of the party in this county. 
Mr. Ketchum is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is identi- 
fied with the Loyal Order of Moose. 



OLIVER F. WELCH, M. D. 

A prominent Hoosier writer and historian has said : "There is but one 
end in life that is worth while, and that is to conquer adversity, pain, envy, 
regrets, and the varied obstacles that are put in our path and to develop our 
fortitude, our courage, and our brains." This seems especially true in the 
life of the physician, particularly when he has become distinguished in his 
profession through his own efforts. The sons of farmers in the early days 
of Indiana had not the educational facilities that they enjoy in this genera- 
tion, and this, apart from any financial considerations, for there seemed to 
be a \ery widespread sentiment then to the effect that the sons of farmers 
should work on the farm as soon as they had finished the meager course 
offered in the country schools. This sentiment became one of the oljstacles 
which every ambitious youth had to meet and, therefore, should all credit 
and praise be given to the man who. through his own unaided exertions, 
came to be one of the( ablest and most popular men of his profession in the 
vicinity in which he lives. This may l)e said truly of Dr. Oliver F. Welch, 
a well-known physician of Westport. 

Oliver F. Welch was born on September 25, 1871, in Jay, Switzerland 
county, Indiana. He is the son of Thomas S. and Lucinda (Jackson) 
W'elch, both natives of this county. The former, born in 1853, was the son 
of Benjamin Welch, a native of Virginia, who came with his father, Metel- 
lus, at an early date from Virginia to the Hoosier state. Lucinda Jackson 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. IIQ3 

was the daughter of John A. and Ehzabeth Jackson, of Cross Plains, 
Indiana, who formerly Ii\ed in Kentucky. Going back another generation, 
we find that John A. Jackson was the son of Will Jackson, also of Cross 
Plains, and a native of Kentucky. The latter died in 1877, at the age of 
seventy-six. With others, he had migrated with his family from his native 
Southern state in the days when there were no railroads, and when every 
foot of land had to be cleared before it could be plowed and cultivated. 
Perhaps it was from this sturdy pioneer character that the subject of the 
present sketch inherited the qualities which have enabled him to conquer 
obstacles and rise to the head of his profession. 

The father of Oliver F. Welch moved to Ripley county, Indiana, in 
1881, and from the first became a well-liked and successful farmer. There 
were born to Thomas Welch and his v;ife four sons, two of whom are 
members of the medical profession: Dr. Oliver F. is the oldest son; Dr. 
J. A. Welch, of Letts, who was born in 1874; William Benjamin, 1878, and 
residing near Versailles; and Albert W., 1881, who is a farmer and engaged 
in the poultry business. 

While the education of Oliver F. Welch began in the country schools, 
it was not completed until he had studied in other states than the one in 
which his home was located, and so great was his ambition to excel in the 
medical world that he pursued his studies e\'en after his marriage. His first 
schooling was at New Marion, and the Normal, after the courses ofifered in 
these schools were finished, he taught during four terms of the Ripley 
county schools. Determining upon the career of a physician, he began the 
study of medicine in 1895 in the Illinois Medical College at Chicago, grad- 
uating in 1897. He then entered the Hospital College of Medicine at Louis- 
ville, and after his marriage, located in Westport. In 1899 and 1904 he 
took post-graduate courses in the Chicago Polyclinic, and four years later 
Avent to New York, where he became a post-graduate student. Doctor 
Welch is remembered as an earnest, conscientious student, thorough and 
jjainstaking in his work, and scientific in his mental processes. 

Oliver F. Welch was married to Mary E. Robertson on Jul\- 4, 1897. 
His bride was the daughter of John A. and Margaret (Merrell) Robertson, 
of Ripley county, but formerly of Jefferson and Jennings counties, respect- 
ively. John Robertson died in 1906, having attained the age of eighty- 
one years. 

There were born to Mr. and ]\Irs. \\'elch three children: Gladys M., 
born in ^lay. 1899. now in her second year of high school; Bertie, Septem- 
ber 20, 1903, and Scoville Frank, June 29, 1907. 



I 194 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

The place occupied by Doctor Welch among the members of his chosen- 
profession may be evidenced by the fact that he is a prominent member of 
the American ^Medical Association and takes an active part in their delibera- 
tions. 

Doctor Welch's tastes and interests are varied, and while he has concen- 
trated his time and thought and strength upon the exacting demands of his 
profession, he has found time to ally himself with the organizations which 
broaden the mental horizon as well as the moral nature, and which contribute 
something to the sum total of human betterment. He is a member of the 
Knights of Pythias and an elder in the Christian church of Westport. 

As a young man Doctor Welch was imbued with the qualities that made 
it impossible for him to be satisfied with anything but success of a high 
order, no matter in what field of human activity his choice or fate might 
lead him. So great are the demands upon the physician of modern time 
that success for him means strength of character, resoluteness of purpose, 
mental acumen, and, withal, a sympathy that is human, and, therefore, gen- 
uine. Doctor Welch has been fortunate in the possession of all of these 
essentials, and he is now a representative man in the medical profession of 
this state. 



JOHN HENRY DENISTON. 

John Henry Deniston, a leading farmer and stockman of Jackson 
township, Decatur county, Indiana, on his paternal side, is descended from 
sturdy Scottish ancestry and in his long career as a resident of this town- 
ship has exhiliited many of the worthy traits which characterize the Scotch 
people. His large capacity for business he, no doubt, has inherited from 
men who were famous centuries ago for their warlike dispositions, but who 
in recent years both in this country and abroad, have become great masters 
of industrial enterprise. His father, a prominent citizen of this country 
at the time of his death, was a successful farmer after coming to this 
county from Butler county, Ohio. 

John Henry Deniston was born on May 3, 1862, in Butler county, 
Ohio, near Scipio, the son of John Franklin and Mary Ellen (DeArmond) 
Deniston, the former of whom was born on September 4, 1833, and died 
on January 22, 1889, antl the latter of whom was born on January 26, 
1842, and died on February 11, 1867. John F. Deniston was the son of 
John Deniston, a native of Scotland, who came to America with his parents 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



I 195 



and settled first in iM-anklin county, Indiana, where he was a tanner and 
shoemaker. After he moved to Butler county, Ohio, he operated a tannery 
and made shoes and boots at that place. In 1866 John Franklin Deniston 
came to Decatur county and located at Sardinia, followed closely by his 
brother, William H. They farmed in partnership and operated two hun- 
dred acres of land until 1879, when John Henry Deniston purchased the 
land. Mary Ellen (DeArmond) Deniston was a native of Butler county, 
Ohio, and the daughter of James DeArmond, who, after living in Decatur 
county for a few years, returned to Butler county, where he died. 

John Franklin and Mary Ellen Deniston had two children, John Flenry, 
the subject of this sketch, and James William, who resides with his lirother. 
John F. Deniston was an ardent and loyal Democrat, a member of the Uni- 
versalist church and the Knights of Pythias. 

John Henry Deniston has lived on the farm of two hundred acres 
which he now occupies since in 1867. Altogether he owns three hundred 
seven and one-half acres of land, two hundred acres of which comprises the 
home farm. He has a good home and the farm is well-equipped with out- 
buildings for extensive farming and stock-raising. For more than thirty 
years, Mr. Deniston has been handling live stock and, for the past twenty- 
seven years, has been a large shipper. He ships from fifty to seventy- 
five carloads of stock annually and, aside from this business, is an e.xtensive 
breeder of Hereford cattle, having begun raising this breed in 1905. He 
keeps only purebred and registered stock and breeds solely for commercial 
purposes. 

On August 19, 1883, John Henry Deniston was married to Eliza Eden 
Seal, who was born on May 28, 1865, in Decatur county, near the Liberty 
church, the daughter of John B. and Emily Seal. ]\Irs. Deniston passed 
away on August 20, 1907, leaving two children, J. Ray and Audrey Dawn. 
The former was born on December 20, 1884, at Sardinia. He married 
Bertha Smith, of Greensburg, and is now engaged in managing the farm 
owned by his father. Audrey Dawn, who was born -on January 29, 1893, 
is her father's housekeeper. Two other children born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Deniston are deceased: Blanche, who was born on August 7, 1886, died 
on October 4, 1886; and Joy Maude, January 31, 1888, died on November 
4. 1888. 

For nearlv half a centurv John Henry Deniston has been an active 
Democrat and is considered one of the "wheel horses" of the Democracy 
in Decatur county. For many years he was a Democratic central commit- 
teeman and influential in the county councils of his party. His son, J. Ray, 



1196 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

is now a committeeman for the Democratic party. The father has served 
as delegate to congressional, judicial and state conventions of his party and 
attended the national conventions of the party at Denver and Baltimore. 
He is always looked upon as a man of dependable counsel in the organiza- 
tion of his party and the management of its campaigns. He has never as- 
pired to office but he is a man who is equipped to fill almost any office within 
the gift of his party. He is a member of the Universalist church at Mt. 
Carmel, Franklin county, and prominent in fraternal circles in this county, 
being a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Alert, the Knights of 
Pythias at Westport, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at 
Greensburg, and the Modern Woodmen of America at Sardinia. 

John Henry Deniston has fully measured up to the responsibilities of 
citizenship in this great country. He has borne his share of the responsi- 
bility for every movement which has reflected the advancement of his home 
neighborhood, his township and his county. His great-grandfather came to 
America seeking greater political liberty and a larger measure of personal 
opportunities. The third generation of the family in America, thoroughly 
imbued with our notions of government and citizenship, . has measured up 
nobly to the standard of his day and generation. 



HENRY BLANKMAN. 



Among the several farmers of Decatur county who are descended from 
native-born German parents is Henry Blankman, of Marion township, one 
of the foremost citizens of this township, who owns a splendid farm of two 
hundred acres, which he has, by careful cultivation and painstaking attention 
to the details of agricultural, developed to a very high state of productivity. 
Although he now owns two hundred acres of land, he began about thirty-six 
years ago by purchasing forty acres of uncleared land, and after cutting away 
a place to build his home, improved the >and from year to year, eventually 
erecting fine buildings, including a comfortable house, barn and outbuildings. 
His claim to honorable distinction among the farmers of Decatur county is 
not confined wholly to his success in agriculture, but in this period he has 
reared to honorable and useful lives a family of nine children, and herein 
has performed a service to his county and to his state which is of far reach- 
ing influence. 

Henry Blankman was born on December 6, 1849, in Cincinnati, Ohio. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



II97 



the son of Bernard Henry and Mary Angela (Lucken) Blankman, botli 
natives of Germany, the former of whom was Ijorn in 181S. and (Hed ni 
1896. After coming to America in 1839, Bernard Blankman worked on a 
flatboat on the Ohio river for two years and as a farm hand in Kentucky. 
Later he drove a team in Cincinnati, and after his marriage, about January, 
1856, removed to Marion township, Decatur county, where he bought timber 
land with only a few acres cleared. From time to time he added to his 
original tract of fifty acres another fifty and still another fifty-two acres and 
one-half, all of which he cleared and improved. Bernard Henry and Mary 
Angela Blankman were the parents of five children who grew to maturity, 
namely : Mrs. Mary Hardebeck, deceased ; Henry, the subject of this sketch ; 
Herman H., of Marion township; George, a well-known farmer; and Mrs. 
Caroline Klosterkamper, of Ripley county. There were several children 
who died in infancy. In the early days when they were getting a start in 
the world they lived in a log cabin and could look through the cracks in the 
roof, and in the winter time it was not unusual for the family to find their 
beds covered with snow. Subsequently, a large brick house was built on 
the farm, and it is in this house that Herman H., a son, now lives. Bernard 
Henry Blankman passed away in 1896, and ten years later, in 1906, his 
beloved wife, who had been associated with him during all his trials and 
struggles, also passed away. 

Henry Blankman lived at home with his parents until his marriage, and 
for three years afterwards lived on the farm owned by his father-in-law, 
Bernard Goldschmidt, and at the end of that period he purchased forty acres 
of land for four hundred and fifty dollars, and since 1879, when this land 
came into his possession, he has prospered year by year, until he is now recog- 
nized as one of the substantial farmers of Marion township. 

On April 15. 1875, Henry Blankman was married to Mary Goldschmidt. 
the daughter of Bernard and Elizabeth Goldschmidt, who was born in 1857 in 
Cincinnati, and who came with her parents subsequently to a farm near Mill- 
housen in Decatur county. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Henry Blankman Imve been Ikhii nine children, as 
follow : Bernard. Edward, Frank, August, William, John, Theotlore, Jose- 
phine and Clara. Of these children, Bernard, who was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Decatur county, taught school for twelve years, and in the fall 
of 1914 was elected sur\eyor of Decatur county. He married Mary Harde- 
beck, and thev ha\e four children, Cyril, Paul, Alvin and Lama. Edward 
lives in the state of Minnesota. Frank, also a farmer in the state of Minne- 
sota, married Carrie Knight, of Cincinnati, and they have six children, 



I 198 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Frank, Edward, Jacob, Henry, Marie and Robert. August and William also 
are farmers in Minnesota. John and Theodore live at home. Mrs. Jose- 
phine Ruhl lives in Marion township, and Mrs. Clara Vaske lives in Minne- 
sota, and has one child, Angela, named for her grandmother, Mrs. Mary 
Angela (Lucken) Blankman. 

Although Henry Blankman has always been an enthusiastic and ardent 
Democrat, he has never been an office seeker. The only position of official 
trust he has ever held, being a local office. He served for four years as a 
member of the township advisory board. The Blankman family are all 
members of St. Mary's Catholic church. Mr. Blankman is one of the sub- 
stantial contributors to the support of this church. 

Henry Blankman, who has lived in this part of Decatur county for a 
period of thirty-six years, is well known to the people. He is regarded las 
one of the best citizens and one of its most skillful farmers, and one of its 
most genial and companionable men, a man of sturdy and fixed determina- 
tion, who is self-made in every particular. Here in ]\'Iarion township the 
Blankman family enjoy the confidence and esteem of all who know them. 



SIMEON H. KENNEDY. 

It is not a matter of accident that Decatur county has a body of 
farmers equal in enterprise, unexcelled in methods, and surpassing in pro- 
duction farmers of most any other county in the state of Indiana. In the 
first place this county was settled by men of strong determination and re- 
markaljle ability, men who even in the pioneer times surpassed most other 
pioneer communities in methods and results. IMoreover the land is naturally 
fertile, which is itself a strong inducement to intensive cultivation of the 
soil, and development to the highest point of every agricultural possibility. 
Therefore, Decatur county has always excelled as an agricultural section. 
Of the many splendid farmers of the present generation in Decatur county, 
who belong to pioneer stock of this region and who have made a worthy 
success of their \ocation, may be mentioned Simeon H. Kennedy, who 
owns two hundred and twenty acres of land in Marion township. 

Simeon H. Kennedy was born on August 3, 1867, in Greensburg, the 
son of James and Charlotte (Jones) Kenned)-, the former of whom was 
born on October 12, 1837, and died on March 25, 1910, and the latter of 
whom was born on October 29, 1844, and is still living in Johnson City with 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



II99 



her son, Dr. Wilbur T. She is a daughter of Simpson and Jane (Remy) 
Jones, the Remys and Joneses having been early settlers of Bartholomew 
•county. 

The grandfather of Simeon H. Kennedy was Samuel Kennedy, who 
emigrated to Franklin county, Indiana, about 1835, and to Decatur county, 
Indiana, about 1847, settling ten miles west of Greensburg in Clay town- 
ship. Born in August, 1809, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he died on March 
13, 1890. His first wife, Margaret, who was born in 1808, and died May 
28, 1852, was the mother of the following children: Julm, born on Jan- 
uary 15. 1833, died October 3, 1855; William, January 19, 1834, died July 
24, 1913; George, April 3, 1836, in Indiana, died April 28, 1865; James, 
the father of Simeon H., October 12, 1837, died, March 25, 1910; Samuel, 
June 15, 1840, died, October 30, 1855; Mrs. Nancy Braden, 1842; Sarah, 
June, 1844, died, September 18, 1849. Samuel Kennedy's second wife was 
Sarah A. Kennedy, who bore him four children, namely: C. B., who was 
born on May 2, 1854, and died, November 22, 1898: an infant son, on De- 
cember 20, 1855, and died January 11, 1856; Mrs. Mary Eward and Anna, 
who was born in 1862. 

James Kennedy, who had lived at home with his father until the break- 
ing out of the Civil War, enlisted as a Union soldier in Company H, Fiftieth 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Cavalry, in 1862, and was commissioned a 
second lieutenant. After his return home he was married, January 21, 1864, 
to Charlotte Jones, who bore him five children. Of these children, Carrie E. 
married Charles Evans, and they reside in Greensburg. Mr. Evans was one 
of the first rural mail carriers in Decatur county, and was born in October, 
1864. Simeon H. is the subject of this sketch; Lewis W., who was born in 
1870, died in 1890; Samuel E. died in infancy; Dr. Wilbur T., who was born 
in 1877, is a practicing physician at Johnson City, Tennessee. 

Some fourteen years before his death the late James Kennedy removed 
to Lafayette, Indiana, where he died. At the time of his death he had been 
a member of the Masonic lodge a little more than fifty years. He joined 
the Improved Order of Red Men during the early seventies, and about that 
time Ijecame a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. At the time of 
his death he was a member of Mil ford Lodge No. 94, Free and Accepted 
Masons. In the winter of 1850 he joined the Methodist Episcopal church 
at Center Grove, and after removing to Lafayette affiliated with the Trinity 
church of that city. 

Simeon H. Kennedy who started to school in Decatur county, Indiana, 
Avas brought liy his parents to Marion township, in 1872, and here educated. 



I200 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

In i8'85 at the age of eighteen he rented his father's farm and now owns the 
farm. He has added to this original tract from time to time until he now 
owns two hundred and twenty acres of very fine farming land, raising on 
an average fifty acres of corn, and twenty acres of wheat. He also has seven 
acres of alfalfa, and raises a large number of hogs and cattle every year. 

On July 2, 1890, Simeon H. Kennedy was married to Clara Talljot, who 
was born in Greensburg, March 28. 1865, and who was the daughter of 
Henry Howard and Anna (Lefller) Talbot. 

Mrs. Kennedy died on January 5, 1909, after ha\-ing reared two daugh- 
ters: Mabel, who was born on April 19, 1891, married Harry Bainliridge, 
and they reside one mile west of Greensburg, and have one child, Robert 
Kennedy, born on March 26, 191 5; and Helen, who lives at home with her 
father, was born on Decemlier 31, 1893. 

A Republican in politics, the only oliF.ce Mr. Kennedy has ever held was 
that of one of the members of the township advisory board of JMarion town- 
ship. Nevertheless, he is a man whose counsel is sought in political matters, 
and who is influential in his neighborhood. Having joined the Methodist 
Episcopal church when he was a young man. he has been a loyal and devout 
member of this church all his life. He is a member of the Knights of 
P}'thias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Greensburg. 

During his long and useful life Simeon H. Kennedy has been a worthy 
citizen of this county, and has enjoyed an honorable career as a farmer and 
citizen, respected by the people of Marion township, where he is widely 
known. With earnest and sincere purpose he sought always to live worthily, 
and do his duty each day as it seemed to him it ought to be done. 



EDWARD KESSING. 



The man who creates or amasses wealth may be considered an asset 
to a community, but he who finds pleasure in identifying himself with the 
affairs of men and movements which make for human betterment leaves 
an impress that becomes an inspiration to those who follow, and his business 
successes come to be looked upon as a secondary matter. The educated 
gentleman is a power in any community, for he is actuated by high ideals. 
Although somewhat handicaiiped by ill health, the life of the subject of the 
present article has been eminently successful, for his activities have not been 
limited to his personal affairs, and he has always stood for the things that 
are right and just and wholesome. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 120I 

Edward Kessing is statistician for the. Bureau of Commerce in Greens- 
burg, Indiana, and Democratic county chairman. He was born on March 
13' 1854, in FrankHn county, Indiana, being the son of Herman H. and 
Elizabeth (Schroeder) Kessing. The father of Mr. Kessing was a native 
of Germany, being born there in 1823. He came to America in 1839, and 
became one of the first hatters in Cincinnati, where he learned the business. 
Previous to his marriage he had wtjrked on the construction of the Ohio & 
Erie canal. It is interesting to know in this connection that it was while 
working on the canal that he learned to speak the English language. In 
185 1 he bought a farm in Franklin county, and operated it for several years, 
then remo\'ed to Decatur county, and purchased another farm at St. Mau- 
rice. This was in 1858. Besides superintending farm work, he had charge 
of a store from this date until the time of his death, in 1878. He was a 
member of the Ohio National Guards at Cincinnati at the time of the Mex- 
ican \Var. The mother of Mr. Kessing was a sister of J. H. Schroeder, the 
oldest resident of this county, and who is now living at Enochsburg. Mrs. 
Kessing was born in Germany in 1824. She is now a resident of Greens- 
burg, luit her former home was in Cinciimati, the city to which she came 
with her parents when she was tweh'e years of age. 

There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Kessing, the eldest 
being Henry, who died in Greensburg in 1882. He was ordained a priest in 
1868, afterwards preaching in Bloomington, Bedford and Gosport, and ten 
vears after his ordination he went to Greensliurg. where he was in charge of 
a parish at the time of his death. The other children were: Charles B., a 
dry goods merchant in Cincinnati; Agnes, wife of Joseph H. Maroney, of 
Pueblo, Colorado ; Edward, the subject of this sketch ; MoUie, who lives 
in Greensburg with her mother; Clem, a lithographer, of Cincinnati; and 
Frank, who is associated with the Citizens .Artificial Gas Company. 

Edward Kessing was fortunate in that he received a more thorough 
education many of the boys living in the same community, for he tocjk 
the classical course at St. Xaviers College at Cincinnati, after attending the 
common schools at St. Maurice. 

Mr. Kessing's first business experience came as a storekeeper, for in 
the town in which he then lived he had charge of a store until his twenty- 
first year. In the fall of 1875 he took up the duties of the county recorder's 
office, having been elected to that position, serving for a term of four years. 
Then he engaged in the dry goods business, continuing until his health 
failed, at the end of twelve years. Again he entered upon ])ul)lic office, when, 
in 1892, he became deputy county auditor, a position he held for four years. 
(76) 



1202 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

In 1896 he engaged in the hfe insurance business, continuing until his fed- 
eral appointment as statistician for the Bureau of Commerce of the sixth 
district, which includes five counties. This appointment came on March i, 

1915- 

Mrs. Kessing was formerly Rose Moffett of Edinburg, and her mar- 
riage to Mr. Kessing took place on June i, 1886. She is the daughter of 
Michael and Rose Moffett. Mr. and Mrs. Kessing are the parents of five chil- 
dren, namely : Charles Edward, the eldest, who died at the age of twenty-four 
in 191 1, was an expect inspector of veneers, and was employed by Thomp- 
son & Moffett Company of Cincinnati; Oliver Owen, after graduating 
from the high school of Greensburg was appointed to the Naval Academy 
at Annapolis, from which institution he was graduated in June, 1914, and 
is now an ensign officer on the cruiser "Maryland," although only twenty- 
four years old, he has traveled all over the world; Robert Leo, a graduate 
of the Greensburg high school, has been traveling for the Central Union 
Telephone Company, which has its headquarters at Indianapolis, he has been 
employed by them for five years, and is now twenty-one years of age; 
Moffett, aged nineteen, and ^Margaret, aged seventeen years, both are liv- 
ing at home, having completed the course of study prescribed for gradua- 
tion from the high school of Greensburg. 

Mr. Kessing has been since young manhood a prominent figure at the 
state and national conventions of the Democratic party, for he is known 
in the politics of the state of Indiana. The Democratic county ticket was 
elected while he was county chairman, an office which he held for two years. 
He has been a devout Catholic all of his life, and besides being a member 
of the organization of Knights of Columbus, he has belonged to the com- 
mandery of the Knights of St. John. In this organization he served as 
commander until he was elected colonel of the regiment. In 1890, he was 
honored by being elected supreme commander of the United States and 
Canada, at the meeting in Pittsburgh. After sen'ing with credit to himself 
and the organization for a term, he was placed on the retired list with a 
"badge of honor" for excellent service. 

If it is true that the greatness of a community or state depends not 
so much upon the nature of its government nor its institutions, as upon the 
character of its citizenship, then the man whose career we have outlined 
briefly has honored the city and state in which he lives by a life of per- 
sonal integrity, as well as by public service in which the general good has 
always been the predominating and actuating motive. His has been a high 
order of citizenship. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



AARON LOGAN. 



1203 



The name of Aaron Logan stands out conspicuously among the resi- 
dents of Decatur county as that of a successful farmer and a valuable 
■citizen. All of his undertakings have been actuated by noble motives and 
high resolves and characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individual- 
ity. His success represents only the result of utilizing his native talents. 
At the present time he owns a productive farm of two hundred and fourteen 
acres, three-quarters of a mile west of Greensburg. 

Aaron Logan w^as born in 1841 on the old Logan homestead about one 
mile from Greensburg, and is the son of Samuel and Susannah (Howard) 
Logan, the former of whom was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1795, 
and came to Decatur county with Colonel Ireland and Colonel Henderson and 
entered land one mile from Greensburg, now known >as the Logan farm. 
Susannah (Howard) was born on Paddy's run, in Ohio, in 1805. Samuel 
Logan first came to Decatur county and entered land and then returned to 
Pennsylvania. On his way back to Indiana from Pennsylvania, he stopped 
in Ohio and was married, and then came on to Indiana with his young bride. 
Here they lived the remainder of their lives, he dying in 1879. They were 
members of the Presbyterian church and he was a life-long Democrat, a 
man of strong character and high-minded conviction. Accustomed to hunt 
bearsi in the region around Greensburg, Samuel Logan and Colonel Hender- 
son killed a bear on the spot where the Greensburg waterworks are now situ- 
ated. He and his wife started in life ver\' poor, but Samuel Logan was a 
money maker. Pie accumulated a considerable fortune. On his way across 
the Alleghany mountains from Pennsylvania, having started with a wagon 
and one horse, he traded with various people along tiie way until u[)tjn his 
arrival he owned four horses. 

Samuel and Susannah (Howard) Logan had nine children, of whom 
James. John. Mrs. Martha Anne Hitt, Mrs. Jane Deen and Mrs. Rachel 
Hobbs are deceased; the latter was the wife of Alvin I. Hobbs, of Dennis, 
Iowa. Mrs. Mary Hamilton, the wife of Morgan Hamilton, is also deceased. 
Those living are Samuel Logan, Jr., who lives at Letts, in Clay township; 
Aaron, the subject of this sketch; and Frank, of Topeka, Kansas. 

Aaron Logan began life for himself after having reached his majority, 
and for about three years was engaged in cultivating the old home place. 
After this he purchased ninety-two acres of land out of what was known as 
the old Hillis farm, which is now owned by William Ilatche. Later, how- 
ever. ]\Ir. Logan sold that farm and purchased the land where he now lives. 



I204 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

He has always made a good living for himself and family and has always 
enjoyed the best things of life. In fact, there are few people living in Wash- 
ington township who enjoy life more than Aaron Logan. He says that he 
gets more enjoyment out of what he can buy with a dollar than in keeping 
the dollar itself and for its own sake. 

Aaron Logan was married tO' Susannah Simmons, who lived near 
Greensburg, the daughter of Edward and Polly (Howard) Simmons, both 
natives of Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Logan have 
had two children : \Valter Scott Logan, deceased : Sherman, W'hose wife is 
deceased, and who by her had one child, Clyde L., born in 1901, lives with 
his father. 

The Logan family have been Democrats for the most part for several 
generations, and Aaron Logan is no exception to the rule. He is in fact a 
loyal and faithful Democrat, interested in the welfare of his party. Mr. 
Logan is well known in Washington township, and h&s always enjoyed the 
confidence of his neighbors and fellow citizens. 



SCOTT F. CRIST. 



There is nothing which stimulates a man to a worthy life more than the 
recollection of the strength of character, industry and wisdom of his forbears. 
In this respect Scott F. Crist, a prosperous farmer living on eighty ;acres, 
three and one-half miles northwest of Burney and two and one-half miles 
southwest of Milford, is favored far beyond the average since he is descended 
from men who have been leaders in Decatur county and who have performed 
well all of the duties of life, public and private. A heritage of such memory 
as it pertains to the lives of one's ancestors is of more value than a heritage 
of material wealth. 

Scott F. Crist was the son of .\bram and Catherine (Templeton) Crist. 
His father, born near Brookville, in Franklin county, in 1832, was the son 
of John and Polly (Deboise) Crist, the former of whom was a native of 
Ireland and who came to .\merica when he was seventeen years old, with his 
parents, settling first on the east fork of White river in Franklin county, 
some time between 1820 and 1825. Eventtially, John Crist entered land in 
Franklin county. The trip from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was made in a 
flatboat. John Crist became a successful farmer and made a large amount 
of monev. He was a man of stern disposition and of firm convictions, who,. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I205 

nevertheless, was well and favorably known as a substantial citizen. He 
died about 1850 after rearing a family of five children, of whom Abram 
Crist was the fourth. Abram Crist, who was born in 1832, grew to inan- 
hood on his father's farm in Franklin county and in 1854 was married to 
Catherine Templeton, who was the daughter of David and Jane (Barrick- 
man) Templeton, the latter's parents being natives of Kentucky and the own- 
ers of a great deal of land where the city of Covington, Kentucky, now 
stands. David Templeton and Jane Barrickman were married in Kentucky 
and came to Franklin county, Indiana, in the winter, bringing with them all 
of their belongings on a sled. Entering land on Templeton creek, named for 
David Templeton, they lived there until the latter's death in 1863, and after 
his death his widow made her home w^ith her children in Franklin and 
Decatur counties. She died in Adams in 1889. David Templeton was a 
successful business man and a fine Christian character. 

After the marriage of Abram Crist and Catherine Templeton, they pur- 
chased a farm in Franklin county, which was sold in a short time and in 
i860 they came to Decatur county, Indiana, and purchased two hundred and 
fifty-five acres of land in Adams township, where they lived the remainder 
of their lives. He was a very successful farmer and business man and well 
known in Decatur county. He was a Republican and a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. Personally, Abram Crist was a human dynamo, who 
seemed never to tire. He had a host of friends at the time of his death in 

1873- 

Scott F. Crist grew up on the farm in Decatur county and in 1885 was 

married to Martha Vanausdall, the daughter of Joseph and Annie (Ferguson) 

Vanausdall, the former of whom was a native o"f Butler county, Ohio, and 

the latter of Franklin county, Ohio. They came to Decatur county about 

forty-one years ago and settled on the farm in Adams township, known as 

the Oliver Deem farm. 

Mr. and Mrs. Crist have had one son, Raymond, who was born on Octo- 
ber 8, 1886, and who Was married to Dora Mercer, the daughter of Archibald 
and Mary Elizabeth INlercer. The Mercers are natives of Baltimore, 
Maryland. 

^Ir. and Mrs. Crist, after their marriage, started in life with nothing 
and 'Sir. Crist rented land for several years. Finally, he was able to pur- 
chase and pay five hundred dollars cash on eighty acres of land, on which he 
and his wife now live. They ha\-e a beautiful home which cost approximately 
four thousand dollars and which has most of the modern conveniences. 

.\ man of progressiw ideas and deeply interested in his country's wel- 



I206 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

fare, Scott F. Crist is a Republican in politics. He is intensely patriotic and 
has a host of friends in this county. He is a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows at Milford. 



LOUIS O. TRAVIS. 



A career marked by earnest and indefatigable application was that of 
the late Louis O. Travis, who during his life was a successful farmer in 
Decatur county. His life was an open book and at his death he enjoyed the 
confidence and esteem of hundreds of people living in this county who knew 
him for his worth as a man and a citizen. 

Louis O. Travis was born in 1869 in Decatur county, Indiana, near 
Mechanicsburg, on his father's farm, the son of James and Elizabeth 
(Steward) Tr'avis, the former of whom was born in Kentucky in 1831, and 
who came to Decatur county in pioneer days and settled on a farm near 
Oldenburg in Franklin county. He owned eighty acres of land which he 
sold' later in life, buying a farm near New Point, which he still owns. James 
Travis is now retired and living with his daughter,' Mrs. Curtis Wright, of 
Greensburg, Indiana. He has been a successful farmer and business man 
and is well known and respected. A life-long Democrat, he has taken a keen 
interest in the politics of this county, state and country. He is a member of 
the Baptist church. His wife, who before her marriage was Elizabeth Stew- 
art, was born in Franklin county on January 4, 1829, near Brookville. She 
died on June 2j, 1906, in Franklin county. 

James and Elizabeth (Stewart) Travis were the parents of six children, 
as follow: Wilbur, of Rushville; John, of Greensburg; George, of Bates- 
ville ; Henry T., a farmer of near Mechanicsburg; Louis, the subject of this 
sketch; and Mrs. Hettie Travis Wright, the wife of Curtis Wright, of 
Greensburg. There were also three children by a previous marriage, namely : 
William, of Decatur county; Mrs. "Sis" Travis Taylor, the wife of Richard 
Taylor, of Greensburg; and Mrs. Travis Hawkins, the wife of B. Hawkins, 
of Kansas. 

Louis O. Travis, when he was three years old, was brought from f*rank- 
lin to Decatur county, Indiana, and grew to manhood in this county. He 
was educated in the schools of Decatur county, and in 1897 was married to 
Annie Baker, the daughter of John and Annie Baker. The father of Mrs. 
Travis was a native of Germany who after his marriage came with his wife' 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 1207 

and two small children to America. They arrived here about 1865 and after 
living for a short time in Cincinnati, where he was engaged in the mercan- 
tile business they came, in 1875, to Decatur county, Indiana, and settled on 
a farm near New Pennington. He was a successful business man and well 
respected citizen. A Republican in politics, he was prominent in the councils 
of his party. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, the church which stood on the corner of his farm. He died in 1892, 
and his wife in 1898. 

After his marriage Louis O. Travis rented a farm in Adams township, 
where he and his wife lived for five years, when they purchased a hundred 
and sixty acres of fend. There they lived about one year, and after selling 
the farm came to Washington township and purchased a small farm in the 
suburl)s of Greensburg. It was a beautiful home, ideally located, and here 
]\Irs. Travis and her only son, Virgil Louis Travis, born on M,ay 6, 1903, 
live. Mrs. Travis is a woman of most pleasing disposition and respected 
by the people in the community where she lives. 



HARRY W. BALLARD. 



It is well proved by the variety of human experiences that success is the 
immediate result of native a1)ility, well-applied energy and perseverance. 
Idlers and dreamers have their place in the world and no large success comes 
unless it comes after one has dreamed dreams and seen visions. In the long 
run, however, only those men who diligently seek the favor of success are 
crowned with its blessings. The large success which Harry W. Ballard, a 
well-known artist of Decatur county has enjoyed has come to him partially no 
doubt as the result of his native ability, but largely because he set about early 
in life to work out his own destiny. 

Born in St. Paul, Adams township, in 1869, Harry \V. Ballard is the 
son of Dr. D. J. and Anna (French) Ballard, natives of Decatur county and 
prominent citizens here. 

Educated in the common and high schools of Decatur county. Harry 
W. Ballard became a student in T. C. Steel's art school under the direction 
of Mr. Forsyth and Mr. Steel as instructors. After finishing the course he 
attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and later became an 
instructor in the John Herron Institute at Indianapolis in commercial art. 
He has been acti\-e in commercial art for more than twenty-five years, and 



I208 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

during most of the past twenty-five years has acted as superintendent of the 
art department of various engraving estabhshments. Mr. Ballard is now 
the superintendent of the Printing Arts Company, of Indianapolis, and is on 
the art staff of the JV Oman's Magazine, of Elgin, Illinois. His life has been 
a very busy one and he has devoted his time to his profession. 

Mr. Ballard has exhibited his work at the John Herron Art Institute 
with Indiana artists and this in itself is sufficient proof of the merit of his 
work. He works in oil, pastel, water colors, pen and ink and burnt wood. 
His work is characterized especially with realism and is true to nature and 
life. 

Among his other accomplishments Mr. Ballard is a musician of .con- 
siderable ability. He plays the saxaphone, plays the piano and sings. He 
is indeed a true artist in every fiber of his being. 

In 1897, Mr. Harry W. Ballard was married to Frances Floyd, a daugh- 
ter of E. L. and Anne (Paul) Floyd, natives of Decatur county. It was for 
the family of Mrs. E. L. Floyd that the town of St. Paul was named. E. L. 
Floyd, Mrs. Ballard's father, was a native of Kentucky, born in 1823. He 
left Kentucky with his parents and came to Shelby county, Indiana, where 
he was educated. Later he attended Indiana University for one year, and 
in 1855 was married to Anne Paul, a daughter of John P. Paul, a prominent 
citizen of Decatur county. After their marriage they began life for them- 
selves in St. Paul in the home which Mrs. Blallard now owns. Mr. Floyd 
was a very successful man in all of his business undertakings and one of more 
than average ability. He was a man of high ideals whose outlook on life 
was the very brightest. In 1885 as a Republican he represented Decatur 
county in the Indiana General Assembly. He served valiantly as a soldier 
in the Mexican War. A public-spirited citizen and man, he had a fair knowl- 
edge of law. Though not professing to be a lawyer, he had no little law 
practice. E. L. Floyd was one of the biggest men mentally who has ever 
lived in this community. 

Anne Gregg Paul, the wife of E. L. Floyd, and the mother of Mrs. 
Harry W. Ballard, was the eldest child born to her parents. She was born 
in St. Paul, in 1837, in the old brick residence which is today the oldest 
building in the town, and which was built by her father in 1823. John P. 
Paul was born in 1801 and was of Scottish and English origin. He was 
one of the solid and substantial citizens of Decatur county and had much to 
do with the development of this section. He died in 1867. During his early 
life he was a member of the Whig party. Upon the disintegration of that 
party and the formation of the Republican party he became a Republican. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



1209 



E. L. and Anne Gregg (Paul) Floyd had six children, of whom Mrs. 
Harry W. Ballard was the youngest. The names of the children in the order 
of their birth are as follow: James E., who was born in 1855, was a gradu- 
ate of Indiana University and died in 1893 at Decatur, Illinois; Walter R, 
1857, and who was a graduate of Butler College, died in 1882; Oliver P., 
1 861, is living in Granite City, Illinois, and is connected with the engineering 
department of the American Steel Foundry Company; George G., 1865, was 
a student at Purdue University, lives at Riverside, Illinois, where he is chief 
engineer for the American Steel Foundry Company; Nellie F., 1867, married 
George L. Mueller, who is now deceased; Frances is the wife of Mr. Ballard. 

Anne Gregg Paul was born in 1873 '" St. Paul and grew to womanhood 
in this town. She was educated in the common and high schools of Decatur 
county and was graduated from the St. Paul high school with the class of 
1889. In 1 890 she went to Purdue University, at Lafayette, where she 
studied for four years, finishing the scientific course in 1894. After finish- 
ing the course at Purdue she came home and here remained for three years, 
until her marriage in 1897 to Mr. Ballard. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ballard have one son. Jack Floyd Ballard, who was born 
in 1905, in Southport, near Indianapolis. He is now a lad of ten years and 
is attending school at St. Paul. 

Mrs. Ballard is intensely interested and actively engaged in flower grow- 
ing. She is in partnership with her sister, Mrs. Nellie F. Mueller, the widow 
•of George L. Mueller, of Lafayette, Indiana. Their flower garden has been 
appropriately named the "Dripping Springs Garden," so named from the 
dripping springs along Flat Rock river, well known to nature lovers of cen- 
tral Indiana. The garden, which is located on the Paul farm, originally 
owned and entered by William Paul in 1821, will eventually comprise the 
entire farm of a hundred and seventy acres. It lies north and east of St. 
Paul and extends up to the edge of town and is an ideal spot for the tourist 
and lover of nature. It is traversed by beautiful Flat Rock river. Mrs. 
Ballard and her sister, Mrs. Mueller, expect eventually to make a flower 
■garden out of the entire farm andjto irrigate it from the springs. 

Mrs. Nellie Mueller, who is Im's. Ballard's partner in the flower farm 
and garden, grew to womanhood and was educated in the common and high 
schools of Decatur county. She later attended Purdue University, where 
she was a student in the scientific course. She was married in 1888 to George 
L. Mueller, whose parents were natives of Germany. Mr. Mueller died in 
1909, leaving one child, Floyd Mueller, who was born in 1890, and who is 
an architect in Chicago. He is a graduate of Purdue University. 



I2IO DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

Mrs. Harry W. Ballard is a woman of more than ordinary ability, and 
of pleasing and attractive personality. She is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church at St. Paul and widely acquainted in this county. She is 
a member of the Irvington Coterie Club, of Indianapolis, and also the Depart- 
ment Club, of Greensburg. At their beautiful home in St. Paul, Mr. and 
Mrs. Ballard entertain on a large scale and have a host of friends in Indiana 
and neighboring states. Mr. Ballard is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
and a member of the Knights of Pythias. He is a Republican and a member 
of the Methodist church. He takes an active interest in public affairs and is 
keenly interested in public questions. Decatur county has ever}' reason to 
be proud of the careers of Mr. and Mrs. Harry W. Ballard. 



GEORGE L. HESS. 



George L. Hess, a well-known sportsman, business man and politician 
of St. Paul, Decatur county, Indiana, was born in 1867, in Jennings county, 
Indiana, the son of John V. and Elizabeth (Clillis) Hess, who undertook the 
voyage from Germany to America in a sailboat in 1852. The voyage took 
six months and on this voyage their first child was born. During the trip 
the mother of John V. Hess died and was buried at) sea. On the arrival of 
the family in America after a few weeks sojourn in New York City they 
journeyed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and thence by boat to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, where they settled and where the elder Mr. Hess took up his business 
of brick making. After remaining in Cincinnati for three or four years the 
family removed to Jennings county, Indiana, near St. Ann on Bear creek, 
where they lived on a farm for several years. Eventually, however, they 
sold out and removed to a farm in Bartholomew county, near Alert. This 
last farm was known as the old Thomas Johnson estate and here the family 
remained for four years and then removed to Decatur county, Indiana, 
settling near the town of Burney, where they lived for two years and then 
moved to a farm near St. Paul, one-half mile from St. Omer. Later they 
remo^•ed to Orange township. Rush county, to the Wilson farm, where they 
lived for sixteen years, when they sold out and removed to St. Paul, January 
13, 1896. Here George L. Hess went into business. He had begun life for 
himself when about twelve or fourteen years old, launching out into the horse 
and dog business. He has Ijeen very successful in both lines of endeavor 
Being a great lover of horses and dogs he has become an extensive breeder 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I2II 

of purel^red fox hounds and bird dogs. Mr. Hess is a member of the 
National Fox Hunters Association of Kentucky and has participated in all 
of its meets. He has been especially successful as a breeder of dogs and like- 
wise as a breeder of horses. He l)red and trained "Maude H.," pacer, which 
attained a record of 2:i6)4 in 1893. Mr. Hess's business as a horse and 
dog breeder far exceeds that of any other person in Decatur or Shelby 
counties, a notable fact when it is remembered that St. Paul is onlv about 
one-fifth as large as either Greensburg or Shelbyville. His personality has 
been one of the large factors in his success, and in such a business as this 
where so much depends upon the honor and .integrity of the breeder and 
dealer he has been fortunate since he has the un<]uaHfied confidence of the 
people. 

On December 2, 1885, George L. Hess was married to Nettie Frakes, 
daughter of David Frakes, whose wife was a Pierce, natives of Decatur 
county and successful farmers of this county. Likewise they were well- 
known and well-respected citizens. To Mr. and Mrs. Hess was born one 
daughter, Minnie E., who is the wife of Elmer Shortridge. Mr. and Mrs. 
Shortridge have one daughter, Percella. 

In 1891 Mr. Hess was married, secondly, to Cora D. Higgs, a daughter 
of George and Elizabeth (Burris) Higgs, natives of Decatur county, and 
well-known and respected citizens. To this union was born one daughter, 
Edna C. Hess, who married J. T. McCoy, the son of Curtis McCoy, of 
Decatur county. They have one son, George Trimble McCoy. 

George L. Hess is one of the solid, substantial citizens of Decatur county, 
and one whose word is known to be as good as his bond. 



CLYDE C. MORRLSON, M. D. 

No one is quite able to measure the value of the work performed by the 
skillful and conscientious physician. His work is performed under circum- 
stances, which call forth not only his best individual talents but likewise his 
most active and warmest sympathies. Unless the physician be equipped by 
temperament and personality with a breadth and depth of sympathy, his tal- 
ents are likely to avail him very little. Not that a large measure of profes- 
sional training is unimportant or unnecessary, but with this must go a measure 
of sincerity and a spirit of service which transcends all professional training. 
Dr. Clvde C. ^Morrison, one of the able and well-equipped physicians of 



I2I2 DICCA'ITK mUNTY, INDIANA. 

( iii't'iislmr^-, lii(li;in;i. lias (.■njuNCil a lariL^c incasun.' of success in llic practice 
III' his iirolessiuii because he jxjssesses the natural instinct of service. Trained 
as a farmer, incch.anic, teacher, ch'ui;' clerk, physician, soldier, he has broad- 
ened (hese c\pcricni-es by his liMvels into ])i-actically every state of the Union 
;in(l I'riixiucc i)f (anada, ,Liid iiUucild Mexico. 

('l\dc ( '. .\bn-ris()n has scarcely reached (he prime nf life, having- been 
liiMii (Ml Aui^usl -'4, iS/J, in C'lifty township, r..irtli(ilomc\\ t-nunly, Indi.ana. 
Me is Ihc son nf K'obert and Mary j. ( .Met 'nllou,i;b ) Morrison. On both his 
])alcrn,il .ind ni.itiiiial sides, Moclor ^blrriso^'s ancestry is Scotch-Irish, bis 
j.;rand|);u'ents, James and iXancy Morrison, having' come to this country from 
County Down, Ireland, ;md settled in llarlholomew county in pioneer limes, 
liis j^rand pa rents on his matcrn.al side of the faniilw llenry and Elizabeth 
McC'nllont;b, came to this ciiunlr\ from (dunty 'i'yrone, Iri'land, They 
settK'd lirNl in llullcr county. ( )hio, but later mo\ cd to I'lartboliimew county, 
Indiana. 

\llboUL;h bis fallier died in iSXo, huctor .Morrison's uidthei' is still liv- 
ing and resides at Hartsville. She was born on November 5, iS.V)- .X'otwith- 
standinj;' the fact that she is now se\-cnty-li\'e years of as;e, she is still well 
preser\ed and in possession oi all ol her nati\'e faculties. 

I'liiui ibe lime he was cii^bt until be was eij^bteeu. he li\ed with bis 
i^Tandfaibcr. Ilcnr\ Mc(."ullou,t;b, a farmer of Columbus township, who 
resided one mile east of Columbus and altiaidi'd the district schools and the 
Columbus bi,L;h school, .\fterwards be attended the Central Normal Col- 
lege of I )an\ ille .and the \ .ilp.aiMiso L'niversity. rie,i;iinnii,L; his career in the 
school room ;it the a,L;e of twentw be t;ni,ybt four years in the district schools 
of llartiiolomew county, two wars in the cit\' schools of Columbus and 
three \ears as i)rinci])al of tlie bi,i;h school at I lartsx'ille. Having begun the 
stud\ "i melbcin^■. while clerking in a drug store be completed tlu' comse at 
Kentucky School of JMedicine at Louisville, Kentucky, ami (irand Rapids 
Medical College, lie has lakiai ])ost-gradnate work at (incinnati and 
Columbus. Ohio, .and at ('bica;;o. Illinois. .\t the outbreak of the Spanish- 
.\merican War. be enlisted in the hospital cor])s of the .aianv and assisted 
]\laji>r N'augbn in csiabbsbing the Third Division hospital of the Seventh 
-Army C'orps .at I amp tuba Libre, Jacksonville, b'lorida. and was later trans- 
ferred to b'ort Thomas. Kentucky, and b'ort Monroe, N'irgiin'a. Kventually, 
he w.a-^ transferred to Washington City .and di>ihargetl at th.al place after 
the war. 

Doetor .Morrison was engaged in the practice of his profession at llarts- 
ville and llurney, and came to Greensburg March I, 191 1. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. I2I3. 

On Noveniher if), |S(|S. Ductor Morrisnii was married (n llallic 1!. 
Romingcr, of 1 lartsxilk-. the dan-iitcr of 'rhdiiias W. and Sarah Udininger. 
Doctor and Mrs. Morrison have tinxe children: Thomas K.. who was hnrn 
April 25, igoo; Sheldon, who was horn March 17, 1906, and James T., who 
was hnrn hehruary 12, 1908. 

Keligionsly, Doctor Morrison and family are members nf the Metlmdist 
Episcopal chnrch. Fraternally, he is a metnher <if the l\ni,u;hls nf IMhias 
and the h>ee and Accejjted Masons. 

No better eviilence of the Cdnlidence ]ilaced in Doctor Morrison by his 
fellow townsmen and by the citizens of Decatnr county can lie presented 
than by the fact that he is president of the board of directors of the new 
Vonnji; Men's Christian .Association, an institution which is perliajis, as a 
public entcr])rise. dearer to the hearts of the people of this eit\' tiian runiiiinf; 
undertaken within recent years. 



JLIDGK D.WTD Ai-lJiCRT MVI'.RS. 

Indiana has lon^ been distins^nished for the hij.;ii rank of her bench and 
bar. Terbaps none of the newer states can justly boast of abler jurists or 
attorne}s. Many lawyers of this state have achieved national fame. \\ bile 
the growth and de\elopment of the state in the last half centurv has been 
marvelous, viewed from almost any stand]ioiin. yet of no other class of her 
citizenship has this state greater reason for just pride than for the distinction 
and eminence gained by her judges and attorneys. Judge David .Albert 
Myers, of (ireensburg, Indiana, has long ranked as a profound lawyer and 
an able, enn'nent and. im])ariial jurist. He served a little more than eight 
years as a judge (jf the appellate court of Indiana, and before that was for a 
short time judge of tlie eighth judicial district by ajipointnienl. 

I)a\id .\lbert .Myers was born on .\ugust 5, i85(). near Logrmsport, in 
Cass county, Indiana, ;uul is the son of llciny C. and Maria (Bright) Myers, 
the former of whom was born in 1834, and wlio died, .April 10, 1002, and 
the latter of v>hom was born in 1836. Henry C. Myers was a native of Ohio, 
born near I lamilton. in Ihitler count\-. the son of John Myers, a pioneer set- 
tler of Cass county, wdio came to Indiana in the early part of 1835, when 
Logans]iort was a mere hamlet. There he purchased a tract of 'and, and 
clearing it, became a prominent farmer and citizen and a leader in the life 
of the community. During the latter years of his lift' he ranked as the oldest 
settler. On this farm Tlenry C. Myers, the f.alber of Judge David .A., was 



I2I4 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

reared and married. He owned a farm within a mile of the pioneer home- 
stead and became a prosperous citizen. In later years he owned four hundred 
and seventy acres of land. A Republican, he took great interest in political 
matters. Judge ]\Iyers" mother was a native of Virginia and the daughter of 
Anson Bright, an early settler of Cass county, who lived near the home of 
John Myers and who settled in Cass county in 1841. Judge Myers' mother 
lives on the old home place. There were four children in the Myers family. 
Of these children, Emma M. is at home; Charles W. owns a part of the home 
farm; Van is a farmer in Cass county; and David A. is the subject of this 
sketch. 

After assisting his father on the farm until seventeen years old. Judge 
Myers entered Smithson College, where he remained for a year and one-half. 
Later he attended the Danville Normal School for a year and one-half, also 
Union University and the Albany Law School, from which he was graduated 
in 1 88 1. The same year he began the practice of law in Greensburg, and 
today is regarded as the dean of the legal profession in this city. At the end 
of his first year he moved to his present ofiice in the fall of 1882. He has 
one of the finest law libraries in the state of Indiana. His first political office 
was that of city attorney to which he was elected in 1886. He held this 
ofifice until his election as prosecuting attorney in 1890 for the circuit com- 
prising Rush and Decatur counties. This office he held two terms or four 
years. In 1899 J^i*i&s Myers was appointed by Governor Mount as judge 
of the eighth judicial district and served until the election following in 1900. 
At the judicial convention in 1900 Rush and Decatur counties each nomin- 
ated a candidate for judge, and Judge Douglas Morris was elected. The 
legislature subsequently redistricted these counties, and Decatur county was 
joined with Bartholomew. 

On October 18, 1904, Judge Myers was appointed a judge of the appel- 
late court for the first Indiana district, and on the same day was selected as 
the nominee of the Republican party for appellate judge. He was elected 
and served four years, and in 1908 was renominated and reelected, serving 
until January i, 1913. In the election of 1908 Judge Myers had the largest 
pluralitv of anv candidate on the Republican ticket, a plurality of over six- 
teen thousand. That year several candidates on the Democratic ticket, 
including the Democratic candidate for governor, were elected. Judge Myers 
was renominated in 1912 \\'ithout opposition, but the state went Democratic 
and he was defeated. No word of suspicion has ever been cast regarding 
the judicial record of Judge Myers. He has had an honorable and successful 
career on the bench and one of which he and the party which nominated him 
to this office may be proud. 



DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 



I215 



One year before finishing his college course David Albert Myers was 
married to Laura Hart, who died in 1883. In September, 1907, he was mar- 
ried, secondly, to Margaret McNaught, the daughter of M. F. McNaught, 
proprietor of the Garland Milling Company, of Greensburg. 

A stockholder in the Greensburg Electric Light Company. Judge Myers 
is also a director of the Greensburg National Bank and has been since its 
organization in 1900. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, 
and is a Scottish Rite Mason of the thirty-second degree. He is a member 
of the Knights Templar at Shelbyville and the Mystic Shrine at Indianapolis, 
and also a member of the Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective 
Order of Elks. 



HON. FRANCIS I. GALBRAITH. 

Every one who lives in a state and enjoys its protection, must contribute 
through his work, directly or indirectly, to further the object of the state 
as a community for the purpose of justice and civilization. Not until then 
is he a useful member of the state. There can be no doubt but that it is 
the duty of all men to contribute so far as they are able to the well-being 
of the community where they live, of the state in which they were born and 
the country which has nurtured them. 

Francis I. Galbraith, farmer, manufacturer, banker, commission mer- 
chant and public-spirited man of affairs, is one of the leading citizens of 
Decatur county and a man who is well known in the capital of the state, 
where he has spent a considerable part of his time in recent years and 
where he has extensive interests in many kinds of property. 

Born on October 29, i860, near Rugby, Bartholomew county, Indiana, 
Francis I. Galbraith is a son of Enos S. and Catherine (Phumphry) Gal- 
braith, the former of whom was the son of Enos Galbraith, Sr. 

Francis I. Galbraith attended school in Bartholomew county, and later 
entered Hartsville College, where for some time he was a student. Lmtil 
twenty years old, he lived in Bartholomew county, near Rugl)y. .\t the 
age of twenty, he went to Kansas and was there engaged in the cattle busi- 
ness for fuur years, or until 1884, when he returned to Bartholomew county 
and settled again near Rugby. 

One year later, at the age of twenty-five, Mr. Galbraith was married, 
■on September i, to Mary Butler, who was born in Bartholomew county, 
Indiana, in 1865. and who is the daughter of Frank and Susan (Woodard) 
Butler. Mrs. Galbraith's father was one of the largest stock and fancy 



I2l6 DECATUR COUNTY, INDIANA. 

farmers in Decatur county. \Yhere both he and his wife spent practicahy 
aU of their hves. Mr. and Mrs. Galbraith have one son, Frank E. Galbraith, 
whii was Ijorn on September ii, 1886, at Rugby, Indiana, and who attended 
the country schools of Bartholomew county. In 1900 he moved with his 
parents to Sunman, where he still lives. In 1914 he was married to Bessie 
Grosseclrouse. 

After his marriage, Francis I. Galbraith removed to Rugby, where he 
engaged in the grain business for about one year, but he afterwards removed 
to Burney, Decatur county, where he and his father were engaged in the 
grain business and in stock shipping until 1900. At this time Mr. Galbraith 
removed to Sunman, Indiana, and there engaged in the hardwood lumber 
manufacturing business with William E. Talbert. Seven years later, Mr. 
Galbraith purchased Mr. Talbert's interest in this business and took into 
the business as a partner his son, Frank E.. who was made manager and 
who still retains this position. 

In the fall of 1912, Mr. Galbraith came to Indianapolis and assisted in 
the organization of the old Indiana State Bank, which has since been reor- 
ganized and renamed the Commercial National Bank. Mr. Galbraith was 
\ice-president of the old bank and retained the same position in the new 
organization, the Commercial National. He owns one-half interest in the 
Ray & Galbraith Commission Company, located at the Indianapolis stock- 
yards, and is also operating two large cotton plantations in the delta lands 
of lower Louisiana. Aside from these interests, he has large real-estate 
holdings in .Indianapolis, especially flats and houses. 

Mr. Galbraith is a stanch Democrat, and has always been faithful to 
his party. He has contributed liberally to the financial side of the party, 
and during the legislative sessions of 190Q and 191 1 served as a member of 
the House of Representatives from Ripley county. He took a leading 
part in the sessions of the house and was considered one of its substantial 
members. In 1909 the Democratic party had come into power for the first 
time in many years and, although the opposite party maintained its control 
of the Senate, the Democratic party had a substantial majority in the lower 
house. ]\Ir. Galbraith was a part of this majority and assisted in framing 
much of the important legislation which came from the General Assembly 
that year. 

Mr. and Mrs. Galljraith are members of the ^lethodist church. Mr. 
Galbraith is a Scottish Rite Mason, a Shriner and a member of the Benevo- 
lent Protective Order of Elks at Greensburg. Although having wide inter- 
ests scattered over a great deal of territory, Mr. Galbraith makes his home 
in Sunman, Indiana. 



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